*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and develoent; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. It's a fact...80% of your results in ministry will come from 20% of your efforts. It makes sense to have volunteers investing the most time in the most important parts. Shockingly, most youth ministries do the exact opposite. This track will help you understand the essentials of successful volunteer leadership and create an action plan for finding engaging volunteers who support your ministry vision and are committed to making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Congratulations! To be a volunteer youth worker is a high and wonderful calling. But yikes! Sometimes it can feel like a journey without a map or GPS. In these six short hours, we'll dive into many topics and issues to orient you and provide solid direction so you'll be making progress on the journey of youth work. Whether you're brand new to youth ministry or you've been volunteering for years, this pre-conference track can serve as a valuable compass as you navigate the world of youth ministry.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
The "everyday issues” kids are facing seem to be getting more and more complex. With addictions, abuse, eating disorders, family brokenness, self-injury, and violence on the increase, we find ourselves more often left facing the wounds of students whose trust has been deeply betrayed. Whatever the circumstances, this deep hurt makes it more difficult for kids to accept our love and ultimately much more difficult for them to experience intimacy with God. Whether you do youth ministry vocationally or as a volunteer, this practical track will help you explore the complex, everyday hurts of kids and will outline a path back to healing and wholeness.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a brand new rookie, you understand that when working with middle school students, "youth ministry as usual” doesn't quite cut it! Ministry to this age group offers its own set of challenges and opportunities. We'll explore the minds of middle-schoolers, take a look at creating ministry experiences that stick, discuss the four values essential to every junior high ministry, and much more! Join Kurt Johnston (Jr. High pastor at Saddleback) and Scott Rubin (Jr. High Pastor at Willow Creek) for this interactive, fast-paced pre-conference track.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Nobody gets into youth ministry to think about this stuff, but a lot of people get out of youth ministry because they haven't thought about this stuff! This preconference seminar will give you a chance to think strategically and theologically about four of the toughest nuts and bolts issues of ministry management.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Every youth worker wants to build a thriving ministry to teenagers, but very few know how to find the train tracks that lead to the "thriving” Promised Land. A life-transforming, sustainable youth ministry can never be built on a disjointed collection of ideas from popular books, models, or workshops.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Every youth worker wants to build a thriving ministry to teenagers, but very few know how to find the train tracks that lead to the "thriving” Promised Land. A life-transforming, sustainable youth ministry can never be built on a disjointed collection of ideas from popular books, models, or workshops.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Youth pastors and senior pastors each have their own values systems built on different criteria. Senior pastors want respect for time served, and youth pastors want to respect people who have impact. These value systems create a divide and it's hurting the church. This track will focus on building a bridge over this divide by focusing on five key areas where youth pastors and senior pastors can agree, work together, and serve each other.
*To attend this Pre-Conferece Option please add it to your registration by clicking the RSVP button above or by contacting Matt McCage at 615.349.7111 or by emailing mmccage@group.com.
Nobody gets into youth ministry to think about this stuff, but a lot of people get out of youth ministry because they haven't thought about this stuff! This preconference seminar will give you a chance to think strategically and theologically about four of the toughest nuts and bolts issues of ministry management.
You've invested your time and resources to attend SYMC, let us help you make the most of your time here! Whether you're here alone, with your spouse, or with your team, join us for this quick and casual session to learn how to understand and navigate the schedule without getting worn out! We'll also explain the innovative happenings like Connect Groups (formerly known as Affinity Groups), Peer Panels, the Shelter Ministry, and more!
An open discussion led by Rick Lawrence, Michael Novelli, and Jeff Maguire
An open discussion led by Andy Blanks, of YouthMinistry360, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Tic Long the Executive Director of Youth Specialties.
An open discussion led by Danette Matty, Leneita Fix (from The Urban Youth Workers Institue), and other in the trenches experts
Media can be a great tool to communicate with students. With so many resources at our fingertips, it's important to not use an element just because it's funny or hip, but to know when and why it's best for our program. We will breakdown the core elements of our weekly programs, and brainstorm with each other to discover the art of using video, sound, lighting, music, atmosphere, and other media elements to enhance, but not distract from our message.
You've invested your time and resources to attend SYMC, let us help you make the most of your time here! Whether you're here alone, with your spouse, or with your team, join us for this quick and casual session to learn how to understand and navigate the schedule without getting worn out! We'll also explain the innovative happenings like Connect Groups (formerly known as Affinity Groups), Peer Panels, the Shelter Ministry, and more!
Let's be honest…as youth workers we're not always the best detail-people. We all want our mission trips to be amazing and life-changing, yet the way to make that a reality is through excellent planning and preparation. BUT, you can make the most of your next short-term missions trip by learning how to "Work the Plan.” We'll take 30-plus years of short-term missions experience and show you how to chart a course that takes care of all the details of your trip.
And you'll have fun, fun, fun until Les Christie ends this workshop in prayer. If your mind is on overload and you're tired of coming away from workshops feeling guilty for what you are not doing, then this seminar is for you. This workshop promises no heavy philosophy or theology. See, hear, and play more than 20 unbelievably innovative games, and learn some gaming tricks you can use immediately. You'll go away encouraged and ready to lead your kids next week.
An open discussion led by Matt McGill, High School Pastor at Mariners Church in California, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Danette Matty, Leneita Fix (from The Urban Youth Workers Institue), and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Greg Stier, of Dare2Share Ministries, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Derwin Gray, Lead Pastor of Transformational Church in North Carolina, and other in the trenches experts
The past decade has brought tremendous technological changes to our ministries. What forms of media should you use, and how? Where do we begin with all the software? What about accomplishing the basics on a tight budget? There will be prizes worth hundreds of dollars and secrets on the best FREE resources. Whether you need interactive video elements, tips for enhancing current media uses, or help with the basics
You've invested your time and resources to attend SYMC, let us help you make the most of your time here! Whether you're here alone, with your spouse, or with your team, join us for this quick and casual session to learn how to understand and navigate the schedule without getting worn out! We'll also explain the innovative happenings like Connect Groups (formerly known as Affinity Groups), Peer Panels, the Shelter Ministry, and more!
Come find a Connect Group or just come and Connect with fellow Youth Workers. This is an intro and meet/greet for each of the Connect Groups at SYMC 2011.
Bring your dinner and begin networking with our Youth Pastors from your area or from around the world! Event will be facilitated by NNYM.
