2026 - Tracks & Seminars

Culture - Practical insights and solutions For Today

• ABC’s of Youth Ministry Triage (Jesse Criss)

  • Students walk into your ministry carrying visible and hidden hurts. Are you prepared to respond? Just like in a hospital ER, youth leaders are often on the front lines of emotional and spiritual triage. In this workshop, we’ll unpack the ABCs of Youth Ministry Triage — a simple framework to help you support and guide students through their pain. You’ll gain practical tools to care for hurting students and point them to healing in Jesus.

• AI Can’t Disciple Your Students (Zach Yaciw)

  • AI can draft a talk outline and spit out a game idea in seconds. It can’t sit with a student, pray with them, or walk them toward Jesus. This breakout is an open conversation about where AI might help in youth ministry, where it doesn’t, and how to use it wisely without handing over the heart of the work.

• 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.

Discipleship - learning to follow jesus

• Knowing Your Master Script (Krista Penner)

  • What story is really running your life? Your spiritual gifts shape how you show up, but underneath runs a Master Script, built from the experiences that made you and quietly driving how you act. Name it, drop the armour, and start leading from who God says you are. Lean into all God created you to be, and get curious about what holds you back.

• Environment for Discipleship Pathways (Ben Hall)

  • Spiritual growth doesn't happen in a vacuum, it happens in an environment we create, often without realizing it. In this workshop, we'll explore three essential ingredients for real discipleship to take root in the lives of the young people we serve: the gospel, safety, and time. We'll talk about what each one looks like practically, especially around the table, in ordinary friendship, and in the small unplanned moments where trust is built. Youth workers will leave with a simple, practical framework they can apply right away, whether they're rethinking a small group, a mentoring relationship, or the overall culture of their ministry.

• Hearing God’s Voice in Youth Ministry (Zach Yaciw)

  • Youth ministry moves fast, and it can be hard to slow down enough to listen. In this breakout we’ll talk about what it looks like to hear God’s voice in the everyday work of pastoring students: in prayer, in Scripture, in community, and in the moments when a student is sitting in front of you. Come ready to reflect on your own listening habits and leave with a few simple practices you can take back to your ministry.

• Don't Just Lead Them. Develop Them. (Alycia Geiger)

  • Moving from showing up for students to intentionally helping them grow. You don't need a leadership program or hours of extra time to intentionally develop students. Some of the most meaningful formation happens in the ordinary moments we already have with students. In this session, we’ll explore how you, the youth leader, can recognize what God is doing in a student, call out what you see, entrust them with meaningful opportunities, and coach them as they grow. You'll leave with a simple framework for becoming more intentional with the students already in front of you, helping them grow not just as leaders, but as followers of Jesus.

Ministry Tools - helpful tips for your youth ministry

• Five Types of Students (Jesse Criss)

  • Every group has them - the student who’s just along for the ride, the one asking hard questions, and the one whose faith is quietly changing everything around them. While every student is unique, five recognizable types show up in youth ministry again and again: the Careless, the Curious, the Caught, the Committed, and the Contagious. Using your own hand as a guide, we’ll walk through each type, what they need, and how you can move them toward growth. You’ll leave with a simple framework you can use the very next time you meet with your group.

• When a Student Says, 'I'm Anxious’ (Ben Kirlik)

  • Students often trust youth ministry volunteers with stories of anxiety, panic, pressure, and fear - usually when we least expect it. Most volunteers care deeply but worry about saying the wrong thing. This practical workshop will help volunteers respond with calm, compassion, clear boundaries, and a faithful next step. Together, we will distinguish everyday anxiety from distress that may require additional support, clarify confidentiality and safeguarding responsibilities, and explore how prayer, belonging, healthy rhythms, and professional care can work together.

• Disability & Youth: How to Design Faith Spaces to Foster Belonging for All (Alicine Grochowski)

  • Explore how culture has shaped The Church’s approach to dis/ability, what God really has to say about it and how to create inclusive faith spaces in response. You will be equipped with useful frameworks and practical tools to promote belonging for all in your approach to ministry.