This article was written by Greg Stier and Randy Davis, a partner from the National Network of Youth Ministries (NNYM).

Legend has it that when the Greeks defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, a warrior named Philippides ran the extremely long distance back to Athens, burst into the assembly and proclaimed “We have won!” just before collapsing and dying. This story has inspired countless runners to run and keep on running (and hopefully not die) in marathons around the world. 

As I type these words I'm at a mountain retreat with 10 other youth ministry leaders from around the nation. We are collaborating around a vision that we pray will result in every teenager in America engaged in a Gospel conversation with a Christian peer. To accomplish this we need

Jason and Laura Loewen both attended Lead THE Cause University and are phenomenal "Alpha X leaders" on every level. In this guest post Laura does a phenomenal job of articulating the importance of youth leaders networking from the perspective of a youth leader's spouse.

By the way you can

Whenver I hear the word "ecumenical" I think of a circle of pale-looking pastors, covered in honey and singing "Kum-ba-yah." Whether true or untrue that is the mental picture I get.

Some terms that could describe this weak brand of squishy unity in my mind are:

"It doesn't matter what you

This last weekend I had a great and eye-opening experience in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My buddy, Andy McGowan, youth pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church and D2S/Lead THE Cause University alumni, invited me to come to Kenosha to experience what God has been doing in and through the local youth