Breakout 1
Monday, September 30, 4:00 p.m.
In ministry, we often find ourselves in survival mode. We are just trying to make it through each week or event with little thought to the big picture. This breakout will help you zoom out and consider the big picture of four different models and philosophies of ministry.
Room: Choir Room
The days of the cookie-cutter family attending church 75% of the time may be over, but what an exciting opportunity we have to minister to the remarkable families of today inside and outside the church walls! This is a chance for us to grow and learn as we explore and experience ways to reach over-scheduled families formed through adoption, foster care, single-parent homes, living with grandparents, and more.
Room: Baskin Chapel
Are you intrigued by the buzz surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI) but feel overwhelmed by the technical jargon? Fear not! This session is designed to guide you through the fascinating world of AI, so that you can move from intimidation to inspiration. Learn what is it good for, what is it NOT good for, see practical examples of how churches can use AI across a variety of activities and use cases. Leave with concrete understanding for how you might tap AI’s power to increase the efficacy and impact of your own work.
Room: Inman Chapel
This session will equip leaders with strategies to instruct parents and families in our churches to live out the gospel. We will focus on practical ways to replicate that will allow all families the ability to live out the gospel as missionaries wherever God has placed them.
Room: 2004
When students serve students, they reach students with the gospel. When we build space for our students to lead in and serve in our ministries, they take ownership of these spaces and begin to bring others into them. This session will cover starting from the ground up building a student leadership team and then guiding them to take ownership of their ministry.
Room: 2006
How do you make the most of your small groups? By equipping your leaders to be effective disciple makers! Let’s talk simple, strategic ways to lead, love, and empower the adults serving in your ministry.
Room: 2008
Working with preteens is rewarding, fun, and fruitful. This session will cover 10 tips for ministering to preteens to encourage faith, growth, and excitement in your ministry.
Room: 2103
This breakout will examine and explain the new paradigm for how we all are disconnected and offer a plan for how you can reshape your ministry to combat the challenges of a second screen culture.
Room: 2122
As leaders, we want to provide biblically sound content with a clear picture of Jesus and the gospel in every session. And we want to help kids own and share their faith with confidence in the context of their cultural worldview. This breakout will unpack the principles outlined in the Three Circles Gospel Conversation Guide and consider how we can help kids and students know and share the gospel in the context of their everyday lives.
Room: 2132
Preschoolers remember and retain when they are actively involved in learning. This session will offer tips to help you refocus Sunday mornings and teach preschoolers in the most effective way.
Room: 2140
Breakout 2
Tuesday, October 1, 10:30 a.m.
Exhausted. Alone. Not enough time. These are three of the most common words heard from today’s parents. Unfortunately, we live immersed in a Western individualistic cultural paradigm set up to fragment the family unit. Add social media and technology into the mix and it’s no wonder we see ever-growing rates of anxiety and mental health issues. We’re being discipled by the culture. This breakout uses the lens of Scripture to provide families with a paradigm-shifting alternative to this modern-day rat race—a counter-cultural discipleship model to help families create margin, reclaim their identity, and rediscover joy.
Room: Worship Center
Your church will have to deal with abuse, it’s just a matter of when. It’s not enough to protect those in our ministries from abuse while on our watch; we must also recognize when a child might be being abused outside the church. Is your church fully prepared and equipped to respond to these situations? This breakout will cover five essentials that every church should implement to love and care for children and students.
Room: Choir Room
If you find yourself in a leadership role and you aren’t sure what they see in you or if you ask yourself “why anyone would listen to me?” then this breakout is for you! Come gain inspiration and practical tools for developing your leadership skills and gaining confidence for your leadership role.
Room: Baskin Chapel
This workshop will equip you with cutting-edge AI solutions that will streamline your processes, enhance your creativity, and increase your ministry impact. Discover how AI can be a powerful ally in NextGen ministry work, from attacking administrative tasks to generating and repurposing engaging content and fostering meaningful connections with your youth. Explore a curated selection of 10 AI tools you’ll want to start using as soon as you leave this event.
