A Fun Announcement From youthministry360

We want to take this opportunity and let you know about something really, really exciting coming your way in the next month. Itâs a big development for ym360 that has a lot to do with you. But first, a short backstory . . . youthministry360 is coming up on a two year anniversary. In August of 2010, we launched ym360 with the current ym360 Blog and ym360 Store. Itâs been an incredible journey so far. God has been amazingly faithful in affirming the call He put on our lives to launch this ministry. Heâs grown both our team and the ym360 Community. Weâve formed amazing relationships with organizations and individuals. And weâve done our very best to serve you with Bible Study and Training Resources based on what weâve heard from you. Through it all, our actions have been motivated and guided by ym360's four areas of focus (known affectionately to the ym360 Team as "The 4 Buckets"). Looking back and looking forward, weâre excited about how these areas are fleshing out.

• Bible Study Resources⎯Our offering of Bible Study Resources has grown and is growing! This Fall and Winter will see us launch a number of new resources with many more on the horizon.
• Training⎯Weâre delivering training through the ym360 Blog, through Training seminars, and through our Youth Ministry Essentials line of resources.
• Networking⎯Spotlighting other people and organizations doing awesome youth ministry is part of who we are. Weâve done this over the past two years and will continue to do so.
• Community⎯Through conferences, social media, and good olâ fashion relationships, weâve been blessed to watch the ym360 Community grow and flourish.

The last two years have been an amazing journey with God and with you. We couldnât be happier. So, whatâs the fun announcement? Where are we going with this? Simply put, ym360 is growing. And we wanted you to know, because the first part of this growth will cause us to operate a little differently over the next four weeks . . . Over the next month, weâll be preparing to launch the new youthministry360.com, a vibrant and dynamic web platform that will take your ym360 experience to a new and exciting level. Hereâs just a quick snapshot of some of the many new features coming your way . . .

The ym360 Store Comes âIn-houseâ

When we launched ym360, our friends at Simply Youth Ministry generously offered to process our Bible study resource orders until we were ready to take it on ourselves. Weâre indebted to them for the help getting started. But weâre extremely excited to be bringing our sales and customer service under the ym360 roof.

Integrating The ym360 Blog And Home Page

For the last two years, the ym360 home page and the ym360 Blog have been separate pages. Weâre marrying these two platforms in a seamless presentation that will create HUGE value for you.

Increasing The ym360 Blog Functionality

Weâre pumped about these new additions:

• Pin-point search feature for our 500+ youth ministry articles
• âSubscribe To Commentsâ function
• Enhanced âEmail articleâ feature
• Integrated âPrint Articleâ feature (finally!)
• Subscribe to specific categories of posts via email

Enhanced Networking Partners

The new site will be even better at focusing on Networking Partners, including our awesome group of ym360 Blog Contributors.

Featuring Hand-Selected Youth Ministry Resources

In addition to our expanding line of Bible Study and Training Resources, the ym360 Store will offer hand-picked resources from other resource providers that meet our standards for quality content and value.

Introducing More User Friendly Experience

On the new youthministry360.com, youâll notice these improvements in user experience:

• Complete design overhaul new with more intuitive navigation and user interface
• âDownloadableâ as well as âPhysicalâ purchasing options on all ym360 Bible Study Resources
• A âCreate An Accountâ feature for storing all your free ym360 downloads, tracking purchase history, enhanced blog interaction, and more
• A âLive Chatâ feature if you need help or just want to say âhi.â

Because of all the work weâre doing to launch the new youthministry360.com, youâll notice some of our daily behavior will change over the next four weeks, especially on the ym360 Blog. Weâll still be offering awesome daily youth ministry content, some of it new. But some dayâs articles may be a re-post, while others may link to a cool post on another blog or website. We appreciate your understanding and are here to answer any questions you may have. All in all, weâre extremely excited about where ym360 is headed. And the new youthministry360.com is just the start. We mean it when we say it, itâs a privilege to serve you and to serve with you. God Bless You and Your Ministry,
Les Bradford and Andy Blanks youthministry360 Co-Founders, on behalf of the ym360 Team