Doug Fileds with The Skit Guys
Worship led by Shane & Shane, Matt Maher
*Doors open at 6:45pm
Come hang out with Thor Ramsey, http://thorramsey.com/
Hosted by EFCA come meet other youth pastors from around the country or next door from your denomination.
Come ask your SYMTxt questions and get on the spot answers, trouble shooting, or new useful ideas.
Presented by Group Workcamps
Presented by Interlinc
An open discussion led by Dave Rahn and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by in the trench experts
An open discussion led by Derwin Gray Lead Pastor of Transformational Church in North Carolina, and Jeff Maguire, Student Ministries Pastor at Mariners Church is California
Hosted by Rick lawrence with Louie Giglio
Worship led by Tim Timmons
*Doors open at 8:45am
In a world that is moving quickly from the laptop to the mobile phone, how do you leverage the message of the Gospel and the power of community to transform your outreach and discipleship? In this seminar we will discuss the importance of utilizing one of the few tools that people take with them everywhere they. As well as how to effectively empower people to use smart phone technology to spread the Gospel.
Whether you are in your first two years of your career or your first two years, these years can be critical, taxing, exhausting, disheartening, and believe it or not, exciting. Discover new methods of understanding your calling and yourself more completely. Leadership, self-care, and spiritual growth will help lay a great foundation so that you might experience the richness of longevity in this profession.
Get your teens off the bench and into the only game that really matters-- making disciples who make disciples. Learn how to motivate and mobilize them to relationally and relentlessly reach their friends with the gospel so they become 'a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God.'
Thinking of starting a student worship band? Wouldn't it be great to have your worship defined as Spirit-filled, anointed, passionate, relevant, exciting, fresh, and deep? If you commit to the process, this session will help you get there. This workshop is for youth leaders, worship leaders, and worship team members. The goal is to help your teenagers encounter God's presence with passion.
Many youth workers want to do something for college ministry but either don't have the time to invest or the understanding of what's truly needed. Is college ministry really about having another church service or having an older, youth-ministry-onsteroids approach? Or is it much, much deeper? Learn about the things churches are embracing that truly engage and connect with the minds and hearts of collegeage people.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
We Don't Need No Stinkin' Thinkin (Head)
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and development; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. It's a fact...80% of your results in ministry will come from 20% of your efforts. It makes sense to have volunteers investing the most time in the most important parts. Shockingly, most youth ministries do the exact opposite. This track will help you understand the essentials of successful volunteer leadership, and create an action plan for finding engaging volunteers who support your ministry vision and are committed to making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Into the World: The Youth Workers and Culture
Cultural change is speeding up—whether you’re 81, 41 or 21, the teenagers you know and love are growing up in a world very different from the one you grew up in. As cross-cultural missionaries called to point teenagers to the cross, it’s not only necessary to know the Word we communicate, but also we must know the cultural context and nuances of the world we’re called to reach. In this track, we’ll unpack some of the major cultural trends shaping young people today, and lead you into an understanding of how those trends should inform and shape our ministry response.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
The Jesus-Less Gospel
Have we taken Jesus for granted in our lives and ministries that we’ve essentially stopped relating to Him as He really is? Even more, have we so “understood” Jesus that the pursuit of Him is far less interesting to us than the pursuit of relational ministry or postmodern worship or Christian disciplines or culturally relevant approaches to Bible study? If we made youth ministry a brilliant tips and techniques subservient to a youth ministry that is radically, creatively, passionately, uncomfortably centered around Jesus, how would it change the way we see our calling? More important, how would it change what we do in youth ministry? Together we’ll explore what youth ministry looks like when it follows C.H. Spurgeon’s guiding vision: “In everything you do, make a beeline to Jesus.” This track is both personally transforming and packed with ministry ideas.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
HURT: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers
The “everyday issues” kids are facing seem to be getting more and more complex. With addictions, abuse, eating disorders, family brokenness, self-injury and violence on the increase, we find ourselves more often left facing the wounds of students whose trust has been deeply betrayed. Whatever the circumstances, this deep hurt makes it more difficult for kids to accept our love and ultimately much more difficult for them to experience intimacy with God. Whether you do youth ministry vocationally or as a volunteer, this practical track will help you explore the complex, everyday hurts of kids and will outline a path back to healing and wholeness—a path which you have the privilege of walking with your hurting young friends.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Rep Your City: Developing an Urban Ministry that Fits Your City
This track is the nuts and bolts of Urban Youth Ministry. It is designed to equip leaders with innovative ideas and tools necessary to add flavor to their ministry and to connect with students in urban settings. In this interactive session, leaders will learn the practical essentials of how to plan, organize, brand, resource, and structure a healthy life-changing urban youth ministry from start to finish. This track will cover a practical approach to Urban Ministry.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Ground-Zero for Spiritual and Numeric Growth
Discipleship through small groups is the one pragmatic element that is consistently the starting point for healthy youth ministry. If you desire clear direction on How to run a thriving small group ministry, this track is for you. You’ll learn: keys to a strong volunteer base; non-negotiable ingredients for a thriving small-group program; how to sell small groups to students, parents and potential leaders; moment-by-moment small group schedule; a hand-on visualization of small group leaders led by some of Jeanne’s real students; easy ways to raise up and motivate leaders; how to avoid pitfalls that unravel small group.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30pm-12:30pm)
Rethinking Youth Ministry Effectiveness
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Start With Your Heart
We’ve all heard the alarming statistics concerning faith abandonment in the late teen years. In an extensive study of hundreds of youth ministries nationwide, Luther Seminary identified the key contributing factors to a youth ministry’s ability to develop mature faith in teenagers. In this track, Kurt and Tim will unpack the results of this fascinating study and help you put these nine best practices in place in your youth ministry to help your students develop a faith that lasts.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
The Anatomy of Stuck-ness
How do you impress a church and avoid a frustrating mismatch when you’re job hunting? And once you’ve landed the job, how can you sidestep the hidden pitfalls that drop you into hot water—or worse, get you fired? Finally, once the church loves you, how can you stay in love with your calling, your church, your students, your family, and Jesus? This seminar will answer these questions and help you become an indispensable youth pastor.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
I’m a Youth Pastor, Who Needs Theology?
With all that we do, all that we give, and all we’re responsible for, it’s easy to feel like the gas tank is on empty. And if you add to those general ministry stressors another layer of stress-shellac—the messages, philosophies, ideas, models, and strategies that you’re supposed to be implementing-you can sink in confusion. This track will help you, whether you’re brand new or have been at it for years, to lead and guide a ministry that’s theologically grounded and shaped. You’ll learn how to profoundly and proactively incarnate the Gospel into a rapidly changing youth culture.