Room: Inman Chapel
Curriculum materials are an essential component of healthy preschool, kids, and student ministries. Are you choosing Bible study curriculum haphazardly, or do the selections support your disciple-making strategy? Let’s explore the distinctives of Lifeway’s four, ongoing Bible study options and discover which of them fit your church’s context.
Room: 2004
Gen Alpha is looking to be inspired. They want to see what faith in action looks like. This session will teach church leaders how to guide Gen Alpha on their faith journey. Discover how to foster a collaborative and dynamic approach that inspires young hearts to put their faith into action.
Room: 2008
Preteens often feel too big for the little kids but not yet big enough for the student ministry. In this session, we will discuss intentional ways to prepare preteens for Middle School as we bridge the gap from kids to students.
Room: 2103
We can learn a lot from the biblical account of the four friends who did whatever it took to get their friend in need to Jesus. Despite challenges and obstacles, they were creative and persistent, knowing it would be physically demanding, messy, and exhausting. Special Needs Ministry can look a lot like this, but with the right people and training, we too can be faithful and obedient to serve every child and teenager in the church family. In this session, you’ll learn tools and strategies to implement in any church context.
Room: 2122
The practice of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, celebration, rest, fasting, and many others is a crucial element to our walk with Jesus. This breakout will discuss the importance of teaching these disciplines to kids and provide you with hands-on experiences for kids to practice spiritual disciplines as they continue their faith journey.
Room: 2132
Whether you’re new to preschool ministry or want a refresher to help train your leaders, this session will arm you with information to help your ministry be the best it can be. You’ll leave refreshed and equipped with a teaching model you can use to train both new and veteran volunteers in your ministry.
Room: 2140
Research is in and the proof is out! Technology is rewiring the brain of today’s kids. Learn why, how, and what to do to help kids and parents overcome the technology addiction and live the way God intended.
Room: Hudson Hall
Breakout 3
Tuesday, October 1, 1:00 p.m.
As we talk about 7 characteristics of an effective leader, you’ll learn to shift from a “manager mindset” to a “leader mindset.” We’ll discuss how to develop culture and credibility in ministry, take ownership, stop blaming and waiting for others, and step into what God has for us.
Room: Choir Room
What does it look like for families to find community and belonging in your church? What can you do to help them? This breakout will share both biblical and research-based information about the impact of building belonging for families. You will have an opportunity to plan intentional strategies for building belonging for families in your context. Finding belonging in church can help families find belonging in Christ.
Room: Baskin Chapel
Are the kids driving you crazy in the classroom or in your ministry? Expectations, environments, and interactions make all the difference! This session will provide you with tips and techniques that can be implemented immediately.
Room: Inman Chapel
Your family may be just you and your spouse or maybe you, your spouse, and kids. Regardless, you want to have a family that loves Jesus, loves one another, and loves the church. This session will explore and help you navigate the different seasons of family life in ministry.
Room: 2004
Middle schoolers can be unpredictable, inattentive, and—let’s be honest—awkward, making this stage challenging for everyone, including—let’s be honest again—student pastors. But what if we saw it as the most formative time in a teen’s life? Let’s see how we can refocus and embrace this stage of life and transform your student ministry through investing in your middle schoolers.
Room: 2006
We all have critics. In the church, for a great many reasons, we often don’t hear from those critics until complaints have turned to bitterness. Come discover how do to build a culture that helps people understand you are ready to listen to other people’s cares and concerns about the ministry we all love and care about.
Room: 2008
Many NextGen leaders are super creative but can struggle when it comes to the details of planning a successful event. In this breakout, participants will hear 10 practical steps that can help move big dreams to successful realities and ministry wins.
Room: 2103
As followers of Jesus, we are called to one body as brothers and sisters in Christ, but what does it really look like to partner well with other brothers and sisters? This breakout will challenge us to view the relationships we have with our co-workers as a true partnership for the Kingdom. We will share practical tools and insights for conflict management, different working styles, communication best practices, and true collaboration. We really are better together, but we pray this breakout will help you learn from our mistakes and be encouraged to pursue biblical partnership with fellow co-laborers of Christ.
Room: 2122
How do children see God? Understanding what they think is crucial for effective teaching and ministry. This session will explore the impact of parents, teachers, culture, and even denomination upon a child’s ideas of God.
