Training Opportunities

Professional & Ministry Development

Focusing on skills, perspectives, approaches, and models that will expand or deepen your youth ministry or your skills as a youth worker, these seminars take you beyond the basics.

Schedule

Ushers of the New Wine

Virginia Ward

Seminar Series #6

Pittsburgh - Nov 3 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

Youth workers are poised for a new generation of youth. Will we pass the great taste test? Are you ready to usher in this new wine? This workshop will examine the role of the youth leader as an usher of God’s new wine.

Seven Mega-Trends Affecting Student Ministry

Paul Turner

Seminar Series #6

Pittsburgh - Nov 3 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

Many churches focus on developing student ministries and forget to develop students. That practice has caused a generation of students to graduate from high school and, in many ways, graduate from their faith. There are seven mega-trends that seem to be addressing that problem in the church today, and we’ll explore the implications of them.

Youth Ministry Branding 101: Strategic Design and Brand Development

Richard Reising

Seminar Series #6

Pittsburgh - Nov 3 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

The essence of branding is being deliberate. The cornerstone of being deliberate is knowing who you are and where you’re going. In this session Richard unfolds the importance of design and branding for your youth ministry. A well-branded ministry is one that is current and attractive, where people are proud to attend, where they feel connected and see the vision clearly. Today, branding isn’t just design or a logo or letterhead. It’s the sum perception you create in the minds of those with whom you’re trying to connect.

Secrets from the Other Side: What I Learned about Youth Ministry by Becoming a Lead Pastor

Tony Myles

Seminar Series #6

Pittsburgh - Nov 3 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

Imagine how different your approach to youth ministry could look if your foresight was more accurate. There’s perhaps no greater gift that this new vision could give your journey with God and what he’s asked of you as it fleshes out in your personal life, professional relationships, mentoring of servant-leaders, and investments into students. And not only that, but you just might understand the heart and mind of your senior pastor more clearly. (Yes, this IS possible!) While this seminar can’t give you 20/20 vision, it will certainly offer you some well-needed lenses to help you better understand some common blind spots in youth ministry. Utilizing God’s Word, real-life case studies, practical research, interactive discussion, and the personal lessons learned by a veteran youth worker turned lead pastor, you’ll be able to create a healthier approach to youth ministry that better integrates itself into the body of Christ at large.

Yours, Mine, and Ours: Ministry Life with Blended Famlies

Kerry Loescher

Seminar Series #6

Pittsburgh - Nov 3 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

It’s a crazy, mixed-up world of yours, mine, and ours. The statistics tell us that lots of marriages fail the first time around. They also tell us that more Americans live in stepfamilies than in nuclear families. Kids split their time between several households and celebrate holidays four to five times to accommodate all the in-laws, outlaws, and parental types involved in their family life. It’s complicated and sometimes messy. Come discover some practical strategies to help students not only survive but thrive when life at home isn’t like the Cleavers.

How to Productively Answer the Tough Questions About Sexual Identity

Andrew Marin

Seminar Series #5

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

When a teenager tells you he or she is dealing with same-sex attraction and then asks you questions like: “Do you think my thoughts and feelings are a sin? What if I don’t act on them? What if I do because I feel like I’m gay? Was I born this way? I believe I was born different, and I don’t want to change. The Bible says I’m an abomination and I should be put to death. Why?” These are serious questions, and they can definitively affect how a student lives the rest of his or her life. This workshop will go through each of those questions and how to productively answer them so as to build a bridge for eternity.

Hooking Up, Breaking Up, Making Up: The Perils of Teen Sex and Dating

Crystal Kirgiss

Seminar Series #5

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

Come learn about the treacherous and deadly sexual landscape of today’s teenagers and discover how parents, teens, and youth leaders can be a part of a radically new sexual revolution.

Smash-Mouth Youth Ministry: Building a Youth Ministry That Appeals to Teen Boys

Mark Helsel

Seminar Series #5

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

Is your ministry GIRLY? Do boys give up on it? Maybe it needs a shot of testosterone! Come learn how to jack up your ministry to teenage boys! We’ll look at programs, methods, and teaching styles that appeal to the roughness of guys. Strap on your helmet and join us. Both guys and girls are welcome—but no wimps allowed!

The Ripple Effect of Urban Culture

Christopher Brooks

Seminar Series #5

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 3:30 PM-5:00 PM

As urban culture expands, youth ministers have an amazing opportunity to develop relevant and theologically sound ministry models that incorporate urban elements. Hip-hop culture, urban lingo, and urban statistical data are three examples of elements that can enhance your ministry. Come join the dialogue about how to enhance your ministry by “urbanizing” it.

