Christian artists to appear at youth convention

Pursuing a career as a musician or a youth worker necessarily requires patience, skill and perseverance. Both paths obviously also take a certain unwillingness to completely grow up.

The Southern California-based company Youth Specialties taps into those shared sensibilities, conducting three National Youth Workers Conventions annually — including the one that runs through Monday at the Nashville Convention Center — that feature Christian artists and speakers sharing wisdom, motivation and music.

The conventions are the capstones of YS's wide-ranging efforts to serve youth workers, both paid and volunteer.

"It's a weekend really to celebrate them, to equip them, to encourage them," says Dave Palmer, Youth Specialties' vice president of marketing. "The tone of the first session is usually, 'Whatever you need to make this weekend for you, do it. If you really need the teaching, if you really need the worship music, then immerse yourself in it.

" 'At the same time, if you're here with your spouse and what the two of you really need is some time away from everything because of the amount of pressure put on (you) during the year, go lock yourself in your room, get room service, come out in four days, order the DVDs and tell your pastor you had a great time.' "

The vibe that creates, according to feedback Palmer says Youth Specialties have routinely gotten back, is an inclusive one — the sense that "everybody gets what we do."

"They don't ask 'When are you going to be a real pastor? When are you going to grow up?' " he says. "It's being in a room full of people that have this same desire to invest their lives into the lives of teenagers."
Artists get exposure

The conventions also provide opportunities for exposure for veteran and newcomer Christian music artists, something for which Palmer has a unique eye. He spent many years as part of a variety of Nashville-based music companies — including stints at Gotee, Reunion and Rocketown Records — before relocating to San Diego to work for Youth Specialties earlier this year.

"I think that our audience is more in tune with what teenagers are listening to than any other gatekeeper audience. At the same time, you really want to get music to the people for whom it's intended," Palmer says. "If you experience an artist in a situation where it's set up for you to be accepted and you get the sense that that artist understands you, then I think you're more willing to bring that music back to your students."

Jars of Clay, David Crowder Band, MercyMe, Kendall Payne and Starfield are among the artists scheduled to perform at the convention this weekend, and most find takeaway value, both personally and professionally, for playing YS events.

"There are so many good people involved that are trying to change their corner of the world, and we're all about supporting that interest," says Jars of Clay guitarist Stephen Mason. "It's a unique gathering of people who want to assist kids in asking good questions about life as they're forming a worldview. Beyond that, it's a giving back and an honoring of the selfless hours these people dedicate to that opportunity to impact kids."

Former Nashville resident Payne, who found early success both on Christian labels and in the mainstream and has since refocused her efforts as an independent artist, finds the filter of Youth Specialties helpful when wading through performance requests.

"I compare it to my TV and film placements, of which I've had a few, thankfully," Payne says. "You have the opportunity to impact so many more people for such a little amount of effort, and for an independent artist who doesn't have the ability to buy on to a tour, to market myself the way major labels do, they have been an absolute godsend, both the company and the people who are involved in it.

"If out of 5,000 people, 100 think 'I'm going to look into that,' and I can book 50 of those shows, I'm forever indebted to them," she continues. "Giving me that 15 minutes to show what I'm capable of doing is everything for me."


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