Session 1: (Saturday 10:30am-12:30pm)
All Things Volunteers (retaining, maintaining, sustaining)
If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!
Expectations. We feel them from every direction. What do the church, my spouse, the students, and God want from me? Do you ever think you are not made to fit the perfect youth minister's spouse role? Does being a youth minister's spouse mean we lose ourselves for their ministry? We'll talk about surviving the expectations of youth ministers' spouses by being ourselves and using the gifts God has given us.
Leading others can be a very challenging task. There’s a lot of talk, theories, and philosophies about leadership out there; so much so, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. This session will get down to the nitty-gritty details of being a leader. Drawing on more than 30 years of leadership experience, Tic will explore the essential tasks and the most common temptations of effective leadership. You’ll leave with a better understanding of what it takes to become–or remain–an effective healthy leader, the kind of leader people want to come alongside.
We will be discussing how and why developing a brand (identity, logo, marketing, etc.) for your student ministry is important in order to consistently communicate to your church and community. Let's learn from each other how to create an effective identity for your ministry that people trust.
An open discussion led by in the trench experts
An open discussion led by Jason Ostrander (the C&MA's Director for Youth Ministries) and Matt McGill (High School Pastor at Mariners Church in California)
These guys send a ridiculous amount of time blogging, tweeting and other stuff. Pick their brains!
An open discussion led by Jeff Maguire, Student Ministries Pastor at Mariners Church in California, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Jim Burns, Doug & Cathy Fields
An open discussion led by Walt Mueller
Led by Darren & Katie Sutton
Some couples have one spouse involved in youth ministry. But not you. Both of you are involved in ministry! This group is all about sharing how to balance being great at your role in ministry while also being great at your role at home. Come share and grow from the stories and experiences of others.
Are you looking to connect with others who are excited and passionate about their call to youth ministry, yet feeling a little disillusioned with working in a church? Well, this is the group for you. You are not alone. Join forces with others who are feeling the same way. Be prepared to be encouraged and energized to stay true to your call!
Led by Drew Aaron
So...do you have student ministry for middle school kids all figured out yet? (Me neither!) Let’s try again...how’s your understanding of junior high youth? (Seriously, I can hear you laughing.) Come and join other youth workers who love this amazing age group as we share stories, ideas, insights, tips, challenges, and more!
Led by Joel Snyder
Married to a youth pastor and she’s a woman? Wonder what other hubbies experience with wives in youth ministry? This affinity group is for you! Joel Snyder, group leader, is both the husband of a youth pastor and a youth pastor himself, so he sees this dynamic from both sides. Guys, come and hang out for listening and learning.
Life can be crazy being married to a youth pastor! Luckily, I’ve had some wonderful mentors and friends who are on a similar journey and have a great sense of humor. Join other wives of YP’s in this community where we can visit, laugh, and encourage each other even though our stories are different.
Led by Jay Higham
We know that life can present some unique challenges for us. Sometimes positive events, other times painful ones. Ailing parents, newlyweds, loss of a child: these events can significantly mark our lives, and we cannot ignore them. If you find yourself in a “milestone” chapter of life, this may be a great place to love and be loved on.
Led by Mike Hammer
Are you serving in ministry with the special challenges of a rural community? Find you don’t have all the things to do like youth groups in the big city? Do you have to get creative to make things work for people who are spread out over a broader area? Then this Connect Group is for you!
We’re a community of individuals that have been called to help senior high students to navigate the treacherous waters of high school, to coach them in their relationship with Christ, and to be capable of doing so with a mouth full of marshmallows. We’re called to shepherd, and to manage risk. We’re all about sharing our stories, concerns, laughter, prayers, and dreams about this crazy calling we have. Welcome.
Led by Rebecca Hug
You don’t have to be married to be an effective youth worker. But being a single youth worker can present its own set of challenges. Come and share conversation with others about how to be a good leader while handling the unique situations that come with being single in ministry.
Are you entering into a new season of ministry? Maybe you’re leaving one area and beginning in another. Whether by choice or circumstance, this group is designed to give you a chance to chat about how to transition into a new ministry and leave gracefully. Change happens. Let’s help each other do it well!
Led by John Mullholland
Small church youth groups need love too! Small church settings have their own particular dynamics, yet what you do is JUST as vital to the Kingdom as big church’s youth ministries (with bigger budgets). Join our affinity group as we listen, share, cry, laugh, pray, eat...hang on for dear life!
We work in the city, often in some of th most poor and depressed communities that America has to offer. It can be tremendously rewarding, and it can wear us down. In the ever-changing world known as “Urban,” sharing best practices, relevant resources and our stories is necessary for Kingdom expansion. Come hang out and we’ll “chop it up.”
Led by Rachel Burns and Leah Zawodny
Must I be a feminazi to prove my worth in God’s mission here? Do I have to play piano and lead worship in order to cut it as a “real” woman in ministry? How can I be effective if my husband isn’t inclined toward serving in youth ministry? Let’s talk about these and anything else taking up “plate space.” Whether you’re single, married, mom or not, and in youth ministry, we’ll meet and talk through the conference.
Led by Jim Liebelt
This Connect Group is designed for those youth workers who have been serving students for 10+ years and have experienced the “good, the bad and the ugly” of youth ministry. If you have (or want) to move beyond the “bells and whistles” and want to passionately pursue health for yourself, your family and your ministry (in that order), this group is for you.
Led by Toby Rowe and Justin Dougan
First, THANK YOU for being a youth ministry volunteer. You’re the backbone of any healthy youth ministry. Two quick rules for our group: #1: You’re never allowed to say the words “I’m just a volunteer.” And #2: There won’t be any assignments or homework. SO join us to get refreshed, share our joys and vent our struggles, and gain valuable insight into being the best servant of God that we can be.
Who doesn't love a freebie? This session will give you 10 free resources to enhance your youth ministry programs.
Whether you are in your first two years of your career or your first two years, these years can be critical, taxing, exhausting, disheartening, and believe it or not, exciting. Discover new methods of understanding your calling and yourself more completely. Leadership, self-care, and spiritual growth will help lay a great foundation so that you might experience the richness of longevity in this profession.
