Critical Concerns Courses
Come a day early to participate in one of our 6-hour Critical Concerns Courses. Get in-depth training on issues that matter to you and your ministry. These Critical Concerns Courses cost $50 with a Convention registration and $100 for the course alone. Register now—space is limited.
- Deep Ministry in a Shallow World
- Extreme Makeover Tech Edition: Building a Better Student Ministry Through Technology
- Equipping Your Volunteer Leaders to Shepherd Students in a Changing Culture
- Dangerous Opportunity: Helping Kids + Families in Crisis
- The Present Future of Youth Ministry: Rethinking Traditional YM Models
- Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages
- Leading From the Pages of Your Life
- Youth Ministry and Marriage
Deep Ministry in a Shallow World
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Chap Clark, Kara Powell |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Chap Clark, Kara Powell |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Megan Hutchinson, Kara Powell |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Megan Hutchinson, Kara Powell |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Chap Clark, Megan Hutchinson |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Chap Clark, Megan Hutchinson |
Do you ever feel like you’re working hard in youth ministry but you’re not reaching your full potential? Do you ever feel like you’re splashing around in the shallow end with kids instead of living out the deep ministry of God’s Kingdom adventure? In this Critical Concerns Course, Chap Clark, Kara Powell, and Megan Hutchinson share the insights of the latest research and perspectives on youth ministry gleaned from the work of the Fuller Youth Institute, and offered in Chap and Kara’s best-selling books, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World and Deep Justice in a Broken World, as well as Megan’s 8-step recovery program, Life Hurts God Heals. This interactive training is for everyone who wants to take their ministry to deeper levels. You’ll learn to use the Deep Ministry model, critically assess your current ministry, and discover how to incorporate new ideas into your ministry setting that will take your ministry deeper in purpose, leadership, discipleship, teaching, justice work, mentoring, and engagement with kids and culture.
Extreme Makeover Tech Edition: Building a Better Student Ministry Through Technology
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jay Delp, Joel Lusz |
Today's teens and technology revolution continues to march on! You can stay in step or wander off out of sync. This course will get you up to speed and stretch your existing use of technology in your ministry with students and staff. In addition to diving into Web 2.0 concepts such as blogging, podcasts, and social networking, we’ll explore presentation software, communication and media tools, and teach you to create your own videos. Help make this course meet your needs by joining the Open Source network prior to the event. You’ll connect with the presenters and other attendees and help shape the course to meet your needs. In this course, you'll receive a truly creative smorgasbord of technology, techniques, ideas, and resources (with a generous smattering of freebies sprinkled throughout, including a free CD-ROM of media content for each attendee).
Equipping Your Volunteer Leaders to Shepherd Students in a Changing Culture
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Chris Folmsbee, Kelly Lashly |
There is only one of you. Regardless of how efficient and effective you might be, you can't possibly do it all yourself. At times, for the sake of the students and their families, you wish you could do it all but the truth is that each of us needs a team of people surrounding us and supporting us. We need volunteers that understand their role as shepherds and seek ways in which to minister out of their role. This course will guide you in thinking strategically about equipping your volunteers as advocates, advisors, and guides—three critical roles of any volunteer. This course will also provide you with tools and resources to help you effectively train your volunteers as they seek to nurture students in this culture of inevitable change.
Dangerous Opportunity: Helping Kids + Families in Crisis
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Hancock, Rich Van Pelt |
Bullying, cutting, death, divorce, eating disorders, sexual assault, suicide, violence, addiction... If you work with kids and families, you will face crisis—the question is whether you’ll know what to do. This interactive experience prepares novice and veteran youth workers and educators to distinguish crisis from normal adolescent angst; how to respond effectively in two dozen widespread crisis scenarios; when and how to call in reinforcements, how to guide kids into healthy self-assessment; and how to partner with parents and schools before, during, and after a crisis.
