Youth Leader Training and Retreat

Schedule | Keynote Speaker | Workshops | Hotel

Mar 22-24, 2019

at Wesley Freedom UMC
961 Johnsville Rd
Sykesville, MD 21784

Youth leaders need restoration and spiritual uplifting as they minister to the youth in our communities. Join us for a weekend with other youth workers and experts in the field for a time of worship, retreat, learning, and networking.

Schedule

Contact

Cheryl Cook
Coordinator of Young People and Special Projects

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me

Keynote info:

Melissa Rau,
Lead Consultant, Ministry Architects

Married to an Episcopal priest, Melissa grew up in the church and has served in children’s and youth ministries in a number of denominations since 1997 as a paid staff person and volunteer in small and large churches in Philadelphia, New York City, and Connecticut. Melissa enjoys speaking at retreats and workshops for clergy, church leaders, volunteers, parents, and youth. She has authored curricula and numerous articles with Group Publishing, and is a guest blogger for a number of online blog sites. She’s currently working on her first book project. Melissa and her husband, Mike, live with their two daughters and a son: Talie, Kiersten, and Peyton, all who are over the age of ten! She loves to read, and she’s particularly fond of giraffes and the color orange.

Workshops:

From Passion to Practice - Rick Slenk

How can you be intentional about using your passion for ministry to create and maintain a strong, vibrant identity for your youth program, one that impacts your students, the church and the community? In this session, we will examine the essential conversations and practices that will define identity, enable “buy-in” and engagement from your students, and orient your program towards long term continuity and purpose.

Helping Hurting Kids - Kathy Kaufman

How can ministries develop Common Language for Sexual Identity Conversations and Create a Safe Place for Kids who are hurting? In this session, we will examine what it means to be a safe place for students, how to create it and how to have a common language for sexual identity conversations.

Connecting the Dots - Daniel Barnett

How do purpose, schedules, and budgets relate to each other? How can we boost income to achieve our purpose, create a schedule to carry out and a budget to support it. In this session, we will examine Purpose, Schedules, and budgets and how they all tie together.

How Spaces Affect Behavior - Matthew Surber, Program Director of West River Retreat & Camping Center:

We must acknowledge that the spaces we work in are often as impactful as the lessons we plan. This workshop will focus on how location, set up, and design can all impact the behaviors you see in your groups. Discussion will be combined with more practical assessment as we make use of, and think critically about the spaces where we gather. You will leave equipped to identify changes that could/should be made in your own churches.

Family-Supportive Youth Ministry: Partnering With Parents & Families - Dave Showalter, Youth Pastor at St. Paul UMC:

If you've been in Youth Ministry for about a week, you've no doubt realized that with all our culture puts on youth and families, it is no small challenge to minister effectively to/with/for/through both. But there are "things to know and things we can do" to better answer this joyful and so-often-fast-paced calling with our youth and their families. Join in the conversation as we explore both background (things it's really good to know/realize) and practical applications (things we can do) to help disciple the youth and families God has entrusted to our care.

Making Disciples Who Disciple - Michele Field, Founder and Executive Director of FireStorm Drama Ministry Team:

Becoming a disciple of Jesus does not mean completing a curriculum or attending a Church activity. It is a lifestyle of becoming more like Jesus. -

Using the 4 Chair Discipling method, we’ll explore what it looks like to live out Jesus’ last words to “Go… and Make Disciples… Baptize… and Teach.” We will look at disciple-making as a process of moving people through four chairs, from someone seeking to know more about Christ to someone who makes disciples themselves.

Chair 1: Come and See (John 1:39)
Chair 2: Follow Me (John 1:43)
Chair 3: Become a Fisher of Men (Matthew 4:19)
Chair 4: Go and Bear Fruit (John 15:16)

Jesus realized that different people are at different stages of growth and development, and He worked to challenge each of them to the next level. In 4 Chair Discipling, you’ll get a clear and simple picture of how to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and do the same thing.

A Fruitful Life—An effective approach to balancing your time with Melissa Rau

Between the busyness of work, church, family life, and other demands on our time, it might feel like we don’t have anything left for nurturing healthy relationships. In this workshop, participants will learn an effective system for living an intentional life—one that takes into account a healthy balance for one’s personal life, job, and for building stronger relationships.

Hotel:

Hampton Inn Baltimore/Owings Mills

10521 Red Run Blvd

Owings Mills, MD 21117