"Sustainable Youth Ministry"

Rev. Mark DeVries delivers a lecture entitled, "Sustainable Youth Ministry." In the world of youth ministry, there are a handful of constant factors that thrive over the long haul.  This seminar introduces participants to those factors and offers a strategic design for instilling these foundational patterns into the fabric of any youth ministry, regardless of its model. Mark DeVries identifies patterns that persistently show up in “stuck” ministries and introduces proven principles for moving beyond stuck-ness and progressing toward a ministry characterized by strategic forward motion. Sustainable youth ministries are led by successful systems leaders.  Transformation of traditional person-centered/ program-centered ministries requires leaders who are equipped to make the leap from a short-term, patchwork ministry to one that promises staying power long after the current leadership team has moved on.  

"Participating with God: Missional Practices for Youth Ministry"

Dr. David White delivers a lecture entitled, "Participating with God: Missional Practices for Youth Ministry." Mission encounters are a staple in youth ministry and constitute an essential practice of Christian faith.  This lecture will briefly survey the theological significance of mission, reveal the historical and developmental significance of missional activities for adolescents, and will suggest best practices for missional youth ministry.  

"The Children of Divorce: Interpreting the Experience of Divorce for Youth Ministry and the Church"

Dr. Andy Root will deliver a lecture entitled, "The Children of Divorce: Interpreting the Experience of Divorce for Youth Ministry and the Church." This presentation will explore the impact of divorce on young people.  Usually (both in the church and culture) we have seen divorce as a painful occurrence that can nevertheless be overcome if the young person can be taught to think correctly about the divorce of his or her parents (“it isn’t your fault!”). Yet, such a perspective tends to distract us from larger realities.  Divorce at it core thrusts young people into questioning their very existence, “if I exist because of the relationship of these two people, who I am, and how can I be in the world, if they are no longer together?”  This presentation will examine this all too common cultural reality from a philosophical and theological perspective, seeing what difference this makes for our ministries.  

"The Arc of a Year: How Mission Drives a Youth Group Program Schedule"

Rev. Skip Masback delivers a lecture entitled, "The Arc of a Year: How Mission Drives a Youth Group Program Schedule." Youth Ministry is more than wacky games and mission trips, and it’s even more than programs earnestly planned on the fly late Tuesday night after you’re done with the confirmation class and before you stagger home. Effective youth ministers work with their colleagues, youth group members and their parents to discern the youth ministry’s mission before turning to their calendars. As the saying goes, “We mostly hit what we’re aiming at in life”. This session will focus on alternative mission statements and how to craft a cycle of programming to drive those respective missions.