Get your teens off the bench and into the only game that really matters-- making disciples who make disciples. Learn how to motivate and mobilize them to relationally and relentlessly reach their friends with the gospel so they become 'a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God.'
Thinking of starting a student worship band? Wouldn't it be great to have your worship defined as Spirit-filled, anointed, passionate, relevant, exciting, fresh, and deep? If you commit to the process, this session will help you get there. This workshop is for youth leaders, worship leaders, and worship team members. The goal is to help your teenagers encounter God's presence with passion.
Many youth workers want to do something for college ministry but either don't have the time to invest or the understanding of what's truly needed. Is college ministry really about having another church service or having an older, youth-ministry-onsteroids approach? Or is it much, much deeper? Learn about the things churches are embracing that truly engage and connect with the minds and hearts of collegeage people.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Looking for Leaders in All the Wrong Places (Heart)
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and development; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. It's a fact...80% of your results in ministry will come from 20% of your efforts. It makes sense to have volunteers investing the most time in the most important parts. Shockingly, most youth ministries do the exact opposite. This track will help you understand the essentials of successful volunteer leadership, and create an action plan for finding engaging volunteers who support your ministry vision and are committed to making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Trend Watching 1: The Youth Culture Landscape
Cultural change is speeding up—whether you’re 81, 41 or 21, the teenagers you know and love are growing up in a world very different from the one you grew up in. As cross-cultural missionaries called to point teenagers to the cross, it’s not only necessary to know the Word we communicate, but also we must know the cultural context and nuances of the world we’re called to reach. In this track, we’ll unpack some of the major cultural trends shaping young people today, and lead you into an understanding of how those trends should inform and shape our ministry response.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Answering the Best Question of All Time
Have we taken Jesus for granted in our lives and ministries that we’ve essentially stopped relating to Him as He really is? Even more, have we so “understood” Jesus that the pursuit of Him is far less interesting to us than the pursuit of relational ministry or postmodern worship or Christian disciplines or culturally relevant approaches to Bible study? If we made youth ministry a brilliant tips and techniques subservient to a youth ministry that is radically, creatively, passionately, uncomfortably centered around Jesus, how would it change the way we see our calling? More important, how would it change what we do in youth ministry? Together we’ll explore what youth ministry looks like when it follows C.H. Spurgeon’s guiding vision: “In everything you do, make a beeline to Jesus.” This track is both personally transforming and packed with ministry ideas.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
When it REALLY Hurts
The “everyday issues” kids are facing seem to be getting more and more complex. With addictions, abuse, eating disorders, family brokenness, self-injury and violence on the increase, we find ourselves more often left facing the wounds of students whose trust has been deeply betrayed. Whatever the circumstances, this deep hurt makes it more difficult for kids to accept our love and ultimately much more difficult for them to experience intimacy with God. Whether you do youth ministry vocationally or as a volunteer, this practical track will help you explore the complex, everyday hurts of kids and will outline a path back to healing and wholeness—a path which you have the privilege of walking with your hurting young friends.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Urban Flavor: Programming & Events that Keep Them Coming Back
This track is the nuts and bolts of Urban Youth Ministry. It is designed to equip leaders with innovative ideas and tools necessary to add flavor to their ministry and to connect with students in urban settings. In this interactive session, leaders will learn the practical essentials of how to plan, organize, brand, resource, and structure a healthy life-changing urban youth ministry from start to finish. This track will cover a practical approach to Urban Ministry.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Easy Small Group Implementation
Discipleship through small groups is the one pragmatic element that is consistently the starting point for healthy youth ministry. If you desire clear direction on How to run a thriving small group ministry, this track is for you. You’ll learn: keys to a strong volunteer base; non-negotiable ingredients for a thriving small-group program; how to sell small groups to students, parents and potential leaders; moment-by-moment small group schedule; a hand-on visualization of small group leaders led by some of Jeanne’s real students; easy ways to raise up and motivate leaders; how to avoid pitfalls that unravel small group.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
How to Discover the Right Student Mentor
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Discipleship is Key
We’ve all heard the alarming statistics concerning faith abandonment in the late teen years. In an extensive study of hundreds of youth ministries nationwide, Luther Seminary identified the key contributing factors to a youth ministry’s ability to develop mature faith in teenagers. In this track, Kurt and Tim will unpack the results of this fascinating study and help you put these nine best practices in place in your youth ministry to help your students develop a faith that lasts.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
The 411 On Sustainable Youth Ministry
How do you impress a church and avoid a frustrating mismatch when you’re job hunting? And once you’ve landed the job, how can you sidestep the hidden pitfalls that drop you into hot water—or worse, get you fired? Finally, once the church loves you, how can you stay in love with your calling, your church, your students, your family, and Jesus? This seminar will answer these questions and help you become an indispensable youth pastor.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Practical Theology: The Task of Every Youth Worker
With all that we do, all that we give, and all we’re responsible for, it’s easy to feel like the gas tank is on empty. And if you add to those general ministry stressors another layer of stress-shellac—the messages, philosophies, ideas, models, and strategies that you’re supposed to be implementing-you can sink in confusion. This track will help you, whether you’re brand new or have been at it for years, to lead and guide a ministry that’s theologically grounded and shaped. You’ll learn how to profoundly and proactively incarnate the Gospel into a rapidly changing youth culture.
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
All Things Programming (outreach, missions, worship, discipleship)
If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!
Session 2: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
All Things Programming (outreach, missions, worship, discipleship)
If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!
There was a time when there existed a definitive "other side of the tracks.” However, a new era has dawned where boundaries of city and suburbs are blurred. Urban culture and city "issues” now seem to be showing up in many venues. This workshop will discuss these issues along with practical ways to effectively minister to and with the city community. This workshop would also be appropriate for those in the city working alongside those in the suburbs.
In this class we'll look at the art of storytelling and how you can use creative and inexpensive technology to enhance your ministry. We'll look into the creative process and inspiration sources for motion graphics, videos and live service elements and take a look at some case studies and practical applications.
Bring your dinner and begin networking with our Youth Pastors from your area or from around the world! Event will be facilitated by NNYM.
Doug Fileds with Ruth Haley Barton, The Skit Guys,
Worship led by Shane & Shane
Followed by Gungor's "Beautiful Things" Worship Experience
*Doors open at 6:45pm
An open discussion led by Ted and Nancie Lowe
An open discussion led by Reza Zadeh (Young Adults Pastor at Timberline Church in Colorado) and Tim Schmoyer (StudentMinistry.org)
An open discussion led by Mark Riddle
This workshop will explore MediaShout from both practical/instructional and philosophical viewpoints. We'll walk through the basics of using MediaShout software, and exploring how to use these tools as a visual worship leader and creative artist in ministry settings.