Room: 2132
Do your leaders feel like family or a face you see once a week? Teachers and volunteers need fellowship and community. Building community needs to be more than cute appreciation ideas found on Pinterest. Come discover the importance of connecting with leaders and practical ways to make your team feel like family.
Room: 2140
Let’s play some games, have some fun, and see how we can set our leaders up for success! Games are a great way to build relationships, introduce truths, and have lots of fun with kids! So, let’s look at some easy games that you can play anywhere and anytime.
Room: Hudson Hall
Breakout 4
Tuesday, October 1, 2:00 p.m.
In this session, we will walk through what it looks like to equip parents to be the primary disciple makers, while reaching and discipling students who may or may not have parents involved in the church.
Room: Choir Room
From Boomer and Gen X volunteers to Millennial and Gen Z parents to Gen Alpha kids—all generations are represented in children’s ministry. Therefore, it is essential to know how to lead each one with their unique perspectives and characteristics in mind. Learn more about the strategic opportunity for kingdom impact across every generation that can truly align the heart of the church around the mission of the gospel.
Room: Baskin Chapel
Ministry longevity is rare these days. Many men and women in ministry don’t last long term for various reasons. This breakout will address 10 specific ways to sabotage your ministry.
Room: Inman Chapel
Getting fathers involved in the eternal investment can be difficult at times. This session is aimed at exploring ways to encourage and equip fathers to get involved in a lifetime of discipleship for boys in the church and community. We will discuss strategies to create a biblically sound environment while enabling fathers to actively participate in the full growth spectrum of boys.
Room: 2004
Have you ever sat through a teaching time that left you staring at the clock instead of the person teaching? Have you, or a teacher in your ministry, ever felt like you were met with glazed eyes and students who were a little too eager to be dismissed from your teaching time? We know that God’s Word is alive and active, but sometimes our teaching can cause a lesson to fall flat! It’s time to “refocus” our teaching styles to best fit the learners in our student ministry. Join us in discovering the seven learning styles and how to incorporate them into your teaching, the art of connecting and engaging with your curriculum, and the joy of communicating God’s Word in a manner worthy of the gospel. This breakout is not only helpful for teachers, but for those who equip volunteer teachers in student ministry.
Room: 2006
This breakout will answer the question everyone is asking. Well, maybe not all the questions that everyone is asking, but definitely a question a lot of people are asking.
Room: 2008
VBS 2025 will zoom in on the tiniest details of God’s creation to discover how much He cares about the BIG and the LITTLE things in our everyday lives. Come get a sneak peek at what’s coming for preschoolers, kids, students (yes, students!), and adults in the summer of 2025.
Room: 2103
Learn how to make your children’s ministry more welcoming and accessible for kids with disabilities with this introduction to inclusion options and methods that work for churches of any size.
Room: 2122
Are you struggling to engage preschoolers and young children in Sunday School? Not sure what to do with short attention spans? Research shows that children are arriving at school with lower social-emotional scores, lower academic scores, and lower school readiness skills. How can we meet kids where they are at church and still teach them the gospel? Come learn about the things every kid needs—a sense of worth and belonging, work to do, a mission to carry, and more. Take away simple ideas for increased attention span and engagement in lessons and activities!
Room: 2140
Volunteer leaders are our biggest asset and our greatest need. Come gain 10 tips for enlisting and keeping volunteers on your team.
Room: Hudson Hall
Breakout 5
Wednesday, October 2, 9:00 a.m.
“Essentials” is a brand-new FREE resource from the Southern Baptist Convention for preventing and responding to sexual abuse. Discover how your church can utilize this curriculum to spot gaps in your security or to begin an overhaul of your prevention and response strategies.
Room: Choir Room
Have you considered how artificial intelligence is impacting childhood development? This conference will unpack both opportunities and threats facing parents and ministers as they seek to navigate the impact of AI on childhood development.
Room: Baskin Chapel
Many Christian parents are unknowingly (some unknowingly) cultivating idols in the hearts of their kids by placing a higher priority on extra-curricular activities over regular engagement with their church family. While there are many outside influences, parents have the greatest influence in the lives of their kids/students. Whatever parents prioritize, kids will prioritize. Knowing this, how can we disciple parents to see how they are missing the mark while doing so with grace?
