2025 - Tracks & Seminars

Culture - Practical insights and solutions For Today

• Truth in the Tension: Biblical Literacy for a Skeptical Generation (Alycia Geiger)

  • In a world where truth feels subjective and skepticism is the default, many students are left wondering if the Bible is reliable—or even relevant. As youth leaders, we’re not just answering questions; we’re forming a framework for how students engage Scripture for a lifetime. This session will equip you with practical tools to teach biblical literacy, cultivate confidence in God’s Word, and mentor the students in your ministry through their honest questions without fear. Whether you're navigating TikTok theology or helping teens wrestle with hard passages, come ready to grow in confidence, clarity, and compassion as you lead students toward lasting faith.
    

• We’ve Got Issues: Figuring Out What Matters Most in an Issue Overloaded World (Michael Morelli)

  • Whether it’s online reels or offline conversations telling us about the latest issues demanding our attention and action, it can feel very overwhelming for the average person to decide where their attention and action are needed. For Christians, it can be equally if not more overwhelming to figure out what matters most to God and how life should look once those priorities are established. In this breakout session, we’ll explore what it looks like to follow Jesus faithfully in an issue overloaded world. As a part of that, we’ll focus on practical questions we can ask and things we can do to sort through all the issues, discover what matters most to God, and live accordingly.

• Finding Freedom from Pornography (Korey Reimer)

  • Access to pornography is easier than ever, resulting in a discouraging struggle to stop. Knowing how to actually help our youth who are struggling with pornography is more important than ever. What do we do when the usual approach of accountability and prayer doesn’t seem to be working for them (or yourself)? This session will look at how to understand the problem of pornography by combining our faith and psychology to solve this complex issue. Equipping youth workers to walk alongside those struggling to find healing and freedom from pornography.

• Cultivating Culture (Geoff Stewart)

  • The healthiest youth ministries foster a culture that supports and encourages the shared goals of the ministry. While a strong, healthy culture takes time to build, it can be lost quickly without intentional care. In this session, we’ll explore what a thriving youth ministry culture looks like and discuss practical ways to cultivate it with your team.

Discipleship - learning to follow jesus

• Igniting a Student Leadership Movement (Jesse Criss)

  • Student leadership is the secret ingredient to a thriving youth ministry, but let’s be honest—it can feel overwhelming, frustrating, and short-lived. What if you could transform it from a program into a lasting movement? In this workshop, we’ll dive into the core belief that every student is a person of influence because they are Unique, Designed, and Called. You’ll leave with practical tools to spark your own Student Leadership Movement and inspire students to lead with confidence and purpose.

• Learning to Hear God: Practicing Presence in a Noisy World (Zach Yaciw)

  • In a world full of noise, how do we slow down enough to recognize God’s voice? This session is all about making spaces: space to listen, space to be present, and space to grow in confidence that God is actually speaking. We’ll explore some simple, real-life practices that help us hear God in our everyday lives and offer tools to help our students do the same. Whether you’re feeling dialed in or distant, this is a space for grace, growth, and encouragement.

• Finishing Strong: Committed and Thriving High Schoolers (Geoff Stewart)

  • Many youth ministries struggle with the “senior fade” as older high school students begin to disengage. So how do you create a ministry where students in grades 10-12 not only stay but thrive? In this session, we’ll discuss how culture, leadership, milestone celebrations, and intentional encouragement can inspire students to stay engaged and leave a lasting legacy of faith and leadership for the next generation.

Ministry Tools - helpful tips for your youth ministry

• Confident Communicator (Peter Bird)

  • "Hey! Want to speak at Youth?" Speaking at youth is exciting, nerve-wracking, and deeply meaningful. It’s a chance to share God’s truth and be part of the Spirit’s work. But how do you go from nervous excitement to delivering a message that inspires faith? In this breakout, we’ll explore how to prepare and preach with confidence, and help you take your next step as a communicator!

• Power and Practice: Holy Spirit Empowered Youth Ministry (Dan Steenson)

  • We can have the best programs, games, events and even sermons, but unless the Spirit of God moves, our labour may be in vain. That's why it's essential for you, your leadership teams, and even your students themselves to understand and engage with the power of the Holy Spirit. Rather than an awkward online survey that can create more confusion - this session will aim to give you a biblical and practical framework for how the Holy Spirit can be welcomed and at work through spiritual gifts in your context and community and open up space for Q and R about how the gifts can operate in a healthy way in your ministry.

• What Am I Getting Myself Into: Youth Worker 101 (Rebekah Kenway)

  • “Become a youth leader,” they said. “It’ll be fun!” They said.
    Are you new to the role of youth worker/leader and wondering just what you’re getting yourself into? Want to gain some insight and ideas of what makes a good youth worker and learn from others who have gone before you? Come join us for this fun, informative and interactive hour and learn some “pro tips” for brand new youth workers.

• COACH vs. Leader (Jesse Criss)

  • Every student in your ministry will eventually graduate and move on—but will they be ready to follow Jesus in the real world? That’s where you come in. This session redefines your role from a traditional leader to a coach who equips students to live boldly for Jesus long after they leave your ministry. We’ll explore how to help students navigate the tension of being “in the world” but not “of the world” so they can stay in the game and keep pursuing Jesus for life.