The Sacred Way: Developing Spiritual Practices with Teens (and Youth Workers)

Tony Jones

Seminar Series #4

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 1:30 PM-3:00 PM

A lot of us are good at teaching the Bible and telling kids how important it is to pray. But do we teach them *how* to pray? For two thousand years, followers of Christ have endeavored to have a personal devotional life with Jesus. This seminar will dig deep into that treasury of classical Christianity for some of the great gems of our faith, such as lectio divina, centering prayer, and the Stations of the Cross.

Get Dramatic: Taking Drama and Skits to the Next Level in Your Ministry

Eddie James, Tommy Woodard

Seminar Series #4

Pittsburgh - Nov 2 1:30 PM-3:00 PM

You’ve got a drama group together and going…but you just can’t figure out what to do next. The Skit Guys will give you practical tools to jump-start your drama team and principles to help you create great moments through skits, comedy, and drama.

Rethinking How We Read the Bible

Scot McKnight

Seminar Series #3 - Super Seminars

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 2:00 PM-4:30 PM

The way to discover “how” you read the Bible is to pick an odd passage, what Scot calls “blue parakeet” passages. Say, for example, the story of Jephthah. We can trot comfortably along with our Bible reading until we’re shocked by the presence of passages that remind us that we’ve ignored many passages. In this seminar, based on Scot’s book The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, we’ll look at how we read the Bible and how Story can open up the whole Bible to us in a new way. We’ll use “Women in Ministry” as an example of passages that might startle us into rethinking how we read the Bible.

Mentoring Toward Maturity: Fostering Wisdom in Young Heroes

Mark Matlock

Seminar Series #3 - Super Seminars

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 2:00 PM-4:30 PM

Every student is a hero on a journey to maturity in Christ. Along the way we act as mentors, Yodas, Gandalfs, and Mr. Miyagis, if you will, to these young heroes who are beginning their epic quests. This interactive seminar will help you develop your mentoring skills, and it will also provide tools for developing wisdom in the students you’re bringing to maturity in Christ.

Graphic Secrets for Youth Ministry: Photoshop and Beyond

John Falke

Seminar Series #3 - Super Seminars

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 2:00 PM-4:30 PM

Don’t ruin a great youth ministry with poor design. Learn a bag full of tricks for improving your designs with edgy and popular effects. Uncover many timesaving tips for generating buzz that’s truly cost-effective. Utilize the secrets (and tools) that innovative churches employ to draw in the crowds.

Creative Juices: Tapping Into the Creativity in You and Your Team

Les Christie

Seminar Series #3 - Super Seminars

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 2:00 PM-4:30 PM

You’ll discover how very creative you are in this fast-paced, media-driven seminar. You’ll also find out what hinders you from releasing not only your creativity, but also the creativity of your team. You’ll learn how to remove the five stumbling blocks to being the creative person God designed you to be. You’ll become skilled at the nine tricks of the trade that imaginative people use. You’ll discover the eight catalysts that trigger inventiveness. And you’ll leave this seminar feeling confident and enthused about how original, clever, and resourceful you are in God’s creation.

Loving and Leading Girls Through Adolescent Chaos

Jeanne Stevens

Seminar Series #2

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 8:00 AM-9:30 AM

Walking girls through their adolescent years can sometimes feel like you’re lost in a jungle without a map. Navigating through the terrain of body image issues, morphing identities, difficult friendships, shifting spiritual perspectives, the exploration of sexuality, family tensions, and so much more can be overwhelming. This seminar is designed to encourage, equip, and empower those of us who work with adolescent girls to know how to better love them and lead them through their adolescent years. • Professional & Ministry Development Seminar—Sacramento, Pittsburgh, and Nashville, Saturday, October 11, November 1, and November 22, 8:00am

What Every Youth Leader Needs to Know About Marketing

Richard Reising

Seminar Series #2

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 8:00 AM-9:30 AM

Marketing is not about sugarcoating or misrepresenting something. It’s about effectively connecting with people. As a matter of fact, Richard will challenge that “over 50% of churches in the United States should not promote themselves.” Effective marketing begins long before promotion does. Richard will help you understand the core principles behind an effective marketing strategy and make decisive strides and adjustments in how you connect and effectively communicate with people—creating word-of-mouth success long before you begin branding and advertising.

Church and Culture, Style and Substance: Understanding the Trends That Shape the Way You Reach the Next Generation

Margaret Feinberg

Seminar Series #2

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 8:00 AM-9:30 AM

What does the personalization of M&M’s, the popularity of music downloads, and the exponential growth of Google have to do with the future of your church and reaching the next generation? In this fresh, insightful presentation, we’ll explore the buzzwords and, more importantly, the crucial trends taking place in our culture and what they mean as you seek to raise up followers of Christ.

