Workshop: Alumni Strategies and Sizing/Scaling Well

Come join Ann, founding director of CrossRoad Summer Institute, to discuss alumni strategies and sizing/scaling well for youth theology programs. CrossRoad started with one session in 2003 and has now grown to three sessions with 1100 alumni and continued plans for scaling, and the program has been solely funded for the last decade by families, alumni, trustees, and friends.

Workshop: Strategic Approaches to Adolescent Faith and Flourishing in a Post Pandemic World

Youth workers continue to find ways to navigate our post pandemic world. Trauma and racial tensions are just a couple concerns that the pandemic has brought to the surface. Addressing these concerns creates distinct opportunities and challenges that force us to reflect on what it means for young people to flourish.

This interactive workshop explores pedagogical approaches that provide transformative experiences that contribute to flourishing and help form young people's faith. Participants will leave with concrete strategies on how to engage youth in a post-pandemic world.

Workshop Title: Function Over Form: Adapting Your Program for a New Season

The lived experiences of young people, the role of Christianity in America, and the ministry landscape have shifted monumentally in the last four years. Whether your program is two or ten years old, it’s time to adapt for a new season in ways that prioritize a program’s function over its form. This workshop will draw upon the Innovation Lab’s Theological Innovation Process to guide you to identify your program’s specific purpose in 2024, name which components of the program work and which don't as you move forward, and help you articulate tangible next steps. You’ll be introduced to the Lab’s approach to prototyping and how we measure effectiveness and sustainability through the lens of theological innovation.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Igniting the Pen: Unleashing the Power of Storytelling in Youth Theology Programs (Brian Hull and Darlene Hutto)

Join Brian Hull, director of partnerships at Asbury’s Youth Becoming Leaders YTN program, and Darlene Hutto, FTE’s director of community engagement as we harness the power of storytelling and resource sharing to ignite your passion for writing and empower you to articulate the profound impact of your youth theology programs. Through engaging discussions, an interactive session, and hands-on activities, we will guide you on a journey of self-reflection, exploration, and collective growth. This workshop will serve as a platform to showcase the successes and failures of planning, programming, and returning to the work of cultivating young people in a post-pandemic reality. Join us as we collaborate, imagine, and discern a brilliant resource project to share with adjacent constituent groups.

Rev. Dr. Darlene M. Hutto, affectionately known to many in FTE's network as "Revvy Rev" is an ordained Itinerant Elder, African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). She is a creative and lover of all things liturgical. At FTE she is responsible for partner relationship building, designing events, and overseeing work with young adult leaders. She engages in strategic initiatives and design and enjoys accompanying our FTE partners across the board. She holds a BA degree in Religion and Philosophy from Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, OH, and a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, GA. Reverend Hutto completed a Doctorate in Ministry degree at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in May 2023.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Igniting the Pen: Unleashing the Power of Storytelling in Youth Theology Programs (Brian Hull and Darlene Hutto)

Join Brian Hull, director of partnerships at Asbury’s Youth Becoming Leaders YTN program, and Darlene Hutto, FTE’s director of community engagement as we harness the power of storytelling and resource sharing to ignite your passion for writing and empower you to articulate the profound impact of your youth theology programs. Through engaging discussions, an interactive session, and hands-on activities, we will guide you on a journey of self-reflection, exploration, and collective growth. This workshop will serve as a platform to showcase the successes and failures of planning, programming, and returning to the work of cultivating young people in a post-pandemic reality. Join us as we collaborate, imagine, and discern a brilliant resource project to share with adjacent constituent groups.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Making Participation Predictable: A Hernia-Free Approach to Recruitment (Aqueelah Ligonde and Trey Wince)

The good news is that getting a full roster for your upcoming program is a very doable task. The less-good-news is that it takes some work. Ministry Architects’ leaders Aqueelah Ligonde and Trey Wince will share some key rhythms and disciplines that can produce predictably good results rather than last-minute surprises. In this pre-gathering workshop, take a deep dive on recruitment and participation practices so that you can walk away with a jumpstart on your recruitment process that is easily picked up when you get home.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Sustainability Through the Lenses of Evaluation and Fundraising (Meredith McNabb and Sue Weber)

Utilize practical tools drawn from the work of evaluation and fundraising in order to develop strategic, effective, and faithful approaches to sustainability for your program. Participants in this interactive workshop will develop a holistic understanding of sustainability and hone their skills in communicating their mission to would-be donors and other funders.

Workshop: Sustainability Through the Lens of Fundraising

Fundraising isn’t the whole picture of sustainability, but financial resources drive the engine of how organizations and programs can live out their mission over time. In this interactive workshop, participants will utilize practical tools drawn from the best of professional fundraising resources to clarify your program’s mission and share it effectively with those who might contribute financially to sustain it.

Workshop: Working Together for Success

How can University communications and development work with a youth theology institute to the benefit of both the university and the program? Let’s consider together the benefits and challenges of recruitment and fund raising for a program and share your experience with what works.

