2023 - Tracks & Seminars

Stay tuned for 2024 seminars…


Ministry Tools - helpful tips for your youth ministry

  • Walking with teens through a mental health crisis - Iona Snair

    • Watching a teen flounder in their mental health can feel overwhelming. We're not therapists and we're not doctors but the role of youth workers/volunteers can make a huge difference. Let's talk about what it looks like to recognize and respond to mental health challenges in ways that clear the way for young people to flourish.

  • Building Relationships that help youth flourish - Iona Snair

    • Relationships in themselves are a sacred space where God meets young people. Creating spaces that bring about flourishing starts with simply making ourselves available, but it reaches beyond through noticing, naming and knowing the youth. Let's discover some practical steps to take in creating a sense of belonging that can change everything.

  • Welcome to the Wild - Troy Lydiate

    • For many a Youth Worker, they will go through seasons and times as individuals or organizations where they may not feel like there's a clear direction. Whether it's going in circles with a youth, or system changes within an organization. How do we keep moving forward, without knowing the exact destination? How do we continue making an impact, when statistics are often against us? What does faith look like, in uncharted territory? In this session we will contrast Jesus'/Israelites time in the wilderness to help us walk boldly into ever changing seasons.

  • Holy Spirit Led Planning - Peter Bird

    • You’ve heard it before, “Let the Spirit Lead.” Which can often mean, “don’t worry about the plan, just go with the flow!” But what does it actually mean to let the Holy Spirit lead us, and how does this practice play out in our typical program heavy style of youth ministry. Is it possible to plan so much programming that the Holy Spirit has no room to work? Does the Holy Spirit work in the midst of our programming? Let’s talk about how we can do our best to follow the Holy Spirit’s Lead as we plan for our youth programs and gatherings.

Discipleship - learning to follow jesus

  • Good Ground, Good fruit - Troy Lydiate

    • You've heard it said that every good leader is a good student. So what does it look like to posture ourselves as engaged students, with a devoted desire to quickly implement the wisdom they have learned for the sake of others? In this session we will ask the question, "What does it mean to be good ground?”

  • Beyond Programs: Spiritual Formation in a Distracted Age - Dan Steenson

    • An average student might spend 2 hours a week in our youth program, but more than 40 hours a week on their phone. How can we help go beyond church activity and equip students to be formed into the image of Jesus? This session will break down a philosophy of holistic ministry and get practical in specific and simple ways to disciple students beyond your weekly gatherings.

Culture - Practical insights and solutions For Today

  • Listening to the Experts - Anne Miranda

    • Reading resources, learning and studying helpful tools can help equip us, yet the experts on the generation are the youth themselves. Let’s dialogue together about what it means to listen and learn from the youth positioned in the ministries we are leading. Workshopping a design session that reflects on the context and culture of your community starting with you. Get ready to do some homework.

  • Walking As One - Peter Bird w/ Tal James

    • The history of the Church in Canada has left a distinct mark of injustice and pain on its Indigenous Neighbours. With the wounds left by such a history running deep between the Church and Canada’s Indigenous People, how can these wounds begin to heal? How can we walk as one? In this interview style seminar, we’ll be exploring how Youth Ministries and the Church can work to better reach the Indigenous Youth and Communities in their areas through the stories and experience of those who have come to Christ from within those communities.