Hosted by Rick Lawrence with The Skit Guys
Worship led by Tim Timmons
*Doors open at 8:45am
Sometimes we can get so busy working we really don't get anything done. Does this sound like you? I think it must be part of the youth worker DNA. I must confess I've tried so many different ideas, plans and software that was suppose to help me "get things done,” but usually they failed miserably. However though my trail and error I've learned a few things and come across some tools and ideas that actually work in the real work. In this session we'll talk about "Getting Things Done (GTD)” for youth workers and share some tools and ideas that might help.
Want to know more about the (actual) lives of young people? Their values and mindset are worlds apart from previous generations and in this track, you can learn how this all affects you? College-aged people find themselves in-between just about everything. And this impacts just about everything. This seminar paints a picture of insight into their minds and hearts so that you can understand what they need and desire from you, your church, and your ministry.
Get your teens off the bench and into the only game that really matters-- making disciples who make disciples. Learn how to motivate and mobilize them to relationally and relentlessly reach their friends with the gospel so they become 'a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God.'
Doug Franklin will lay out the three foundational principles that every youth worker must teach students for them to grow as healthy leaders. All through fun activities, leadership assessments, and learning exercises. You'll also learn the process of starting a student leadership team. We'll talk about the best practices and available resources to help you get off to the best start possible.
Do you currently have a student-led worship band, but want to see the worship in your youth ministry go to a whole new level? Are your students continuously challenged to grow spiritually and deepen their understanding of the meaning of worship? If you're a youth leader, volunteer, worship leader, or worship team member who is ready to take the next step, join us for a workshop of practical steps, discussion, and idea exchange.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
A New Kind of Volunteer Description (Hands 101)
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and development; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. It's a fact...80% of your results in ministry will come from 20% of your efforts. It makes sense to have volunteers investing the most time in the most important parts. Shockingly, most youth ministries do the exact opposite. This track will help you understand the essentials of successful volunteer leadership, and create an action plan for finding engaging volunteers who support your ministry vision and are committed to making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Trend Watching 2: The Youth Culture Landscape
Cultural change is speeding up—whether you’re 81, 41 or 21, the teenagers you know and love are growing up in a world very different from the one you grew up in. As cross-cultural missionaries called to point teenagers to the cross, it’s not only necessary to know the Word we communicate, but also we must know the cultural context and nuances of the world we’re called to reach. In this track, we’ll unpack some of the major cultural trends shaping young people today, and lead you into an understanding of how those trends should inform and shape our ministry response.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Helping Teenagers Find Their True Name
Have we taken Jesus for granted in our lives and ministries that we’ve essentially stopped relating to Him as He really is? Even more, have we so “understood” Jesus that the pursuit of Him is far less interesting to us than the pursuit of relational ministry or postmodern worship or Christian disciplines or culturally relevant approaches to Bible study? If we made youth ministry a brilliant tips and techniques subservient to a youth ministry that is radically, creatively, passionately, uncomfortably centered around Jesus, how would it change the way we see our calling? More important, how would it change what we do in youth ministry? Together we’ll explore what youth ministry looks like when it follows C.H. Spurgeon’s guiding vision: “In everything you do, make a beeline to Jesus.” This track is both personally transforming and packed with ministry ideas.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30pm-12:30pm)
Life Hurts, God Heals
The “everyday issues” kids are facing seem to be getting more and more complex. With addictions, abuse, eating disorders, family brokenness, self-injury and violence on the increase, we find ourselves more often left facing the wounds of students whose trust has been deeply betrayed. Whatever the circumstances, this deep hurt makes it more difficult for kids to accept our love and ultimately much more difficult for them to experience intimacy with God. Whether you do youth ministry vocationally or as a volunteer, this practical track will help you explore the complex, everyday hurts of kids and will outline a path back to healing and wholeness—a path which you have the privilege of walking with your hurting young friends.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30pm-12:30pm)
The Dream Team: How to Develop an Effective Volunteer Assimilation Process
This track is the nuts and bolts of Urban Youth Ministry. It is designed to equip leaders with innovative ideas and tools necessary to add flavor to their ministry and to connect with students in urban settings. In this interactive session, leaders will learn the practical essentials of how to plan, organize, brand, resource, and structure a healthy life-changing urban youth ministry from start to finish. This track will cover a practical approach to Urban Ministry.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30pm-12:30pm)
A Hands-On Model of a Small Group
Discipleship through small groups is the one pragmatic element that is consistently the starting point for healthy youth ministry. If you desire clear direction on How to run a thriving small group ministry, this track is for you. You’ll learn: keys to a strong volunteer base; non-negotiable ingredients for a thriving small-group program; how to sell small groups to students, parents and potential leaders; moment-by-moment small group schedule; a hand-on visualization of small group leaders led by some of Jeanne’s real students; easy ways to raise up and motivate leaders; how to avoid pitfalls that unravel small group.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Be-With Moments: Understanding What to Do When Mentoring a Student
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Sessions 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
The Youth Ministry Perception, Both Inside and Outside of Your Church
We’ve all heard the alarming statistics concerning faith abandonment in the late teen years. In an extensive study of hundreds of youth ministries nationwide, Luther Seminary identified the key contributing factors to a youth ministry’s ability to develop mature faith in teenagers. In this track, Kurt and Tim will unpack the results of this fascinating study and help you put these nine best practices in place in your youth ministry to help your students develop a faith that lasts.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Working Together—Building Teams that Win
How do you impress a church and avoid a frustrating mismatch when you’re job hunting? And once you’ve landed the job, how can you sidestep the hidden pitfalls that drop you into hot water—or worse, get you fired? Finally, once the church loves you, how can you stay in love with your calling, your church, your students, your family, and Jesus? This seminar will answer these questions and help you become an indispensable youth pastor.
Session 3: (Sunday 10:30am-12:30pm)
Taming the Practical Theology Method
With all that we do, all that we give, and all we’re responsible for, it’s easy to feel like the gas tank is on empty. And if you add to those general ministry stressors another layer of stress-shellac—the messages, philosophies, ideas, models, and strategies that you’re supposed to be implementing-you can sink in confusion. This track will help you, whether you’re brand new or have been at it for years, to lead and guide a ministry that’s theologically grounded and shaped. You’ll learn how to profoundly and proactively incarnate the Gospel into a rapidly changing youth culture.
