RELOAD Workshops

PRACTICAL

[101]  Reaching High-Risk Youth:  written by Scott Larson

One in four youth are deemed at-risk of not developing into healthy adulthood. What works for the majority of kids in a youth ministry generally doesn’t work with these kids. Can we offer them more than “three strikes and you’re out?”  Learn proven models of programming to effectively reach them with the Gospel.

[101]  Transforming Your Youth Ministry Overnight:  written by Lee Wilson

Everyone who works with youth in the city longs to see them transformed into vibrant followers of Christ. We would all like to believe that there is one, bottled “formula” to make this happen.  Christ however, sees, each heart and wants to meet that person at their point of need. There are some practical tips, however, that can help to bring your ministry along to help see this happen. In this session we will be exploring some different elements to bringing transformation to your ministry through learning to meet young people from the city where they are.

[101] Don’t Waste Your Creativity: Writing Inspiring Lessons that Challenge the Heart:  written by BJ Thompson

Up to eighty-eight percent of children who grow up as professing Christians will denounce their faith by the second year of college. Youth pastors and teachers have an incredible opportunity to shape the lives of the next generation, “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). This workshop explores writing lessons that will challenge hearts, producing hunger and obedience to God in a crooked world.

[101] (2-Part) The First Two Years of Urban Youth Ministry:  written by Larry Acosta

If you’re new to youth ministry or need a fresh start, this one’s for you! You may be asking questions like: Where do I begin? What is most essential? What are the best ways to build a volunteer team? How can I better connect with youth in the church and beyond the four walls? Learn a step-by-step process for mapping out your first two years in urban youth ministry.

[301]  Youth Ministry = Team Ministry: Keys to Building Local Youth Events and Regional Coalitions: written by Jack Redmond

Building a strong local youth ministry requires a team of powerful servant leaders.  These leaders can work together to build an ongoing life changing youth experience both within a local church/organization, or involving several local ministries. Learn principles on planning and organizing a one-time event, ongoing service, or even a coalition between youth programs to work together to influence a city.

[301] (2-Part) Moving From Youth Ministry to Community Transformation:  written by Noel Castellanos

Urban Youth Ministry is traditionally focused on working with individual youth, but so often our efforts are sabotaged by the unhealthy environment where our kids and families live.   In this workshop, we will examine CCDA’s proven biblical approach to restoring urban communities that works to create healthy neighborhoods where youth and their families can not just survive, but thrive as agents of God’s redemptive work in the cities of our nation.

[401] (2-Part) Youth-Adult Partnerships:  Mobilizing Your Youth as Agents of Change:  written by Lina Thompson

This foundational training describes our approach to transformational development where the role of children and youth is paramount-both as beneficiaries and as change agents in the development around them. Learn how to build youth programming in the context of community, while your teen leaders are simultaneously discussing the “value” of community impact.

[401]  Scenario Planning:  written by Marge Bermann

Scenario planning is an alternative to traditional strategic planning, designed to help organizations prepare for the future. In this session, participants learn how to identify the “big unknowns” that could significantly impact their future – personal or ministry – and how to explore plausible scenarios that could result from these key driving forces.

PHILOSOPHY

[301]  Nurturing the Spark: Youth Spiritual Development:  written by John Lewis / Fred Oduyoye

Spiritual development is, in part, a constant, ongoing, dynamic, and sometimes difficult interplay between three core spiritual components: awareness and awakening, connecting and belonging, and a way of life. This workshop will take a look at these spiritual components discovered from three years of Search Institute’s research. It will also challenge you to see how each component can help build a youth ministry that is about developing kids spiritually and not having them just entertained.

INNER LIFE

[201]  Stress in the City: Beating Burnout in Urban Ministry:  written by Kara Powell

This workshop takes an honest look at the stress, trauma, and burnout that come with living and ministering in the city. You’ll leave with all sorts of practical, research-based tips to help you find your own personal and spiritual relief in the midst of pouring yourself into others. Learn how to move from stress in the city to resting in the Kingdom.

THEOLOGY

[201]  Prophetic Youth Ministry: A Holistic Model for the Urban Context:  written by Fred Arzola

Based on the work of Fernando Arzola Jr. in his book, Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context, this biblically-based, holistic model for urban youth ministry flows out of the conversation between Jesus and an expert of the law where Jesus answered him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

TEEN TRACK

[101] (2-Part) Jumping Hurdles: How to Develop a Closer Relationship with God:  written by Russell St. Bernard (for high school students)

Life is fast paced and sometimes seems to be non-stop; between school, after-school activities, home, work, friends, and other stuff – it just keeps going.  However, we know that in order to be truly productive, we need to have a great relationship with God to keep us going on the right path. You could say life for you is like running in a hurdle competition, with the goal of finishing the way the coach (God) wants you to finish.

Teen Track Note: Teenage student leaders who are considering going into ministry are also invited to attend “Mobilizing Your Youth as Agents of Change”