Extra baggage...

Welcome to part 2 of my Simply Youth Ministry Conference, Do's and Dont's.

Today's Do, and Don't have to do with one of my favorite things in the whole wide world and that is FREE STUFF! I mean who doesn't want something for nothing?

So here's the breakdown.

Do - Pack an extra bag! You'll need it, not only is there free stuff but the Group/Simply Youth bookstore is packed full of great resources and usually at a conference discount.

Don't - Buy anything on day 1! The folks over SYMC might get upset at me for saying this but don't do it. We all have a budget to work with right? (For those of you who don't know, a "budget" is a specific amount of money that you can spend on things like curriculum, events, trips etc. Talk to your board about them, they're neat!) And it's our responsibility to get the absolute biggest BANG that we can out of it. So here's my advice for doing so at the conference.

- Make a list. Get to the conference early enough to walk through the bookstore and make a wish list. Or you could even hit their website to get a jump on the list! Go ahead dream big!

- Volunteer for ANYTHING! You would not believe the opportunities that will be presented to you to compete in something goofy. But, unlike the prizes you hand out to your students, the prizes are legit! As you win stuff you'll see the items on your list get smaller.

I said it before...
- Dream BIG! I'm going to the conference this year for free! I won my registration during a contest last year. I'm telling you. They give out a ton of free stuff!

- Break the Bank. So, it's the last day of the conference. Time to get to the bookstore early, list in hand, and break the bank. Please note, this is a conference of over 3,000 youth workers. Which means everyone else has procrastinated and will be doing their shopping on the last day too. Get there early so you can have everything in hand to checkout when the store opens!

Have any questions about SYMC? Or anything you want me to cover as I do and don't my way there? Have any do's or don'ts of your own? Feel free to comment or email me!

Blessings,

Jeremiah