Session 4: (Saturday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
All Things You (boundaries, time management, saying no, leaving well)
If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!
Everything about the age that we live in is saturated with sex. Teenagers are looking at sexual images on their cell phones through the midnight hours in the comfort of their bedroom. The opportunity to see or engage in sex is just like flicking an on/off switch. In this culture of casual sex it can be difficult for our youth to understand what purity is; why purity is a good idea; and how to be pure. This workshop will equip youth workers with practical tools, scriptures and activities that can be used to teach teenagers how to protect their body, mind and soul.
So secretly, deep inside, you wish you could make fun videos for your ministry; but then your run up against all those nagging doubts and excuses: "It takes too much time!” "It's too expensive!” "I couldn't film my way out of a paper bag!” This seminar is all about drop-kicking those excuses out the window and giving you tips, tricks, and shortcuts for making great videos for your ministry. It'll cover the basics of equient and software; and then dive into the process of creating the video from concept to YouTube.
Come Learn helpful tips for drama and creative expressions in your youth ministry with The Skit Guys.
Come see what's coming with the new Simply Youth Ministry Tools.
An open discussion led by Chris Yount-Jones, the executive editor of Children’s Ministry Magazine, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Anthony Flynn, Urban Youth Workers Institute, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Jim Burns, the President of HomeWord, and other in the trenches experts
Led by Darren & Katie Sutton
Some couples have one spouse involved in youth ministry. But not you. Both of you are involved in ministry! This group is all about sharing how to balance being great at your role in ministry while also being great at your role at home. Come share and grow from the stories and experiences of others.
Are you looking to connect with others who are excited and passionate about their call to youth ministry, yet feeling a little disillusioned with working in a church? Well, this is the group for you. You are not alone. Join forces with others who are feeling the same way. Be prepared to be encouraged and energized to stay true to your call!
Led by Drew Aaron
So...do you have student ministry for middle school kids all figured out yet? (Me neither!) Let’s try again...how’s your understanding of junior high youth? (Seriously, I can hear you laughing.) Come and join other youth workers who love this amazing age group as we share stories, ideas, insights, tips, challenges, and more!
Led by Joel Snyder
Married to a youth pastor and she’s a woman? Wonder what other hubbies experience with wives in youth ministry? This affinity group is for you! Joel Snyder, group leader, is both the husband of a youth pastor and a youth pastor himself, so he sees this dynamic from both sides. Guys, come and hang out for listening and learning.
Led by Jay Higham
We know that life can present some unique challenges for us. Sometimes positive events, other times painful ones. Ailing parents, newlyweds, loss of a child: these events can significantly mark our lives, and we cannot ignore them. If you find yourself in a “milestone” chapter of life, this may be a great place to love and be loved on.
Led by Mike Hammer
Are you serving in ministry with the special challenges of a rural community? Find you don’t have all the things to do like youth groups in the big city? Do you have to get creative to make things work for people who are spread out over a broader area? Then this Connect Group is for you!
We’re a community of individuals that have been called to help senior high students to navigate the treacherous waters of high school, to coach them in their relationship with Christ, and to be capable of doing so with a mouth full of marshmallows. We’re called to shepherd, and to manage risk. We’re all about sharing our stories, concerns, laughter, prayers, and dreams about this crazy calling we have. Welcome.
Led by Rebecca Hug
You don’t have to be married to be an effective youth worker. But being a single youth worker can present its own set of challenges. Come and share conversation with others about how to be a good leader while handling the unique situations that come with being single in ministry.
Are you entering into a new season of ministry? Maybe you’re leaving one area and beginning in another. Whether by choice or circumstance, this group is designed to give you a chance to chat about how to transition into a new ministry and leave gracefully. Change happens. Let’s help each other do it well!
Led by John Mullholland
Small church youth groups need love too! Small church settings have their own particular dynamics, yet what you do is JUST as vital to the Kingdom as big church’s youth ministries (with bigger budgets). Join our affinity group as we listen, share, cry, laugh, pray, eat...hang on for dear life!
We work in the city, often in some of th most poor and depressed communities that America has to offer. It can be tremendously rewarding, and it can wear us down. In the ever-changing world known as “Urban,” sharing best practices, relevant resources and our stories is necessary for Kingdom expansion. Come hang out and we’ll “chop it up.”
Led by Rachel Burns and Leah Zawodny
Must I be a feminazi to prove my worth in God’s mission here? Do I have to play piano and lead worship in order to cut it as a “real” woman in ministry? How can I be effective if my husband isn’t inclined toward serving in youth ministry? Let’s talk about these and anything else taking up “plate space.” Whether you’re single, married, mom or not, and in youth ministry, we’ll meet and talk through the conference.
Led by Jim Liebelt
This Connect Group is designed for those youth workers who have been serving students for 10+ years and have experienced the “good, the bad and the ugly” of youth ministry. If you have (or want) to move beyond the “bells and whistles” and want to passionately pursue health for yourself, your family and your ministry (in that order), this group is for you.
Led by Toby Rowe and Justin Dougan
First, THANK YOU for being a youth ministry volunteer. You’re the backbone of any healthy youth ministry. Two quick rules for our group: #1: You’re never allowed to say the words “I’m just a volunteer.” And #2: There won’t be any assignments or homework. SO join us to get refreshed, share our joys and vent our struggles, and gain valuable insight into being the best servant of God that we can be.
Come learn how to get the most out of the LIVE curriculum. We'll cover everything from getting started to tips and tricks for the advanced user. Plus we'll have time for you to ask your questions.
Want to know more about the (actual) lives of young people? Their values and mindset are worlds apart from previous generations and in this track, you can learn how this all affects you? College-aged people find themselves in-between just about everything. And this impacts just about everything. This seminar paints a picture of insight into their minds and hearts so that you can understand what they need and desire from you, your church, and your ministry.
Get your teens off the bench and into the only game that really matters-- making disciples who make disciples. Learn how to motivate and mobilize them to relationally and relentlessly reach their friends with the gospel so they become 'a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God.'
Doug Franklin will lay out the three foundational principles that every youth worker must teach students for them to grow as healthy leaders. All through fun activities, leadership assessments, and learning exercises. You'll also learn the process of starting a student leadership team. We'll talk about the best practices and available resources to help you get off to the best start possible.