The Present Future of Youth Ministry: Rethinking Traditional YM Models
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Mark Helsel, Brock Morgan |
What should youth ministry look like today and what will it look like in 2020? Culture is changing by the second and the issues students are dealing with are like no other generation before them. So how do we respond? And are we actually willing to adapt? Are we willing to change our youth ministry methods and truly care for the hearts, minds, and souls of our students and do the work that's not currently being done? Drawing on 34 years of combined youth ministry experience Brock and Mark will share their own successes and failures and give insights into the future direction of youth ministry. This new and insightful course will be fun, interactive, and very practical as we dig into the current and future youth ministry trends, explore the current state of teenage spirituality, and share new ideas you can easily apply in your ministry setting.
Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Duffy Robbins |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Duffy Robbins |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Duffy Robbins |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Duffy Robbins |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Duffy Robbins |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Duffy Robbins |
Chances are you’ve been asked to speak to a group of teens at one time or another. Whether those words are spoken in Sunday school, at summer camp, at a Young Life club, at a Friday night outreach, at a pre-game devotional, at a Sunday night meeting, or whether they’re spoken by someone who’s serving in ministry full-time, part-time, overtime, or as a volunteer, the intent of this seminar is to help you speak to students more effectively and with great impact. This session will help anyone who speaks to teenagers to look squarely at both the unique challenges and opportunities of that mission. It will also, in a practical and encouraging way, offer some strategies for planning, preparing, thinking about, studying for, crafting, and delivering a message that will connect with students.
Leading From the Pages of Your Life
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Dan Webster |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Dan Webster |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Dan Webster |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Dan Webster |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Dan Webster |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Dan Webster |
Type in “leadership” at Amazon.com and you will get over 20,000 hits. There is so much being written on the topic today it's difficult to know what are core elements to leadership and what are simply other people’s ideas. Many youth workers are tempted to listen to the latest loud voices in student ministry and then shape their ministries around those instead of hearing and following the quiet voice of God within. Freedom and life will come for you when you live within the bounds of who God has made you to be. Impact will come as you discern both your calling and passion—and then live from that. A heavenly authority will come when you lead your ministry from your authentic walk with God. How do you do all this? In this CCC, you’ll learn how to lead from the pages of your life instead of the pages of the latest book.
Youth Ministry and Marriage
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 9 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jim Burns, Cathy Burns |
| Sacramento (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 10 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Burns, Cathy Burns |
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Cathy Burns, Jim Burns |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Burns, Cathy Burns |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Jim Burns, Cathy Burns |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Jim Burns, Cathy Burns |
This Critical Concerns Course focuses on cultivating a healthy marriage in the midst of ministry. Through discussions, personal interaction, and shared insights from 30-year veterans of simultaneous marriage and ministry, you’ll learn how to keep a marriage growing despite the daily ministry stresses. Jim and Cathy will cover topics such as overcommitment, spouse involvement, children, sex, finances, spiritual growth, communication, and more! Everyone who attends will receive more than a dozen communication sheets to assist them in continued growth and future interaction. Jim is the author of the best-selling book Creating an Intimate Marriage.
Catalysts for Spiritual Growth
| City | Date | Seminar Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh (Day 1 of 2) | Oct 30 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Reggie Joiner |
| Pittsburgh (Day 2 of 2) | Oct 31 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Reggie Joiner |
| Nashville (Day 1 of 2) | Nov 20 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Reggie Joiner |
| Nashville (Day 2 of 2) | Nov 21 8:30 AM-11:30 AM | Reggie Joiner |
If each one of us really looked at our lives, there are mile-markers for own spiritual growth. There are events, people, and moments when we transitioned from information about God to something real, deeper, and more authentic. As youth workers, we hope to provide opportunities for our students to engage in a relationship with God that is also real, deep, and authentic—but how? This practical course will offer you a clearer understanding of what drives authentic discipleship, along with the best practices of churches that have dared to rethink their spiritual growth strategy. You’ll discover a unique framework to help redesign your curriculum and program to be more effective, and you’ll get tools to challenge students (and leaders) to take ownership of their personal spiritual development—helping students continue on in their spiritual growth beyond graduation.
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