Flavor Fest California!
By Will Cumby, Fuel Network National Director
Tall palm trees, warm sunny rays, fantastic street tacos, and passionate urban leaders made the Los Angeles leg of the Flavor Fest tour an unforgettable experience. Each city on the tour brings a different dynamic of leaders and community contexts. However, the constant desire is to grow in understanding what God is doing in our urban communities and how he wants to use urban ministers of the Gospel.
The Fuel Networks, powered by UYWI & DVULI, is dedicated to helping youth leaders minister well in their communities. Our aim is to provide valuable resources that not only support the work they are doing but also empower them to make a lasting impact. In California, we had great attendance at the overall conference and our Fuel Network-led workshops.
Will Cumby and Eric Johnson, DVULI Liaison for LA
Some key highlights from this stop were the outstanding support of the UYWI staff, the great engagement during our workshops, and UYWI CEO Tommy Nixon’s general session. Nearly all of the Los Angeles-based UYWI staff showed up to serve in various capacities. Using the conference theme, customized, Tommy taught and challenged leaders. Then, the Holy Spirit led multiple broken leaders seeking God’s face to the altar as Tommy closed his message in prayer.
We gained more individuals interested in joining the Long Beach Fuel Network, led by Amie Schmidgall. We also directed several visitors to our Fuel Network information table to download free leadership resources from the UYWI website and learn more about the upcoming DVULI cohorts. It was great seeing DVULI Liaison Eric Johnson there and DVULI alum Matu with a few leaders from the nonprofit where she serves as the executive director.
Our next stop is my hometown of Houston, TX. Fuel Network Leader Sean Nelson is teaching on a crucial topic: helping teens navigate depression. This is a pressing issue in our communities; his insights will be invaluable. Additionally, UYWI Next Level Coach Lenmarie Pascall is teaching holistic discipleship for urban ministry, a topic at the heart of our mission.
To register for Flavor Fest, visit FlavorFest.org, and to find out more about Fuel Networks powered by UYWI & DVULI, visit FuelNetworkPartners.org.