Do you currently have a student-led worship band, but want to see the worship in your youth ministry go to a whole new level? Are your students continuously challenged to grow spiritually and deepen their understanding of the meaning of worship? If you're a youth leader, volunteer, worship leader, or worship team member who is ready to take the next step, join us for a workshop of practical steps, discussion, and idea exchange.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
New Insight Without Implementation=Wasted Space (Hands 201)
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and development; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. It's a fact...80% of your results in ministry will come from 20% of your efforts. It makes sense to have volunteers investing the most time in the most important parts. Shockingly, most youth ministries do the exact opposite. This track will help you understand the essentials of successful volunteer leadership, and create an action plan for finding engaging volunteers who support your ministry vision and are committed to making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Ministering In 21st Century Athens: Suggestions, Strategies, Responses
Cultural change is speeding up—whether you’re 81, 41 or 21, the teenagers you know and love are growing up in a world very different from the one you grew up in. As cross-cultural missionaries called to point teenagers to the cross, it’s not only necessary to know the Word we communicate, but also we must know the cultural context and nuances of the world we’re called to reach. In this track, we’ll unpack some of the major cultural trends shaping young people today, and lead you into an understanding of how those trends should inform and shape our ministry response.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
A Beeline for Everything In Ministry
Have we taken Jesus for granted in our lives and ministries that we’ve essentially stopped relating to Him as He really is? Even more, have we so “understood” Jesus that the pursuit of Him is far less interesting to us than the pursuit of relational ministry or postmodern worship or Christian disciplines or culturally relevant approaches to Bible study? If we made youth ministry a brilliant tips and techniques subservient to a youth ministry that is radically, creatively, passionately, uncomfortably centered around Jesus, how would it change the way we see our calling? More important, how would it change what we do in youth ministry? Together we’ll explore what youth ministry looks like when it follows C.H. Spurgeon’s guiding vision: “In everything you do, make a beeline to Jesus.” This track is both personally transforming and packed with ministry ideas.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Ministering to a Hurting Generation
The “everyday issues” kids are facing seem to be getting more and more complex. With addictions, abuse, eating disorders, family brokenness, self-injury and violence on the increase, we find ourselves more often left facing the wounds of students whose trust has been deeply betrayed. Whatever the circumstances, this deep hurt makes it more difficult for kids to accept our love and ultimately much more difficult for them to experience intimacy with God. Whether you do youth ministry vocationally or as a volunteer, this practical track will help you explore the complex, everyday hurts of kids and will outline a path back to healing and wholeness—a path which you have the privilege of walking with your hurting young friends.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Uncharted: Helping Urban Students Navigate through Tough Issues
This track is the nuts and bolts of Urban Youth Ministry. It is designed to equip leaders with innovative ideas and tools necessary to add flavor to their ministry and to connect with students in urban settings. In this interactive session, leaders will learn the practical essentials of how to plan, organize, brand, resource, and structure a healthy life-changing urban youth ministry from start to finish. This track will cover a practical approach to Urban Ministry.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Finding and Training Leaders When You Have None
Discipleship through small groups is the one pragmatic element that is consistently the starting point for healthy youth ministry. If you desire clear direction on How to run a thriving small group ministry, this track is for you. You’ll learn: keys to a strong volunteer base; non-negotiable ingredients for a thriving small-group program; how to sell small groups to students, parents and potential leaders; moment-by-moment small group schedule; a hand-on visualization of small group leaders led by some of Jeanne’s real students; easy ways to raise up and motivate leaders; how to avoid pitfalls that unravel small group.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Re-positioning Your Influence: Recognizing the Blueprint of Spiritual Formation
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Re-positioning Your Influence: Recognizing the Blueprint of Spiritual Formation
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Families and Volunteers Are Essential
We’ve all heard the alarming statistics concerning faith abandonment in the late teen years. In an extensive study of hundreds of youth ministries nationwide, Luther Seminary identified the key contributing factors to a youth ministry’s ability to develop mature faith in teenagers. In this track, Kurt and Tim will unpack the results of this fascinating study and help you put these nine best practices in place in your youth ministry to help your students develop a faith that lasts.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Assessing Your Ministry & Designing Your Blueprint
How do you impress a church and avoid a frustrating mismatch when you’re job hunting? And once you’ve landed the job, how can you sidestep the hidden pitfalls that drop you into hot water—or worse, get you fired? Finally, once the church loves you, how can you stay in love with your calling, your church, your students, your family, and Jesus? This seminar will answer these questions and help you become an indispensable youth pastor.
Session 4: (Sunday 2:30pm-4:30pm)
Leading, Loving, and Programming Theologically
With all that we do, all that we give, and all we’re responsible for, it’s easy to feel like the gas tank is on empty. And if you add to those general ministry stressors another layer of stress-shellac—the messages, philosophies, ideas, models, and strategies that you’re supposed to be implementing-you can sink in confusion. This track will help you, whether you’re brand new or have been at it for years, to lead and guide a ministry that’s theologically grounded and shaped. You’ll learn how to profoundly and proactively incarnate the Gospel into a rapidly changing youth culture.
That awful, aching, "being fried” feeling is familiar to many youth workers. Here we'll look at the main reason identified by youth workers in both the U.S. and Europe as to what sends ‘em down toward burnout-land. More importantly, we'll consider positive proactives to help keep ourselves (and those around us) fresh and renewed in ministry.
It's hard to have a healthy ministry without a healthy marriage, but the demands of ministry time and boundaries can often take a toll. Jim Burns wants every couple to experience a thriving marriage filled with A.W.E.: affection, warmth, and encouragement. In this workshop he shows husbands and wives how to make their marriage their priority as they discover ways to repair the past, communicate and resolve conflict, refresh their marriage spiritually, and more.
Sometimes parents are aware and come to you for help, and at other times you're the one faced with breaking the bad news to them. In this workshop you'll learn Biblically-based, practical principles for coming alongside parents and helping them respond to the ‘big stuff' (sexual abuse, addictions, gender identity issues, death/suicide; divorce, bullying) and the ‘not so big stuff' their kids are facing.
Leaders can't function without a healthy team surrounding them. If the first thing Jesus did when he started his ministry was build a team, then maybe as leaders we should also be focused on building a healthy team to serve with. This workshop will focus on the elements needed to build a healthy team dynamic and give you tools to effectively sustain these teams.
