Things are starting to open back up, churches are meeting in person, summer camps and conferences are happening. Finally! We're entering the "...
It has been a long year, and we're so excited to be back!
This is a Summer Like No Other, and...
You want to know why I went to church as a kid?
The process of developing a theme for a CIY program starts a lot further back than most people might think. Take the Believe...
The CIY MIX team has the greatest joy in hosting middle school conferences every year across the country, but I’m going...
CIY’s Believe program welcomed the band ISAAC on the 2019/2020 tour to lead worship for thousands of junior high students.
This letter was written by Josh Powell – next generation director for Sun Valley Community Church in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Youth leaders coming to CIY’s weekend events Believe and SuperStart are encouraged to download “Convos” from the App...
What gets repeated gets remembered.
I had the awesome opportunity to join middle schoolers at MIX as a leader … and a lab rat.
Christian rapper YB joined the CIY Believe tour in 2019 as a host, and junior highers across the country have loved hearing his faithful...
On our way home from MIX in 2019, we stopped for dinner and I noticed one of our students sitting by himself with his...
Typically students attend one CIY event a year … Reagan Wilson has experienced three.
Youth leaders are loving the MIX tour with this year’s theme, “To be continued …” Here’s a...
Middle schoolers are having a blast with the MIX team at each stop of the tour this summer.
Expressing vulnerability to a group of peers can be terrifying for a sixth grader.
Middle schooler Kaitlyn Anderson said she was having a blast at MIX, and whenever she felt convicted about anything, she could easily talk...
I’ve always connected to the Father the most through music, but this year as a MIX worship leader I’ve...
Powerful CIY worship moments are known for including flashy lights, stunning visuals and loud, booming speakers that rattle your insides … but the...
Techno Turtles, Space Pandas, Beatbox Badgers, Unicorns … They all have competed amongst the best in years past at MIX – CIY&rsquo...
Volunteers, by definition, do not get paid for their time. But what often goes un-remarked is that many of them take weeks of...
One of the great things about a week of MIX for middle schoolers is that they get to be silly … just for...
The 2019 MIX Spotify playlist enables students to not only prepare their hearts for CIY’s summer conference for middle schoolers, but also...
CIY brings some of the most influential speakers from across the country to deliver Biblical truths to students. The “10 Things About”...
Once upon a time, there was a little MIX team that cried, “Wolf!”
CIY brings some of the most influential speakers from across the country to deliver Biblical truths students. The “10 Things About” series...
Youth ministry is one big, continuous transition, and as a youth leader you don’t want to miss these pivotal first-impression moments...
Imagine you’re an eighth grader. You’re the “Top Dog” at your school. You’re rocking some...
CIY brings some of the most influential speakers from across the country to deliver Biblical truths students. This “10 Things About” series...
The semester is winding down and many youth groups are wrapping up their small groups for the semester.
It can be tough to help middle schoolers battle insecurity because everyone faces it differently.
In an effort to give middle schoolers and their youth leaders the best experience possible at MIX this summer, we’ve come...
Believe is one the best things our junior high students do all year at First Christian Church in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
There are two very important things you have to know when talking to middle schoolers.
What a beautiful, terrifying responsibility we have as parents to help develop the identity of our children. We get to influence their answers...
We all love a good story.
Christian rapper KJ-52 – who has joined this year’s Believe tour for junior highers – has come out with a brand-new...
CIY’s events, trips and resources are age-specific, with programming that is intentionally created with language and topics that hit right at...
Junior high students and youth leaders are raving about this year’s Believe tour and the theme, “I AM.” Here...
There’s so much more to experience with the Believe program than what happens over the course of the weekend.
Rebekah Wisden, an eighth grader with the Fort Worth (Texas) First Church of the Nazarene, said she was struggling with self-value the week...
CIY asked sisters Lain and Mya Davison, 14 and 11 respectively, what God had done in their lives that they’re most thankful for....
If you ask the members of Revenant Worship what sets them apart from other worship bands, they’ll tell you they don...
I wrote a book 17 years ago because at the time there wasn’t a whole lot of highly practical resources for people...
Sierra Weaver has every reason to feel unloved and abandoned.
Mirrors will take center stage during the upcoming Believe tour, which will explore the theme of “I AM” by helping junior...
Believe is CIY’s weekend event for junior high students that combines a whirlwind of fun and Biblical learning.
Illusionist Zak Mirzadeh joined the 2019 Believe tour with a few tricks up his sleeves – leaving junior high students wondering: “How...
If God is leading your heart to middle school ministry, here are five helpful tips for great small group interaction:
Sometimes a different angle can provide the perfect perspective.
No adult leader likes to be interrupted by a student’s phone going off, but when it happened every day at 8:30 p...
To the common bystander, it might seem like a carefree dodgeball tournament … but to youth leaders, students and MIX event staff, there...
It's always a bittersweet moment when the MIX team makes the final stop of the tour.
CIY loves sharing what...
Part of the joy of what we do at CIY is getting to talk to youth leaders.
Enjoy...
Why would a college student commit their summer to traveling around the nation to work with middle schoolers?
As hundreds of harmonized voices of young people lift their praises at CIY events, it’s not uncommon to see worship leaders...
Part of the joy of what we do at CIY is getting to talk to parents.
Registration for the 2018/2019 Believe tour began July 1, and youth leaders all across the nation are preparing for another great year for their middle...
It’s not easy saying goodbye to a friend, but the CIY family is excited to see what God’s plans...
Just after dusk, a CIY MIX conference is so quiet that any sound bounces off the buildings and echoes through the trees. Then,...
MIX is in full swing and CIY is already hearing incredible stories of students who are responding to God’s call on...
Tyler Willis is going to start speaking more kindly to his dad.
Mia and Taevion Schmidt are two middle school students whose lives will never be the same. While attending a CIY MIX event earlier...
Part of the joy of what we do at CIY is getting to talk to students.
CIY events are full of age-intentional dynamics, but I think one of the most essential elements to the MIX program is laughter.
Among the team of traveling MIX staff members this summer, there are six stage actors.
Hailey Rinner was a soft-spoken Jr. high girl with hesitations about attending Believe, but when she returned home she had a lot to...
Relationally, if your students end their school year well it means the beginning of the next school year will start off well, too.<...
Enjoy a conversation between Jr....
More than 17,700 Jr. high students attended CIY’s Believe “WITH” tour this year.
When you got a nickname like “Q-Tip,” “##### Q-Tip” and “##### Cotton Ball,” it might be hard to be...
Imagine if you will a 14-year-old girl on an inner-city street corner handing a homeless man a bag full of food, a Bible...
CIY’s teams for Believe and SuperStart will be wrapping up their 2017/2018 tours this spring.
The first stop on the “WITH” spring tour for Believe was held Jan. 26-27 at the Cox Business Center in Tulsa,...
I knew what to expect, but nothing could have prepared my heart for what I experienced Jan. 26-27 at CIY’s Jr....
CIY’s Believe program rocked the stage this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a roaring Jr. high crowd.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depression is a common mental disorder affecting adolescents in the U.S.
God is using middle school students to change the world. The MIX team is overwhelmed with stories of life-change in both students and...
After finding his grandson about to kill himself, a man must face the past to ensure his grandson’s future.
Your youth ministry identity doesn’t form overnight; it requires a great deal of intentionality and time. Try these ten methods out...
You don’t have to be a pastor’s wife to feel the pressure of ministry, but if you are, you...
It has been CIY’s practice for many years to produce a short-film or documentary to show to students at its summer...
Jr. high students in 12 cities across the country will explore their identity in Christ through the theme “I AM” during the 201...
This year’s MIX program motivated students to immediately start displaying specific Christ-like aspects of “Prayer,” “Includes,” &ldquo...
