What’s Next for Marko?

By Adam McLane on February 03 2010

Many people have wondered, “What’s next for Marko?“

When Mark Oestreichers’s ministry here at Youth Specialties came to an end back in October I was flooded with questions from youth workers.

• Is Marko OK?
• Are you guys (personally and as a company) still going to be friends?
• Does YS hate Marko now?
• Does Marko hate YS now?
• Will we ever see him again?
• Are you still going to sell his books?

As you can imagine— first and foremost in my mind was protecting Marko’s privacy. I felt comfortable answering those questions in a generic , private way but then often just forwarded those people straight to Marko. Publicly, I just forwarded any/all questions right to Marko. Even as I write this I am super careful… not because anyone has told me to or is looking over my shoulder, but because that just feels like the right thing to do. Ultimately, it’s how I would want to be treated.

Unfortunately, a byproduct of my desire to protect Marko’s privacy has been that there’s developed some awkwardness in talking about Marko publicly at all. Making it even more silly is the fact that he and I only live a few miles from one another. We still hang out sometimes. We exchange email, Facebook, text messages regularly. We are on the same team of folks headed to Haiti next week. And our network of friends is just as intertwined as its always been. There is no awkwardness between Marko and I privately.

And so, this sentence allows the last awkward water to pass under the bridge of silence. And now we talk about the future. :)

So what’s next?

As he is figuring out the fullness of that question, big pieces are starting to come together. Today on his blog, whyismarko.com, he announces a Youth Ministry Coaching Program. Here’s a little description:

A yearlong 360 coaching cohort, focusing on whole-life development and youth ministry issues.

Expected Outcomes
After completion of the yearlong process in the Youth Ministry Coaching Program, participants will have had the following experiences and opportunities:
• Participants will grow in understanding their strengths and weakness, how these impact their leadership, ministry, and personal life, and how to capitalize on their strengths and minister within their weaknesses.
• They will experience new spiritual growth and insight as they safely process their own journey and the integration of their spiritual selves with their ministry selves.
• Cohort members will receive training on a wide variety of youth ministry issues, with an opportunity for dialogue and contextual application.
• They will have the opportunity to experience thoughtful dialogue on subjects of their own choosing, as the group will help shape the content agenda.
• Participants will develop life-long youth ministry peer relationships of trust and accountability.
• They will read 6 books, discuss them, and reflect on the implications for their own lives and ministries.
• Each will make presentations to the group in areas of their own choosing, with feedback and suggestions from the group.
• They will work through a series of self-selected homework assignments, with input from the group, and accountability from a “homework partner”.
• Participants will have 12 private coaching sessions with Mark Oestreicher (6 in person, 6 via phone).
• And each will have the option of 6 spiritual direction sessions with a trained spiritual director.

I love this concept! And while I know that this type of coaching isn’t for everyone, there is a huge void in youth ministry training that coaching can fill. If you want to learn more about Marko’s coaching network, head over to his blog and read the full description.

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