i’m a big fan of michael novelli – the dude is one of the most creative minds in the youth ministry world. his bible storying stuff (available for FREE at echothestory.com) is deeply amazing, wonderfully unique, and surprisingly easy to use. i’ve actually used it the last few weeks with my 8th grade guys small group (and have used it in the past also); i didn’t use it this week, and the guys complained. :)

so… michael has this event for high school students. it’s taking place next spring, in grand rapids. and it’s called ‘merge‘. really, there’s no comparison for this student event — maybe the closest would be the last dcla event that ys hosted (in the fateful summer of 2009). particularly if you’re in the midwest, i strongly encourage you to check this thing out.