Workshops

Children in Worship

They wiggle. They giggle. They are disruptive and adults can't hear and concentrate. Do they really understand anything? So, why include children in worship? Remember that Jesus welcomed the children and reminds us that we have vitally important lessons to learn from the children. So, how can we make worship welcoming and engaging to children? How can children participate in worship? What worship leadership can be provided by children? If we want them in the pews, in the congregation and in relationship with Jesus Christ and one another when they are no longer children, let's plan to include and honor them now.  

Christian Education of Very Young Children

Is this really something we have to do? After all, we start Sunday

school for young children. We offer confirmation. Will

they learn anything? Can they understand and remember? Isn't

the nursery enough? Learn how to partner home and congregation,

equipping all of the adults in the young child's life to nurture

faith from pre-birth or adoption on. Learn the simple, everyday

things we can do to get our very young children off on the

right faith foot. Learn how to equip all of the caring adults in the

young child's life to nurture faith from pre-birth or adoption on

in the home and congregation. There are books that tell us every

step of the way what is happening physically intellectually,

emotionally and socially with our child's development. What

about Faith Development? Learn the simple, everyday things we

can do to observe, nurture, and celebrate our child's faith development.

Couple Care

Couple Care is an outreach to all couples, of all ages and in all

of life's stages in the congregation and community. A congregation's

"full service" approach with couples includes work with

youth and singles on "what is a healthy relationship", intentional

marriage preparation beginning even before engagement, mentoring,

support to empty-nesters, and celebration of milestones

through all the joys and sorrows of a faith-filled, life together.

Couple Care includes small group ministry, enrichment and skill

building classes, and leader training for offering reconciliation

and restoring of relationships. Intentional care for couples can

literally breathe life into a couple, renew life for an entire family

and change the life of a community. It takes a congregation to

support a couple in the daily offerings of grace and forgiveness

for a life-long, faith-filled relationship in Christ.

Helping Families and Congregations Live Well

in Christ

Wellness is not the lack of illness, but to be in

balance with God centered in every aspect of life.

Wellness is the integration of body, mind and spirit.

Through active learning designs, participants will learn of

seven areas of well-being: intellectual, social, emotional, spiritual,

physical, environmental, and vocational/occupational. Participants

will learn how a congregation can be proactive, leading

ministry inside the walls with its own staff and members

and outside the walls of the congregation in the community to

strengthen children, youth, and their families that "it may be

well with you and you may live long on the earth."

Growing Groups

Imagine small groups of kids in caring conversations, sharing

devotions, participating in rituals and traditions and being motivated

to serve. Lyle Griner says that small group discussions

and Bible Study are at the very heart of successful churches

programs. Learn effective ways to train and energize your children

and youth leaders to facilitate dynamic discussions. This is

a learn-by-doing, idea-packed, and resource-rich event.

Faith-full Conversations about Sexuality with Children and Youth

Most of us are nervous, ill-equipped and don't have role models

to talk to the children we love about sexuality. So, what are we

to do? If we say nothing, our silence gives the message that we

don't know anything, have values, or care what kids do. Even

when kids don't seem to listen, they hear every word and observe

every action. In our sexualized culture, if we don't speak,

how else will children hear that God, not Hugh Heffner, created

sexuality as a good gift with guidelines for its use? How will

we keep kids safe? Start today, teaching children the values,

information and skills they need. Learn simple, everyday ways

to braid this into your life together.

Faith-full Grand Parenting

How can we grandparent these gifts of God so that we support

our children as parents, love our grandchildren in faithful, life-giving

ways, and help pass on a life-transforming faith? Learn

how to "meddle" in loving, supportive, welcomed ways. Come

and discover how to bridge distance and time apart, love them

well, stay in touch, give good gifts, and build relationships we

all treasure.

Cross-Generational Ministry

A congregation has the potential to bring all the generations

together to pass on faith. Yet too many congregations divide

people into age segregated classes rather than interact and worship

together. This workshop will address why it's essential to

gather the generations, identify the generations and each generation's

unique gifts; experience simple approaches for creating

circles of Blessings in all aspects of your congregation’s ministry.