Creating and maintaining a website that connects with your students, their friends and parents, and the community around you can seem overwhelming without the right tools. We'll learn from each other what works and what doesn't when it comes to ministry websites. Plus we'll take a look at some simple tools that will allow you to have an effective website that won't consume too much of your limited time or finances.
Bring your dinner and begin networking with our Youth Pastors from your area or from around the world! Event will be facilitated by NNYM.
Doug Fileds with Glenn Packiam, and The Skit Guys
Worship led by Shane & Shane, and OC Supertones
*Doors open at 6:45pm
What to help breathe life into a conference for your Children's Pastor? Have ideas on how they can be celebrated or loved? Come share! We want to create a place for Children's pastors to come and refresh.
Come hang-out and talk with the OC Supertones, Doug Fields, and Jason Carson
An open discussion led by Toby Rowe, from Group WorkCamps, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Jeffery Wallace, President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, and other in the trenches experts
Come see the SYM podcast live and in person. Remember just enough youth ministry so you don't feel guitly for listening, and in this case, staying up late.
An open discussion led by NNYM, the National Network of Youth ministries, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Jason Ostrander, the C&M Alliance's Director for Youth Ministries.
An open discussion led by Jana Snyder, a co-host of a weekly teen-oriented radio talk show and podcast called Get-Real, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Kami Gilmour, the Director of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference, and her team
An open discussion led by Doug Franklin, President of LeaderTreks, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Tim Schmoyer from www.StudentMinistry.org
An open discussion led by Tic Long, the Executive Director of Youth Ministry with Youth Specailties, and other in the trenches experts
An open discussion led by Greg Stier (President of Dare2Share), Jason Ostrander (the C&MA's Director for Youth Ministries), and Christ In Youth (CIY)
Monday 9:00am-10:30am
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
Cultural change is speeding up—whether you’re 81, 41 or 21, the teenagers you know and love are growing up in a world very different from the one you grew up in. As cross-cultural missionaries called to point teenagers to the cross, it’s not only necessary to know the Word we communicate, but also we must know the cultural context and nuances of the world we’re called to reach. In this track, we’ll unpack some of the major cultural trends shaping young people today, and lead you into an understanding of how those trends should inform and shape our ministry response.
Monday 9:00am-10:30am)
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
Have we taken Jesus for granted in our lives and ministries that we’ve essentially stopped relating to Him as He really is? Even more, have we so “understood” Jesus that the pursuit of Him is far less interesting to us than the pursuit of relational ministry or postmodern worship or Christian disciplines or culturally relevant approaches to Bible study? If we made youth ministry a brilliant tips and techniques subservient to a youth ministry that is radically, creatively, passionately, uncomfortably centered around Jesus, how would it change the way we see our calling? More important, how would it change what we do in youth ministry? Together we’ll explore what youth ministry looks like when it follows C.H. Spurgeon’s guiding vision: “In everything you do, make a beeline to Jesus.” This track is both personally transforming and packed with ministry ideas.
Monday 9:00pm-10:30am
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
Discipleship through small groups is the one pragmatic element that is consistently the starting point for healthy youth ministry. If you desire clear direction on How to run a thriving small group ministry, this track is for you. You’ll learn: keys to a strong volunteer base; non-negotiable ingredients for a thriving small-group program; how to sell small groups to students, parents and potential leaders; moment-by-moment small group schedule; a hand-on visualization of small group leaders led by some of Jeanne’s real students; easy ways to raise up and motivate leaders; how to avoid pitfalls that unravel small group.
Monday 9:00am-10:30am
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
What’s the best way to form Jesus in the life of a student? Simply put, it’s to do what Jesus did. Select a few young guys or girls so that deep transformation happens for a lifetime. This track will give you and your team practical steps to ensure that spiritual transformation is happening in supernatural ways using ordinary people like you and me. If you’re ready to do something about your junior & senior high students leaving their faith after graduation, then this track is for you.
Monday 9:00am-10:30am
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
How do you impress a church and avoid a frustrating mismatch when you’re job hunting? And once you’ve landed the job, how can you sidestep the hidden pitfalls that drop you into hot water—or worse, get you fired? Finally, once the church loves you, how can you stay in love with your calling, your church, your students, your family, and Jesus? This seminar will answer these questions and help you become an indispensable youth pastor.
Monday 9:00am-10:30am
A quick overview so you can decide if you want to attend this session at SYMC 2012.
If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!
You're excited about the chance to serve with teens on a mission trip. You're energized to see how God challenges and changes people through the experience. You're signed up and ready to go. Yet somehow you still don't feel ready. In our time together, we'll unlock the secrets to a successful mission experience, preparing you for the journey through the sometimes rough but always rewarding waters of a short-term mission trip.
"Why do I feel so overwhelmed, depleted, and ineffective at balancing family, life, and ministry?” Your call to youth ministry was never meant to be at the expense of your own spirit, soul, heart, health and family! We all feel the pressure of leading at the intersection of these converging worlds. There is hope! Come learn practical insights and gain proven tools for leading beyond fumes and being FULLY ALIVE in the process.
Three artists noodling in Photoshop everyday are bound to come up with a few tips and tricks that might help you in the visually creative side of your ministry. If you're a Photoshop or Photoshop Elements user, come and spend a little time gathering some ideas, solutions, and even a few freebies. We'll be giving away some Photoshop brushes and other fun stuff.
Why in the world would anyone cut, burn, scratch, hit, bite, bang, brand, or carve his or her body? Are more kids today involved in self-injury, or are we just more aware of it happening? How do volunteer or professionally trained youth workers provide hope and healing for young people addicted to cutting or self-injurious behaviors? These and many other questions will be addressed in this fast-paced, informative, and intensely practical workshop.
Our problems with volunteer leaders don't start with recruitment and develoent; they start with flawed thinking about youth ministry. This track will help you think differently and better about finding and keeping volunteers. You'll walk away understand the essentials of successfully recruiting volunteer leaders and the best ways to keep them around for the long-haul.
So many commentaries, so little time, so much confusion, so what? This workshop will give you a big-picture look at the task of biblical interpretation: Why is it important? Why would it make a difference in the way we teach our kids? How can I do it without a load of time and a library of books? For anyone who wants to do a better job of faithfully digging into the Word, this will be a practical, helpful session.
Knowing the heart of a City Church is key no matter where you live. In this workshop we will discuss the actual pieces of a city church, learn what makes a city church, and why its important.
Hosted by Doug Fields and Rick Lawrence
Worship led by Tim Timmons
