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