marko

Mark Oestreicher is a 30-year youth ministry veteran and the former president of Youth Specialties. Marko has published more than 50 books, including the much-discussed Youth Ministry 3.0. In 2010, he launched the Youth Ministry Coaching Program, and The Youth Cartel, a full-service consulting firm specializing in helping churches, businesses and ministries connect with teenagers, young adults, and youth workers. Marko lives in San Diego with his wife and two teenage children.

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win a free “Cartel Panda” t-shirt from The Youth Cartel and WhoopTee

March 27, 2013 Fun

the fine people at WhoopTee asked us if we’d like to give out some free t-shirts. “heck, yes!” said we. then months went by, because we’re distracted sorts of fellows here at The Youth Cartel. eventually, marko whipped up this playful wee design, with a little help from Banksy. we call him the “Cartel Panda.” [...]

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superbowl commercials

February 6, 2013 Discuss

two bits that seem at odds with each other (which probably reveals the duplicity within myself): first, what a killer remix of all (or most) of the superbowl commercials… but then, second, look at this slightly humorous, slightly troublesome, insightful list from official Friend of the Cartel, crystal kirgiss… SUPERBOWL LESSONS Here’s what I learned [...]

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what people are saying about the youth ministry coaching program

January 17, 2013 Leadership

we wrapped up another year-long cohort of the youth ministry coaching program this week, in san antonio, texas. this was a unique cohort of 10 youth workers, in that the west texas diocese of the episcopal church organized it and paid 3/4 of each participant’s fee. so, unlike most of the YMCP cohorts, the 10 [...]

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Cartel vs. Club

December 7, 2012 The Cartel Life

jeff goins (a graduate of the Cartel’s Youth Ministry Coaching Program) wrote a fantastic post about the difference between a club and a cartel. click through to read it here. a few selections: The difference between a club and a cartel appears to be a matter of semantics, but it’s a lot more than that. [...]

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bullies, bullied, and fighting back

September 26, 2012 Discuss

High school student Whitney Kropp was shocked earlier this month when she was named to the homecoming court. Her happy surprise turned to humiliation when she learned the reason. The students thought it would be funny if the popularity contest was won by someone who was unpopular. Kids pointed at her in the hallways and [...]

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Announcing The Youth Cartel’s Unauthorized Dictionary of Youth Ministry

September 25, 2012 The Cartel Life

Releasing in a couple weeks, the funniest, most consistently over-the-line book published in the world of youth ministry: The Youth Cartel’s Unauthorized Dictionary of Youth Ministry, by Steve Case From the back cover: Most church people don’t like to work with teenagers. Teenagers scare people. But what do youth workers like you do? You love [...]

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The Youth Cartel Annual Shareholder Meeting

August 21, 2012 The Cartel Life

if you’ve interacted with or supported The Youth Cartel this past year, then you’re a shareholder. this thing is open, man. but, i’m guessing you may have missed the annual shareholder meeting, held recently in a very exclusive location. good thing we filmed it for you!

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Tic Long and Mark Dowds added to MSMC12 line-up

April 25, 2012 The Cartel Life

this is big news. we’ve added two speakers to the line-up for the 2012 middle school ministry campference. but they’re more than just two interesting speakers. both of these guys will add so much to the entire experience of the weekend, well more than the 40 minutes of their main session talks (which will also [...]

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infographic comparing teenagers in 1982 to 2012

March 23, 2012 Discover

gerri elder sent me this infographic, and i mostly found this interesting. the part i found annoying was that in 1982, we would not have seen “kids” and “child” used as descriptors of high school students. that aside: From: BestEducationDegrees.com

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bryan stevenson on identity and injustice

March 16, 2012 Inspire

holy cow, what an amazing TED talk! tony jones mentioned this one on his blog, and it blew me away. sure, it’s got a bit of a humanistic edge to it; but there’s so much truth and beauty in the ideas that a civilization’s character will be their legacy, not their design or technology or [...]

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