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ABOUT THOMAS
Thomas Brackeen is a servant leader who has over 29 years of experience working with youth and young adults in the DC area through PG Parks and Recreation, coaching in various basketball leagues, and serving at different churches in the DC Metro area. He is also the founder of Keep It Real Fridays, a platform that was designed as a safe space for youth and young adults to express their authentic voice through the creative arts and receive spiritual encouragement. His mission is to empower young people and the leaders who serve them to make an impact in this world.
He is affectionately known to some of his peers as the “Youth Pastors’ Pastor as he has dedicated a portion of his life to mentoring, coaching, and systems thinking for youth and young adult ministry. He fulfills these roles various national youth ministry organizations and through his newly started business TBJ Enterprises, LLC.
Professionally he works in his current role as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead at The Nature Conservancy, where he has worked for the past eleven years. He works in Philanthropy Leadership and across the organization to develop systems thinking and change management strategies. These strategies are focused on hiring & recruiting policies, engaging a diverse nontraditional donor base, discrimination & harassment prevention, and enhancing inclusivity within work culture.
MISSION
To empower organizations and youth leaders to thrive relationally and equip Gen-Z and Gen Alpha holistically through strategic coaching, consulting, and inclusive innovation.
EQUIPPING LEADERS TO HELP
VISION
To be an organizational partner that helps to facilitate transformative growth and inclusive innovation, inspiring organizations and youth leaders to harness the full potential of Gen-Z and Gen Alpha for a brighter, more
collaborative future.
EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO SERVE
COMPANY VALUES
We value helping to serve leaders and organizations that are invested in the commitment of young people, especially those organizations that support urban and suburban students in
low-opportunity communities.
WHAT WE DO
COACHING
CONSULTING
STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT
WORKSHOP
FACILITATION
WORKED WITH. WORKED WITH. WORKED WITH. WORKED WITH.
VIDEOS
TBJ Videos
BLOGS
The Power Of Networking
Doing ministry alone was something I never wanted to do when I started almost 22 years ago. I knew that if I wanted to succeed in my work, I would need to learn from those around me. Earlier on, when I began doing youth ministry, I only had seven young people. Instead of attempting to mimic what others were doing at different churches, I gathered my young people and took them to various churches a few weekends a month.
The Power of Shared
Mission and Vision
A few years ago, I thought I was going to quit youth ministry. I struggled with the thought of getting into my forties. I also thought about whether I was still relevant. I was worn down by the effects that the pandemic had on our world as a whole and how it seemed like everything we had built up evaporated that quickly. We were having amazing intergenerational fellowships. We had started peaking in our in-person youth church, which we started one Sunday a month. We had started a virtual youth church, and it started strong but it just didn’t sustain.
4 Tips on Making Next Gen Ministry a Lifelong Career
Ever since I was 14, I knew I wanted to work with young people for the rest of my life. Though I was still learning to understand God’s voice, it was clear that this was my calling. At Oxon Hill High School in PG County, Maryland, I wrestled with the idea of becoming a child psychologist, sociologist, or elementary school teacher. This calling was affirmed when my first job at 15 was as a summer camp counselor, and I began volunteering as an assistant recreational league basketball coach, eventually becoming a head coach at 16.