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18 March 2023

9:30 am - 4:00 pm

Ridley College + Online

Ticketing Information

General Admission: $30
In-Person, Morning Tea and Lunch Included

Online: $15
This ticket is for per screen. Invite your team to watch together!

Group Registration
For groups more than 15 people, please complete the form by clicking the link below.

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The theme for this year’s training day comes from Hebrews 12:2.

After enduring the challenges of the past two years wouldn’t it be great if everything in life and ministry was plain sailing from here on?! Instead, COVID is still with us, and who knows what other unexpected challenges the future holds?

Nevertheless, we press on in our ministry because of the joy of salvation for us and for the children and young people we serve.

We’re looking forward to coming together to strengthen one another for our work by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Whether you’re a vocational ministry leader or volunteer team member, join us to be encouraged and equipped to share the joy of Christ with children and young people.

Seminars

Every year, we offer a wide range of seminars you (and or your team) can attend. Unlike last year, we will be sending you the seminar sign up form a week before the event so you can have more time to decide which seminar is best for you. Below are some of the seminars already confirmed, but more will be added in time to come. You can also check the schedule for the training day by clicking on the button link below.

Children's and Family Ministry

C1. Welcome to Children’s Ministry! Getting started in ministry with children

In-person

Working with children might just be the best investment of your time and talents (well, I think so anyway!) If you’re new to this ministry area this workshop is for you! We’ll cover some basic, but vital, skills, values and hacks for children’s ministry that will get you started and be useful for a lifetime of ministry.

Karen Winsemius, Generations Pastor, Oaktree Anglican


C2. Helping Children Grow In Faith

In-person and Online

How can we teach children so that they not only know more stuff about Jesus but be able to put their trust in Jesus? This seminar considers how children come to and express faith, how children learn, and how we can apply those insights to our ministry with children.

Matt Keller, Director of Next Generation Ministries City on a Hill


C3. Making church inclusive for children with disability and neurodiversity

In-person and Online

Life can be hard enough for children and families with disabilities and neurodiversity. Let’s not make it any harder when they come to church. This seminar will work through how we can adapt so that all children can be welcome and able to belong in the church community.

Naomi Bird, Assistant Family and Children's Minister St. Alfred’s Blackburn North


C4. How To Give A Great Kid’s Talk In Church

In-person

Have you ever used fun and Jesus in the same sentence? Well, a good kids talk has those vital elements. How do you write a gospel focused kids talk? Where do you start? How long should it be? What sort of props do I need? This workshop is for people who have presented loads of kids talks in the past or anyone that wants to learn how. Let's have some fun together.

Amanda Lincke, Children and Families Director, St Hilary's Anglican Church


C5. Children And The Creative Arts

In-person

The title says it all! We’ll be talking about including the creative arts in your ministries with children. Perhaps you’re excited by that; or perhaps in your mind you may also be thinking “CHAOS”! We’ll talk about the why, what, and how to use the creative arts with children and how they can use the arts to minister to the church family in creative ways to bless others.

Helen Petering, GFS/KidsPlus+ Liaison Officer, Music and Creative Arts Minister, St. Alfred’s Blackburn North


C6. Are Children Human? Theological Foundations For Ministry With Children

In-person

Like constructing a building, without firm foundations children’s ministries are in danger of crumbling under pressure. Underneath everything you do in your children’s ministry, what kind of foundations are you building on? This seminar will reflect on the theological ideas that should shape everything we do in ministry with children.

Hannah Craven, Associate Lecturer in Christian Thought, Ridley College


C7. ‘Dear God, I wish…’ Teaching Children To Pray

Online

The prayers that children pray can be a real window into their relationship with God. Sometimes they reveal that we haven’t taught them how to express that relationship very well. This workshop will provide practical ideas to help develop prayer in your children’s ministry. We’ll also explore how to equip families in their prayer times.

Louisa Pfitzner, Honorary Deacon, St Alfred’s Blackburn North

Youth Ministry

Y1. Welcome to Youth Ministry! Essential Skills for Youth Ministry Newbies

In-person

Youth leading can be a daunting experience: What if you don’t understand what they’re saying? What if the youth are mean to you? Do I need to speak like a teenager? This seminar will give you some quick tips and a grasp of the basics of youth leading to help you win at your first few years of youth ministry.

Tom French, Author and Youth Minister, Inner North Youth Group


Y2. Mental Health, God & Me

In-person

“It’s ok not to be ok”. We hear that so much - but what does the bible say about it? Is it true? Can we really say this to our young people? Come and see that there were so many people in the bible who were ‘not ok’ and they still stood for their King and their King still loved and cared for them as He does for you and your young people. We’ll share some stories and some practical tips for helping yourself and your young people when they’re struggling, and you’ll be able to take some of our content and share it in your own context.

Amy Brown, Children and Youth Minister, St Jude’s Carlton


Y3. Starting From Scratch

In-person & Online

How do you start a youth ministry when you’ve not got much to start with? If you’ve just had the first young person turn up to your church in years – how do you begin? If there are no youth in your church, but there’s a local high school – how do you connect? If you’ve always had a thriving youth ministry, but after years of no primary children entering the church, your final batch of youth have graduated – what do you do?! Come along to explore these conundrums and equipped to take the first steps in a ministry to youth with some really practical ideas that are relevant for your context.

