2019 Youth Workers' Coaching Group

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Youth workers are some of my favorite people on the planet.

You are fun, future focused, innovative, creative, flexible, thoughtful, and curious. You might be a youth worker if … you resonate with this post. Youth workers are open to change and are so flexible to do something different if it'll promote growth and a better result. Youth workers are living into the future of the church now, which can be super messy and complex.

For a little over 20 years I've been a youth worker in some way, shape, or form. I love us. We run deep together. We're all about 2 degrees of separation from each other, which makes it so very fun.

Over the last several years, I've been über committed to raise the water level of potency and effectiveness of youth workers. It's challenging to be a youth worker. We are on the cutting edge of the culture changes that affect teenagers before adults even know what's up. Youth workers need to be able to dance between leading 3 very different groups of people: parents, volunteers, and teenagers. Add in the layer of being a great team member and often youth workers (even the college and seminary trained ones!) struggle to navigate the waters of the job. I get it. I've been there.

If you want to be a healthy and effective youth worker, you need to know this…

What got you here, won't get you there.

To get from here to there, you need new skills, practices, resources, and relationships. Doing what you've always done won't create the environment for transformation. Those changes - both internally and externally - are vital to be identified and led through well. Being future forward in your work with young people requires new thinking and innovation. Youth workers who live with great intentionality and discipline experience breakthroughs throughout their life on a regular basis.

Who you are determines what you do.

You can only fake it for so long. You can only live off of fumes and charisma for a short period of time. You can only sprint for short distances. Yet all too often, youth workers do those things as a way of life and expect it to work long-term. Proverbs is clear, out of the overflow of what's within comes out in our words and behaviors. Our bodies often reveal the state of our souls. Everything we do - on purpose or on accident - is a reflection of who we are. I believe we are created good and are designed to do so much good, yet it requires reflective, thoughtful self-leadership to live into our potential.

Leaders are learners, especially listeners + readers.

A wise mentor told me years ago, "Leadership begins with listening." Leadership probably ends with listening, as well, and all the way in between. Leaders must be the most rabid learners of anyone!! If we are going to attempt to influence others' lives and souls, we need to constantly be reading, listening, and learning from voices who will take us to those new places. This element of self-leadership is imperative for healthy, forward moving leadership.

Leaders take responsibility for their life + leadership.

We are not victims to our circumstances or present realities. Your reality today doesn't dictate your reality for tomorrow. Your present doesn't have to be your future. You and only you are responsible for your life. Responsibility is really about your response meeting your abilities. How you connect those two elements together either creates an engaged, active life or a passive, reactive one.

Culture + context is everything.

What works in Northern Indiana may not work in Southern California or in Chicagoland...trust me, I've lived in all those places. But learning how to discern your culture and context enables you to lead and adapt youth ministry wherever you go. Growing in your ability to decode culture, adapt to your surroundings, and lead well within your strengths and commitments significantly increases your effectiveness as a youth worker.

Does this resonate with you? Are you ready to dig deep and experience a transformational 6 months of coaching? If so, you need....

Youth Worker's Coaching Group:

leadership development with a youth ministry twist
+ spiked with spiritual formation

  • Launching early 2019

  • 10 youth workers from coast to coast

  • 6 month catalytic journey: two 48-hour in-person meetings in Orange County, CA, four 3-hour webinars, and six 1on1 coaching calls with April (see more details below)

  • Personalized and specific action steps so you can break through barriers and achieve your goals

  • Private online community for additional learning, interaction, support, and idea sharing between webinars

  • Investment: $1000 plus travel, 6 books, and a couple assessments

You are worth the investment because you have one life to live to its fullest. Imagine what your life and leadership could look like with this kind of new skills, accountability, care, and resources. Take responsibility for your life, courageous youth worker. What can you gain by saying YES? You are loved.

Questions? Email me and let’s figure it out.


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THE RHYTHM TOWARD TRANSFORMATION.

  • PRIOR TO MONTH 1: Take an assessment and read assigned book

  • MONTH 1: 48 hour coaching retreat in Orange County, CA with 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 2: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 3: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching + Guided Half-Day Personal Retreat

  • MONTH 4: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 5: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching + Guided Half-Day Personal Retreat

  • MONTH 6: 48-hour coaching retreat in Orange County, CA with 1on1 Coaching

The specific dates will be chosen by the participants. All webinars are 9am-12pm PST.

LAUNCHING! Another Women in Leadership Coaching Group

Women in Leadership Coaching Group

You are not meant to do life and leadership alone.
You were designed to grow.
You were created to live fully in your body, mind, and spirit.
 

More than ever before, women with gifts of leadership and teaching are needed at the table, in meetings, on stages, and fully showing up in all areas of life. 

You are an EZER, a strong warrior, created to bring all of you
to every space you set your feet.

The thing is: you’re not doing that as of now. You know that you’re created to fully show up, but you’re not. Yet. As an Ezer, you are created for whole-hearted life and leadership, and this mastermind group will guide you toward that desired future.

