Training from the Trenches

With over seventeen years of professional ministry experience, I have a lot of practical, "in the trenches" seminars to offer.  From keynoting a large gathering to small, hands-on workshops, I have a host of areas of particular expertise to offer your next conference or training seminar.  Check out below to see some of the workshops I have ready to go.  If you need something more tailored to your event, we can work together to plan that together.

How to develop a culture of questions (and some answers) in your youth ministry
Questions are a sign of spiritual health, yet many churches can create a culture hostile to those life-giving questions. Explore the key components of a culture that encourages students to ask questions and explore answers.

I’m Bored: How Understanding What’s Happening in the Brains of Your Youth Can Unlock Powerful Ministry - Understanding the adolescent brain is key in crafting effective ministry to students in your ministry. This course will give an overview of the major changes happening in the brain during adolescence and use those to explain classic youth ministry moments (like crying on the last night of camp) and how to responsibly harness them to guide youth on their spiritual journey.

Reclaiming the Lost Soul of Youth Ministry - What you believe is central to determining how you do ministry. From the games we play to the Bible studies we choose, from the outreach events we plan to the missions we support, theology has claims of every area of ministry. Based on the book by the same title, we will evaluate our ministries based on our theology to try and bring them in sync.

Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers: Volunteers are the key to any youth ministry.  Often the first warning sign that something is wrong is a difficulty in retaining or recruiting your volunteers.  However, if you take a moment to develop your volunteer strategy and commit to caring for them you can have an incredible team!  

10 Things that Rocked: Every details on 10 of the best ideas I have had in the past seventeen years of youth ministry. Each of these have rocked in the real life world of youth ministry and will help you take yours to the next level.

Talking about Sex: There has to be another way to discuss sex besides true love waits and a promise ring.  This is that seminar. Based on the content from my resource for the United Methodist Church (available here) we will explore the theological underpinnings of sexuality and how we use those to help students navigate this difficult subject in the real world.

Dealing with Drama: Pastoral counseling can be particularly difficult as a youth pastor.  Knowing what to say, how to identify issues, and when to refer can be more than a little challenging.  This seminar will offer best practices in pastoral counseling for youth ministry professionals and give a list of resources to help fill in the gaps of their training.

Let's do this: