Hello World.

My name is Ryan Filsinger and I am the newest contributing writer to the Canadian Youth Ministry team.  My quick bio is that I am a Husband, Father, hockey lover, and Video Game Producer. I am also the former Youth Director at Sherwood Church of the Nazarene, a cell based congregation.  The end of this school year will mark my sixth and final year in weekly youth ministry.  I am stepping down amicably from the position and was able to find the perfect replacement.  With 6 years of youth ministry has come the opportunity to experience many different things.  I feel with this exit it will allow me to concentrate on a few dreams that I have been neglecting due to my busy schedule.  Part of the next phase of my life is going to writing more and that is where Canadian Youth Worker comes into play.  Even though my weekly involvement has diminished, I feel God still has a place for me in helping fellow youth workers, especially when it comes to big picture stuff.  I’ll be using my weekly posting for the next while going over small topics in youth ministry that covers things I feel were successful, and also areas where I completely failed.  My hope is that you as the reader will take a chance to learn from my triumphs and mistakes to strengthen your ministry.  

My day job for the last 4 years has been in the video game industry.  This has placed me in a unique situation where I have been able to keep up with all the major technological changes as part of my job.  This has allowed me to stay on top of most trends in youth culture as they are now fully intertwined into the world of technology and the internet.  From time to time I’ll also contribute my thoughts on technology, video games, youth culture and how I believe all things can exist together without compromising values or spiritual discipline.

I am really looking forward to being a part of the team here, and if there is ever anything you’d like me to answer/discuss about anything I write please do not hesitate to contact me.  You can find me on twitter most of the time @rfilsinger generally chatting nonsense and observations.  Make sure to come back next week where I’ll be posting a piece currently titled “Successes and Laments in Youth Ministry: Parents aren’t the enemy.”