Room: Inman Chapel
God’s vision for His church is that we would be a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue who love Him and love one another. This breakout will provide theological and practical insights to empower us as leaders who pursue reconciliation and champion uncommon friendship in a divided world.
Room: 2004
Girls are going through a lot as teenagers, and moms can sometimes feel as if they don’t know how to connect with their daughters. But these years offer fantastic opportunities for deep discipleship! Let’s talk about how to encourage moms to disciple their daughters in very practical ways.
Room: 2006
This session will use the story of the paralytic and his four friends as a guide to help us learn how to reach teenagers with the gospel. We will consider the challenges we face in 2024 as well as helpful tips on how to overcome those specific challenges.
Room: 2008
Are the kids in your elementary ministry ready to defend their faith? Scripture instructs us to be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15–16). Let’s examine how we can equip kids to be defenders of the faith.
Room: 2103
Kids with special needs and disabilities often need extra support and encouragement to be able to fully participate in ministry activities. This session will explore the role of a buddy, how to make adaptations to ensure every child is included, and basics for behavior support.
Room: 2122
You were fearfully and wonderfully made, and your personality has a profound impact on your leadership. Come and discover how to use your personality strengths to lead confidently and effectively in ministry and to recognize and lead diverse personalities of your ministry team.
Room: 2132
Children learn more in the first five years of life than any other five-year span! Now is the time to teach little learners big truths such as: Who is God? What did God do for us? What can we do for Him? We can learn to use the best of child development and brain science in order to teach preschoolers spiritual practices like Bible memory, basic doctrine, prayer, and more. Learn how to incorporate spiritual practices into your early childhood classrooms in age-appropriate and fun ways!
Room: 2140
Discover how to organize ministry, yourself, and your team so that everyone knows what’s most important, why, and how everything else falls in place after it. You’ll walk away with your own personal strategy ready to put in place when you get home.
Room: Hudson Hall
Breakout 6
Wednesday, October 2, 10:00 a.m.
If you’re leading multiple ministry areas, you can’t be everywhere at once … or can you? Learn to multiply your leadership rather than just dividing your time.
Room: Baskin Chapel
From babies to graduates, there is immeasurable value in reaching the next generation with the good news of Jesus. But what would it look like to see the whole church work together to build connection and belonging for these kids, students, and their families? In this session, we’ll discuss biblical philosophy and practical strategies for developing a NextGen alignment and approach that can benefit your whole church.
Room: 2004
This session will explore tips and best practices in teaching/preaching to young teens that will help them learn, live out, and love God’s Word.
Room: 2006
Many times, church ministries try to mind their own business. The youth keep their messy games in the gym, the children keep their excited squeals on the playground, the adults tend to their studies in their classrooms, and the 55+ group is probably having the most fun of the entire bunch. There seems to be little crossover, as each ministry aims to focus on those in their specific bracket. Could the breaking of barriers actually lead to a revitalization within church health and a stronger youth ministry? What does Scripture say about these often segregated ministries and why are inter-generational small groups beneficial? Join us in learning how appropriately integrating other generations into your student programing can help your students and adults “refocus” on spiritual health, discipleship, service, and leadership training.
Room: 2008
Why do kids still need to hold onto valuable Bible skills in the digital world? Come hear some tips on keeping kids engaged with God’s Word even in a digital environment.
Room: 2103
Help volunteers know how to understand individual needs, guide behaviors, and develop discipleship goals for every participant in special needs ministry. This will be an interactive breakout as we learn together how to respond to various real-life situations in a variety of ways.
Room: 2122
Bring your kids ministry into focus by adjusting your perspective, being candidly intentional, and zooming in on significant connections.
Room: 2132
Want to teach children the way they learn? Learning centers are where it’s at! Come discover the great effects on classroom management and the ways children discover and remember God’s Word the way God created them to learn.
Room: 2140
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. How do we hold to that truth while reaching the ever-changing new generation? In this breakout, we will discover how to purposefully and passionately maintain foundational kids ministry programming while creatively reaching the next generation.
Room: Hudson Hall
