Dustin Sams
"student ministry on the frontlines"

Matt Morrison – Youth Communicator

Matt Morrison was born and raised in the suburbs of Dallas, TX. He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies and a minor in Speech Communications. He is currently a student at Dallas Theological Seminary, seeking a Master of Theology.

“When I come out to a place, I love to communicate the powerful stories of the Bible. When I share stories from my own life, it helps these ancient narratives become tangible. Through that, it is my goal to see the student connect the dots and walk out differently than he came in. But above all, if I don’t take the time to invest in the kids off stage, I have failed to minister the way God has called me to.”

“To the youth leaders out there: I admire the men and women who dare to bridge that gap between the adults and the youth every time the church doors open. Your investments will live long past your own days. It is a great honor to minister alongside you from the pulpit during your events.”

Based out of Garland, TX
Contact via www.gravityministries.org

Eric Ball – Youth Communicator

Eric Ball is a great friend, father, and speaker. He would be a great fit for any event. He has a passion for students and youth pastors/workers alike. Eric is able to take the Gospel and present it in ways that resonate with people and lives are changed. I have known Eric as a mentor and he has invested in my students on a personal level, even opening his home to them. I am sure that you and your ministry will benefit from having Eric share his Faith at your event.

“As a veteran student pastor, Eric has experienced the explosive move of God in his ministry having the privilege to see it grow from three students to over several hundred students weekly. The evangelistic and discipleship strategies Eric implemented had profound affect upon the community with even non-churched parents giving financially to his youth ministry because of the impact upon their children. Eric also pioneered student missions in his church by developing its first junior and senior high student-led short-term mission trips. His vision for training led to the development of an intensive Intern Training Program which received acceptance as an official training program from the Youth Ministry Department of Columbia International University. Hundreds of young men and women received practical ministry skills and are now serving the Lord all over the world.” excerpt from www.e3ministries.com

See a quote from me from 2005 that was published in a ROYS Newsletter.

“First of all I wanted to say thanks to all of you at ROYS for your continued investment in Youth Pastors like me. Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry is a tool that allows us to bring our ministries into focus. Any youth guy with a few tricks in his pocket and some half-baked ideas can draw students, but to truly have an impact on the lives of the younger generation there needs to be a genuine desire to be in their lives for the long haul. I had some skills and even a little creativity, but what JFYM has done is bring all of those things I was doing for ministry and centralized them to be more effective, and I have seen the results first hand. I had read a little of Barry’s writings early on in my ministry and then served in a church were I had the privilege to pastor the daughters of one of your Eagle Leaders, Eric Ball. Eric invested in me in a way that didn’t seem condescending, but out of a friendship that he extended to me. Through him I began to grasp the overall idea of what JFYM was all about. I now find myself serving in a great
church in Arkansas and I am applying the JFYM biblical principles throughout our ministry here. It has been a fun ride. I am starting to see students feel the beginnings of a call to ministry, students that genuinely have a desire to see their peers know Christ, and adults that are starting to catch on, too. I prayed for other youth workers and pastors in my area that I could help mentor and train, and God has begun building those relationships, too. Matt is a young man in his 20′s who has a desire to be better equipped for ministry. (He serves in another church in town, but that doesn’t matter.) Our relationship supersedes any “turf war”.
Since becoming an Eagle Leader with ROYS, I have become even more impressed with the individuals at ROYS. There is a desire to see others become what God has planned them to be. There are no egos involved, just a passion to see students come to Jesus. You do that by multiplying yourselves. Not a new concept…just an effective one. Thanks for being there for us!” Dustin Sams, FBC Stuttgart, Arkansas

Based out of Titusville, FL
Contact via E-3 Ministries @ www.e3ministries.com

Runks Runkles: Youth Communicator

Contact him at www.runks.com

I have had the priviledge to work with Runks during our summer camp stuff. He did a wonderful job and truly loves the students. He was hangin’ with them during lunch and rec time, everywhere. His messages were right on the money and had our crowd of over 1000 locked in. Runks also spoke at our “Live Weak” event that was in January.  He once again did a great job.

Info pulled from Runks’ site www.runks.com “Runks is a crazy guy who has lived a crazy life and is a master at using hilarious stories from his life to illustrate biblical truth with clarity, authority, and depth. More than just a funny guy, he is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and addictions and has an awesome testimony of the power of God in desperate situations.

Runks has a passion to help students discover their identity in Christ, find freedom in their struggles, and follow Christ with all their heart – because they get to – not because they have to. Runks will help your students discover freedom from their pain, hope for their future, and Grace for life!!!

Runks was a Youth Minister for 7 years and in 1998 began traveling the country sharing his message of hope and freedom to teenagers, college students, and adults. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and resides in Levelland, Texas with his wife Joanna, and their two kids, Elli and Nick.”

Based out of Levelland, TX
Contact via his website www.runks.com

Speakers/Bands

Here in no particular order are guys/gals that I trust and love to work with. We all would love to have unlimited budgets but that is just not the case. I know I would…because I would surround myself with these people constantly and have a fountain machine in my office with Mt. Dew in it just to the right of my computer screen…between it and the printer…or maybe not even a fountain, just one of the those “straws” like they have on the Camelbak Hydration packs…yeah, that would be awesome…and these people in ministry are too!