This coaching group is designed for 10 Ezers in any area of spiritual leadership. For 6 months you will journey together with 9 other women. Together we will have two in-person coaching retreats, four 3-hour webinars, six 30-minute 1on1 coaching sessions, and two guided half-day personal retreats. Our focus will be on 360° of leadership so you can let go of good and move toward the better in body, mind, and spirit. You will dive deep into becoming the best woman you can be so you can better influence your boss, peers, and people within your responsibilities.

Conferences and network meetings are great, but they rarely produce the kind of customized, personalized, long-lasting transformation that next level leaders require.

Here’s what Megan said about why coaching is better than conferences:

What truly makes this a catalytic group is YOU. It’s the brilliance of the 10 women who will sit around the table and lead one another through their stories, ideas, courage, wisdom, and service. Being a woman in leadership is different, and it demands unique skills and awareness to thrive.

There's something about the mixture of a group of likeminded individuals coming together with the accountability of a trained coach. It does wonders for your growth and development as a leader and youth worker. I've learned that journeying with a safe group of peers provides fertile soil for long-lasting change.

Ready to commit or want to talk?
Let's connect.

THE RHYTHM TOWARD TRANSFORMATION.

  • PRIOR TO MONTH 1: Pre-work including assessments and read assigned book

  • MONTH 1: 48-hour coaching retreat in Orange County, CA with 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 2: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 3: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching + Guided Half-day Personal Retreat

  • MONTH 4: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching

  • MONTH 5: Webinar + 1on1 Coaching + Guided Half-day Personal Retreat

  • MONTH 6: 48-hour coaching retreat in Orange County, CA with 1on1 Coaching

The specific dates will be chosen by participants.

A FEW MORE DETAILS.

  • Launching Early 2019

  • 10 women in any spiritual leadership role … 8 spots remain

  • Limited Time: $1000 for coaching training (travel and resources not included). Payment plan available, if needed.

  • Online Connection: customized social media group for the purpose of ongoing encouragement, interaction, resource sharing, and ideas.

You are worth the investment. The transformation you'll experience will propel you toward more than you could ask or imagine. What will you gain by saying YES?

I can't wait to walk with you through this group! You are loved.

What Do You Want?

Most of us have something we want to do, but it scares us. Or freaks us out. Or overwhelms us. But that dream has us nevertheless. We can’t shake it. We find ourselves daydreaming about seeing it come to life, but then we shake ourselves back to reality. The list of excuses and reasons why it can never happen dominate our thoughts.

But what if what you want was put inside of you because you are the one who is supposed to fulfill it? What if that dream is within you on purpose?

For some of us, that dream is enormous. You want to build a company that impacts millions of people. Or you want to design a product or service that will revolutionize life for people. Or you can see how to solve a problem that every human faces every day. You want to cure a disease. Some of us have a vision for righting wrongs in this world and restoring justice. That dream causes our hearts to beat fast and our palms to sweat.

For others of us, what we want is highly personal. You dream of growing old with your partner and being healthy enough to enjoy it. You want to travel the world with your family. There’s a dream to start a family foundation that leaves a legacy by serving the marginalized and oppressed. You want to get out of debt … permanently. You want to be in a job that you love and brings meaning to the world. You dream about designing a life you love and not being trapped by the past. You want to write a book. Your personal dream is just the beginning to more.

It doesn’t matter so much what you want, it’s that you want it.

Here’s the truth, friends: You have been created to dream, to imagine the possibility of a future you can co-create. Your life is made for more the the status quo. Settling isn’t in our DNA. The soulful movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” compels me with this…

The Pursuit of Happyness

Your dream is worth holding on to. Go get it.

As a person of deep faith, it’s important to me that what I want aligns with what God wants for me. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern “is this what I want or is it what God wants for me?” However, I’ve discovered that in the Gospels (the first four books of the New Testament) Jesus asks his audience and listeners somewhere between 200-300 questions. You can synthesize them into three different groups of questions, but if you were to summarize those hundreds of questions, the #1 question Jesus asks is “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” The God of the Universe wants to know what you want. God in human flesh asks over and over again what we desire. To find the answer, love God and do as you please.

Love God and do as you please - Augustine

When we train our soul to be in love with God, the only thing we can want is aligned with the Beloved One. When we love God, our heart is connected to God’s heart and what we want becomes what God wants for us.

What we want becomes a defining question of our lives.

So, what is it? What do you want? Answering that question fully can be the defining question of your life.

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April L. Diaz

April has been a visionary activist her entire life. She has made it her mission to lead high performing teams and develop leaders in the margins of society while caring for our bodies, mind, and spirit. Secretly, she’s a mix of a total girly girl and a tomboy, and is still crazy about her high school sweetheart, Brian. Together, they co-parent 3 fabulous kiddos and live in Orange County, CA.