Workshop: Vocation in a Changing World

This workshop explores the question: How might we think about the theological concept of vocation, in order that we might equip students to follow God, who calls them to show up as Belongers amid a rapidly changing world?

Workshop: Unorthodox Approaches to Discipleship with Urban Youth (Ruben Ortiz and Anthony Ramos)

Just because something is not the norm, does not invalidate the methodology nor its usefulness. Traditional approaches to discipleship may be too safe, too clean and unrealistic for urban youth. “Unorthodox Approaches to Discipleship” is a process of youth ministry within the urban context that works with the imperfections and gray areas of our young people, without trying to adult them prematurely. Additionally, it considers the systems that directly affect urban youth and equips youth ministers with the proper framework to guide young people through this continuum of Gospel support.

In this workshop, we describe a theology of youth ministry that is contextual to the urban environment, and the premises of ministry within its proper environment. We would discuss further how we accomplish this through the Esperanza Youth Leadership Institute via-advocacy and civic engagement, access and utilizing the arts, and community development work. Many of these are segmented apart from our traditional methods of discipleship, however, we believe in a whole discipleship for the whole person, which includes practices, understandings and expectations that may be a bit “less orthodox.”

Workshop: Unorthodox Approaches to Discipleship with Urban Youth (Ruben Ortiz and Anthony Ramos)

Just because something is not the norm, does not invalidate the methodology nor its usefulness. Traditional approaches to discipleship may be too safe, too clean and unrealistic for urban youth. “Unorthodox Approaches to Discipleship” is a process of youth ministry within the urban context that works with the imperfections and gray areas of our young people, without trying to adult them prematurely. Additionally, it considers the systems that directly affect urban youth and equips youth ministers with the proper framework to guide young people through this continuum of Gospel support.

In this workshop, we describe a theology of youth ministry that is contextual to the urban environment, and the premises of ministry within its proper environment. We would discuss further how we accomplish this through the Esperanza Youth Leadership Institute via-advocacy and civic engagement, access and utilizing the arts, and community development work. Many of these are segmented apart from our traditional methods of discipleship, however, we believe in a whole discipleship for the whole person, which includes practices, understandings and expectations that may be a bit “less orthodox.”

Good for Everyone: Designing Spaces & Programs with a Trauma-Informed Lens

In the wake of the pandemic and a refreshing normalization of mental health, it’s on us to design spaces, flow, and programs with care and intention. A trauma-informed ministry lens can help us do just that. With solid data and practical takeaways, this workshop will provide an opportunity to reflect on your programming and purposes in service to all your teens. Because, as it turns out, trauma-informed ministry is not just good for those who’ve experienced traumatic events...it’s good for everyone.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Sustainability Through the Lenses of Evaluation and Fundraising (Meredith McNabb and Sue Weber)

Utilize practical tools drawn from the work of evaluation and fundraising in order to develop strategic, effective, and faithful approaches to sustainability for your program. Participants in this interactive workshop will develop a holistic understanding of sustainability and hone their skills in communicating their mission to would-be donors and other funders. 

Workshop: Evaluation for Sustainability

Evaluation sometimes can feel like an overwhelming task for program directors. In this workshop, participants will explore the essential connection between evaluation and program sustainability. The workshop will break down evaluation into manageable steps over the life of the grant. During this workshop, participants will learn how the Lilly Endowment understands and approaches evaluation, how evaluation promotes program improvement, and how the creation of a theory of change and evaluation plan facilitates good evaluation practices. IN addition, participants will be introduced to the resources and support from the Evaluation Project.

Pre-Gathering Workshop: Making Participation Predictable: A Hernia-Free Approach to Recruitment (Aqueelah Ligonde and Trey Wince)

The good news is that getting a full roster for your upcoming program is a very doable task. The less-good-news is that it takes some work. Ministry Architects’ leaders Aqueelah Ligonde and Trey Wince will share some key rhythms and disciplines that can produce predictably good results rather than last-minute surprises. In this pre-gathering workshop, take a deep dive on recruitment and participation practices so that you can walk away with a jumpstart on your recruitment process that is easily picked up when you get home.

Workshop: Changing Our World at the Intersection of Worship and Justice

Worship and Justice are not in competition with one another, instead they are held together in the words of scripture as a way that we love God and Love one another. How might we make a difference in our world by living a lifestyle of faith and justice? How might we support the passion for justice in this generation? This conversation will explore the desire youth have to see peace and flourishing in the world and how we can amplify their leadership and compassion for a world that is hurting and broken.

Kara Powell, PhD, is the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and chief of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch,” Kara serves as a Youth and Family Strategist for Orange, and also speaks regularly at parenting and leadership conferences. Kara is the author or co-author of a number of books including 3 Big Questions that Change Every Teenager, Faith in an Anxious World, Growing With, 18 Plus, Growing Young, The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith Curriculum, Can I Ask That?, Deep Justice Journeys, Essential Leadership, Deep Justice in a Broken World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, and the Good Sex Youth Ministry Curriculum.