Expanding Your Creativity for Kingdom Purposes

Mark Matlock

Seminar Series #2

Pittsburgh - Nov 1 8:00 AM-9:30 AM

How can we accurately assess the spiritual development of students? This has been a perennial challenge for youth leaders. In this seminar Mark will lift the hood on a new assessment tool—“The Wisdom Index”—used for assisting in the discipleship of teens, and allow you to be a part of developing the measure and applying it in your youth ministry. Be a part of developing a tool that can help youth workers disciple teens across the nation.

From Youth Room to Dorm Room: Helping Your Students Prepare for College

Crystal Kirgiss

Seminar Series #1

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

Psych 101: “You are a god unto yourself.” Philosophy 101: “God is a human construct.” Human Sexuality 101: “Let’s watch porn.” World Religions 101: “God is relative.” Regular feature in the school newspaper: “Sex position of the week.” Are your students ready for the freedoms and challenges of college life? Come learn how you can help prepare them.

Dealing with Difficult Girls

Kerry Loescher

Seminar Series #1

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

Sugar and spice and everything nice—that’s what girls are made of? Then what’s up with those moments when you need a flow chart just to keep up with who said what and who’s mad at whom? Or other moments when you watch girls that you’ve poured your heart and life into make choices that cause you to wonder if they’ll ever have a chance for a future? Some days there just isn’t enough Kleenex or chocolate to keep up with the drama. Yet God has a tender heart and a specific plan for his daughters. Come gain practical insight into the “chick network” through honest discussion about the webs and layers of young women’s relationships, as well as the process of decision making in the creative, complex, and sometimes not-so-pretty adolescent “girl world.” You’ll also discover practical ways to not only deal with, but also disciple young women through the not-so-sugar-and-spice moments.

Transformational Leadership

Dan Webster

Seminar Series #1

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

We all long to see real life changes in the students we serve. Why doesn’t it happen more? Often it’s because our lives aren’t a living catalyst that inspires change in our students. Every effective student ministry leader I know lives in the caldron of being personally transformed by God. This reality grants them a powerful authority as they lead students. Staying in the change process personally unleashes a movement that ripples throughout their ministries. In this session we’ll address how to become this type of transformational leader.

Speaking Technique: An Advanced Workshop in Speaking to Teenagers

Duffy Robbins

Seminar Series #1

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

Seminar description coming soon.

Deep Justice in a Broken World: Helping Students Serve Others and Right the Wrongs Around Them

Kara Powell

Seminar Series #1

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 4:00 PM-5:30 PM

It probably doesn’t take a long list of statistics to convince you that our world is broken. If you’re like most youth workers, then mission trips, service projects, and supporting children through relief organizations are just a few of the ways that you engage your students in serving the least, the last, and the lost. As helpful as these things may be on the surface, that’s where they remain—at the surface. The problems, however, run far deeper than an occasional paint job or fundraising project can solve. But it’s not hopeless. Deep justice is possible in your ministry. This seminar provides a scripturally grounded paradigm that moves your ministry beyond short-term Band-aids to long-term systemic solutions that benefit both your students and the world around them. You’ll leave with all sorts of practical ideas, which youth ministries are already implementing, that can help your students serve others and right the wrongs around them.

Rap It, Tag It, Speak It, Flip It: Getting Kids to Experience God's Word in a Fresh Way

Fred Lynch

Early-Bird Seminars

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 10:00 AM-11:30 AM

As communicators of truth, one of our greatest tasks is to make the Bible come alive and be relevant to teens. Discover how to share the Word of God in exciting new ways. Learn new Scriptures and recall Scriptures you’ve previously memorized. Become skilled at training students to think, speak, and act from a scriptural basis.

Parent Fuel: For You and Your Ministry

Early-Bird Seminars

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 10:00 AM-11:30 AM

Parents have the greatest influence on their kids. So how do we max out that influence? Parents seem to run on empty when they try to relate to their kids on a deeper level and help them to grow spiritually. Youth leaders tend to coast on fumes as they struggle to connect with the parents and give them the necessary tools to disciple their kids. This Parent Fuel seminar fills up the influence tank for both parents and youth leaders. Parents will find ways to connect with their kids heart-to-heart and to disciple them. Youth leaders will gain practical solutions to bridge the gap between themselves, the parents, and the kids. Parents and youth leaders will both discover how to equip parents to love God with all of their hearts and to lead their kids to do the same!

Ministering in the Trenches to Hurting and Addicted Teens

Megan Hutchinson

Early-Bird Seminars

Pittsburgh - Oct 31 10:00 AM-11:30 AM

Every youth group has hurting kids who act out through cutting, drinking, smoking, watching porn, eating disorders, and so on. In this seminar we’ll talk about the questions all kids ask, the developmental stuff they face, and practical ways you can make a difference, including the use of an eight-step recovery group that’s proven to work with thousands of students in the church, juvenile treatment centers, group homes, and public schools. They need our help!