Ministry with young teens (junior high or middle school) tends to be misunderstood and undervalued, when in reality it has become one of the most important life stages in terms of life-long faith development. We’ll touch on some of the critical realities facing young teens today, and provide some values for framing your ministry to this amazing age group.

In what ways might teenagers be uniquely reflecting the Imago Dei, the theological concept of being made in the image of God? Understanding the uniqueness of adolescent development (which, really, means understanding teenage brains) is critical to effective youth ministry. Understanding teenage brains should impact everything you do in the practice of youth ministry.

All teenagers are wrestling with three ‘tasks’: Identity, Purpose and Belonging. But in our current culture, belonging has become the lens through which the other tasks are viewed. We’ll talk about why this shift occurred, and how we should respond.

We recognize that all of our students struggle with comparison. This session is geared especially towards women who serve with teen/pre-teen girls, but all are welcome.

Comparison is robbing our teenage girls from a life of freedom in God. It strips away our unique, God given qualities and shifts focus to our flaws. The church needs to be equipped to fight this spiritual battle with more than self-love and inspiring quotes. This session will address the issues of comparison, self-esteem, diet culture and social media. We’ll explore current research and trends on how comparison is impacting our students and how we can practically use Biblical truths to guide students to freedom from distorted thoughts and beliefs.

This breakout will address the challenges and advantages of serving the students and families of Rural America. We will share tips, and ideas on how to work with a small budget, small staff, and small groups. We hope to encourage your ministry with ideas and helpful tips that you can use in your ministry now!

Love is an emotion or affection that is principally communicated through some form of action. In order to effectively communicate love towards another, we must communicate according to how that person receives love, which can be known as their “Love Language.” How often have we endeavored to communicate love to another only to have fallen short in communicating it in a way that they were able to receive it? In the like, how often have we endeavored to effectively connect with or create welcoming and loving ministry spaces for individuals of another culture (ethnic, gender, economic, generational) only to fall short of doing so in an effective way? In this breakout we will identify and discuss basic principles necessary to be effective and productive in cross-cultural engagement.

Opening Session Plenary Talk for YLC 2019

Closing Session

How do we build meaningful relationships with teenagers? How do we build trust with them? How do we move from acquaintances to a place where we’ve earned the right to share the Gospel? This seminar will offer practical application and biblical truths that flesh out the complexities of relational youth ministry. Together, we’ll explore what it looks like to not only share the love of Jesus with teenagers, but to share our very lives with them as well.

Ever feel like your small group is out of control? Are you worried that some nights you will never get to the content? There are times when we need to decide whether to manage, channel, or just embrace the craziness in our groups. This breakout will offer practical strategies for managing the most rowdy and challenging (and loveable!) students.