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March 17, 2009

Our friends at Ivy Jungle let us know about hese two resources.

1) Back2School: 18 million college students are taking classes this year. According to the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute, more than three quarters say they are on a spiritual quest. Most freshmen indicate they expect college to assist in that journey. Campus Crusade has created Back2School as a resource to help campus workers and students in this journey.

2) TransitionsMSM: Each year thousands of our youth will fall away from their faith after their first year of college. The two major reasons for this have been linked to lack of preparation and not getting connected to a campus ministry. TransitionsMSM is a Web-based tool created to help in this transition. It comes with interactive scripts, video resources and more that anyone can teach. Take a look at www.transitionsmsm.org for a great resource to help prepare and connect our youth! For more info, e-mail info@transitionsmsm.org

For those of you wanting to further your education, we wanted to let you know Liverpool Hope University in England is now offering the world’s first master’s degree in Beatles studies.

Since the university is located in the Fab Four’s hometown, students will spend time in the classroom, as well as at sites where band members lived, worked and performed.

In effort to continue the tremendously successful rebuilding of the Big Easy, the New Orleans Marriott has launched “Build Bond,” offering voluntourism groups a special nightly rate of $84, including all taxes. This rate is based on an occupancy of one to four, which could bring the price per person, per night as low as $21.

“Build Bond” makes it easy for groups visiting New Orleans for mission trips. It offers a resource kit including information on area transportation companies and city guides; a complimentary meeting room, where the group can congregate to discuss and plan the day ahead; complimentary parking for 15-passenger vans; 50 percent off parking for personal vehicles and discounted pricing for box lunches to keep volunteers fueled “on the job.” For guests in need of some direction about where to lend a hand, “Build Bond” provides recommendations on a variety of local volunteer organizations so do-good guests can plan where to donate their time.

For more information about the New Orleans Marriott or to book “Build Bond,” call 504.553.5526.

Children and young adults around the world will team up in late April for the 21st Annual Global Youth Service Day, which organizers bill as the “largest youth service event in the world.”

The day—actually three days, April 24-26—will harness the efforts of millions of young people to help improve communities in all 50 states and 100 countries, according to Youth Service America. Projects zero in on such topics as education, climate change, childhood obesity and numerous other issues.

For more information, go to www.YSA.org.

Now in its fifth year, Worship Facilities Conference Expo (WFX) California will take place May 13-15, 2009 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. WFX, which focuses on integrating technology and facilities, features a conference program, keynote speakers, networking sessions and an expo floor. For infomation, click here.

Folks over at our parent company’s conservative www.Townhall.com site asked Al Mohler what he thought about shifts among younger Christians, including some who voted for Obama. We think you’ll find Mohler’s comments intriguing.

In each issue of the eJournal we give you a review of a recent resource, book, DVD or CD. This time we’re giving you the whole TOOLS section from our March/April issue.

Simply click on the link and thumb through the whole TOOLS section (or the entire digital issue).

[To subscribe to Youth WorkerJournal, click here.]

Thanks for joining us for this issue of the YouthWorker eJournal. See you next time.

Sincerely, Steve Rabey, YouthWorker Journal editor, and our entire crew