Kristina Kettleton, Youth Ministry Development, Anglican Diocese of Tasmania


Y4. Intentional Conversations with Youth

In-person

Conversations are central to relational ministry and something we get to do every week in youth group. So how do we make the most of them? How do we move past the awkward and superficial to Christ-centred and Christ-honouring? We’ll look at practical ways to have meaningful and intentional conversations that are central to evangelism with and our discipleship of youth.

Andrew Wort, Youth Pastor, Bundoora Presbyterian Church


Y5. Going Without Getting Lost

In-person

In this seminar, we'll consider how to set out with our team fixed on a definite destination in mind, and ways to keep that the thing we're trying to do over the course of a year of youth ministry. With a focus on straightforward weekly practices for a youth team, we'll think about how to set out well, and not leave all our good planning ideas behind after term 1.

Joshua Millard, Youth Minister, St Thomas’ Burwood


Y6. Talking With Young People About Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity

In-person

Sexual orientation and gender identity are two hot-button issues that need a considered response from youth ministry leaders. This seminar will help us think about how we can talk with young people in ways that engage pastorally with deeply personal matters, that comply with government legislation, and are full of Christian grace and conviction.

Graham Stanton, Director, Ridley Centre for Children’s and Youth Ministry


Y7. Connecting With Culture

Online

Every day the world around us is telling us stories and shaping the lens through which we look at life. So how do we learn to open our eyes to that and put on Jesus shaped glasses? More importantly, how do we help the young people we serve to see the gospel is the only story that leads to life? In this seminar we will begin to explore the skill of reading culture and a method for connecting it to Jesus.

Ed Sowden, Youth Minister, Bathurst Presbyterian Church


Y8. Helping Young People Deconstruct Faith Without Deserting Jesus

Online

For many young people their adolescent years involves deconstructing the faith they inherited from childhood. What would it look like if we saw this as a valuable process of renovating faith? This seminar will think about how we can help young people examine their faith honestly and deeply while staying connected to Jesus.

Dan Paterson, Director, Questioning Christianity



Y9. Speaking and Believing: The Place of Testimony in Youth Ministry

Online

Come and explore the importance of personal narrative in the development of a young person’s faith journey. Then, help answer the question: How can we encourage this in our ministries, and what are some of the great…and not-so-great things to look out for?

Sam Kilpatrick, Programme Leader (Youth Ministry), Carey Baptist College, Auckland

Childrens' and Youth Ministry


CY1. Engaging With Children And Young People Beyond The Local Church

In-Person

In this seminar we’ll be exploring how we can create meaningful connections with children and young people who are not already involved in church programs. What are the ways and means of discovering points of engagement? How do we prepare for such encounters?

Dean Eaton, Director of Community Impact, Korus Connect


CY2. Better Together: Leading So All Generations Can Flourish

Online

What role can we play in helping people of all generations experience the church as a place of belonging, growth, and contribution? This session explores what it means to be a leader who engages all ages and why this should matter to us. Attendees will be invited to consider practical ways of partnering with others to build intergenerational communities of faith where children, youth, and adults can grow together in Christ.

Cory Seibel, Intergenerational Ministry Author, Edmonton, Canada


CY3. Leading Churches So Children’s And Youth Ministry Can Flourish

In-Person And Online

Church leaders are enormously influential on the health and flourishing of children’s and youth ministries in a local church. This seminar is for vicars, senior ministers, priests in charge, lead pastors – whatever the label, we’ll talk together about what you can do to help (or hinder) effective ministry among children and young people.

Graham Stanton, Director, Ridley Centre for Children’s and Youth Ministry; and Maria Brand-Starkey, Senior Minister, Mullum Mullum Anglican Church


CY4. The Accidental Children’s or Youth Minister

In-Person And Online

So, you’ve suddenly found yourself in ministry to the next generation. You didn’t train for this. So what do you need to know, now that you’re here? And - how might you begin to find greater joy & purpose in such a calling? This is for you if you had an idea that ministry was for you - but you weren’t expecting quite so many puppets/messy games/under-developed frontal lobes.

Dave Chiswell, Youth Minister, City on a Hill, Geelong


CY5. Why Should I And How Could I Become A Full-time Children’s Or Youth Minister?

In-Person

What is involved in being an employed children’s minister or youth minister in a local church? What training do you need? What opportunities exist? How do you know if you’re called? And is it even worth the effort?

Jimmy Young, Assistant Minister, Cranbourne Anglican; Jess Fields, Admissions Officer, Ridley College

The Schedule

9:30-11:00 Opening Session: Keynote
11:00-11:30 Morning Tea
11:30-12:30 Seminar 1
12:30-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Seminar 2
2:45-4:00 Final Session: Q&A

Main Speaker

Amy Brown

Amy Brown

Children and Youth Minister, St Jude’s Carlton

Amy is the Associate Minister for Children & Youth at St Jude’s in Carlton. She loves seeing young people grow in faith and getting excited to serve Jesus.

Amy loves everything about Melbourne life – from coffee to walking her dog Oscar in the local parks. She’s really leaned into the kid-min life and loves making anything from food to crafts!

Get Tickets

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