Splashed with Promise: A Baptismal Journey Starter Kit

Baptism is filled with promises - promise from God, from

parents, from godparents, from family, from mends, from the

congregation. To tend the baptismal journey from pre-birth to

the grave, a congregation should help the family live out the

promises they made. Most families do not know how to keep

the promises. Participants will learn of exciting ways various

members of the congregation can assist by making FaithChests,

special receiving blankets, participating in a milestone visitation

team, or preparing a Faith Starter Kit at the age level of the

person baptized. Participants will be filled with ideas to support

families in their faith journey.

Peer Ministry

Peer Ministry is a way of life. It is the "practice of doing unto

the least of these to the glory of God" and service to those in

our families and neighborhoods. Peer Ministry affirms the gifts

of our youth, connects them to the community and empowers

them with the skills needed to help others from the perspective

of the Christian faith. Learn about practical models and resources

that can be helpful in beginning a Peer Ministry program

in your congregation. 

Adult Faith Formation: An Essential Task for Congregational Renewal

"If we want Christian children and youth, we need Christian

Adults and parents" '.' and every Christian adult is a faith parent!

This is foundational to passing on faith. Recent research

demonstrates that traditional adult education in our congregations

has not been successful at passing on faith to the next

generation. The fundamental question is, "What can congregations

do to 'help equip faithful and effective disciples?" The

answer takes us beyond the classroom and understands every

aspect of our life of faith as an opportunity for adult faith formation.

Come and learn ways your congregation can equip all

adults in faith formation that will bless homes, congregations,

and the larger world that God so loves.

Congregational Support of Parents

Parenting is inherently a spiritual journey, one for which parents

feel ill-equipped and woefully inadequate. There is no

answer book for their questions. Most don't have a network of

other parents to share expertise and experiences. They don't

know where to turn for resources and help. What do parents

need from congregations in order to parent their children well

and faithfully? They need knowledge. They need skills. They

need a network of support. They need to feel safe, loved, empowered

and forgiven. Our presenter will share what she has

learned in 27 years of educating and supporting parents in the

congregation.

Family Wellness as Spiritual Wellness

Participants will discover ways to take six basic strengths of

marriage and family and develop them into opportunities for

spiritual growth. The six strengths will be woven together with

Bible, liturgy, Christian themes and interactive exercises to

enrich relationships through the Christian faith. The material

can be used to design marriage and family retreats, intergenerational

retreats, men and women's retreats as well as a general

spirituality retreat.

Home Grown Faith: An Old Fashion

Recipe for a New Life in Christ

We encourage our children to practice,

practice, practice: piano, soccer, karate

or their math. But what about faith

practice? How do we practice our faith

in the home? Learn ten simple ways to

nurture and support your child's faith,

that can be incorporated into the routines

of the day. Weare told in Deuteronomy to teach the faith

in the house and out of the house, in bed and out of bed - all

the time! The at-home faith practices provided in this workshop,

all based on research, may also be used in small groups

or parenting classes.

A Congregation's Care for Younger Men and their Spiritual Journeys

The church has been losing its men from ages 18-35 at an

alarming rate. Research from the book Coming of Age: Exploring

the Identity and Spirituality of Younger Men by David W.

Anderson, Paul Hill, and Roland D. Martinson (Augsburg Fortress:

2006), points out six major areas of concern in the lives

of younger men and how the church needs to address those

concerns in a way that invites these men back into the life of

the church. The research suggests that it is not only the

younger men who are coming of age, but the church, too, that

needs to come of age in the twenty-first century to reach out to

these men in a faithful and compassionate manner.

Getting the Congregation on Board

The number one concern of those who attend Passing on Faith

Conferences is how to get more people on board when you go

"back home." We will look more closely at the issues raised by

those concerns and how to address them. Participants will explore

1) who's the targeted audience; 2) what are the key resources

to get you started back in the congregation; and, 3) two

leadership outlines that will help determine what needs to be

done, when, and how.

Gifts Based Ministry - Becoming Disciples!

If we truly believe people are given gifts for the good of all

believers, then there is no such thing as a volunteer - there is

only the invitation to disciples to use their gifts. Too much time

is spent in congregations twisting arms or pleading for folks to

volunteer, only to have the same people on board. The danger

is bum-out and some people feeling left-out. God created and

calls each person to make a difference. Discover how a Gifts-

Based ministry can revitalize your congregation and engage

everyone, regardless of age, to be the community of Christ.