2020 Vision Covenant Seminary Workshops
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| Session 1 – Tuesday, January 15, 3:00 – 4:00pm |
| Rethinking the Backyard Bible Club Graham Behnke Category: Children |
| No one loves VBS more than I do. I mean I REALLY love VBS! However, I see VBS as more of discipling ministry for churched kids and less of a front line evangelism ministry. Last summer my husband and I put our two boys in a stroller and knocked on over 100 doors in our neighborhood inviting one and all to a backyard Bible club at our house. Come and hear about our experience and consider how you or your church could be involved in backyard Bible clubs this summer! Free “Toolbox Backyard Bible Club” curriculum included! |
| Communicating the Gospel to the Digital Generation Tim McCracken Category: Children |
| Pixar, Nickelodeon, video games and the internet dominate the lives of most of the children in our ministry and beyond, but how do we get them to listen to the most important information of all, the gospel, in the midst of all the clutter? |
| Cata What? Catechism! B.A. Snider Category: Children |
| Why should I bother to teach my children the catechism isn’t it just some old document that really doesn’t have any relevance today. Come and find out what catechism really is and why it is so important to teach our children. |
| Subcultures and Minorities in our Youth Culture John Chung Category: Youth |
| The United States is growing in its cultural diversity. Youth from different cultural subcultures and ethnic minority groups have found their way into our cities, towns, and churches. How should youth ministry leaders engage and minister to youth across cultures? This seminar will explore the theological grounds and practical goals for reaching and raising a varied youth group. |
| Welcome to McWorld: Engaging the Emerging Global Youth Culture Eric Larsen Category: Family Ministries |
| This workshop is designed to help parents learn about parenting adolescents in a changing world. |
| Recognizing and Developing Competent Leaders Stephen Estock Category: Leadership |
| Many ministry leaders instinctively know when they find a competent leader, but have trouble defining precisely what it is that makes that person competent. This disparity hinders a leader’s ability to develop someone from being a novice to one who is competent. This seminar examines the topic of competency and ways that leaders can design training programs to develop competent leaders. |
| Getting the Biblical Perspective on Discipleship, Part 1 Charles Dunahoo Category: Leadership |
| Disciple making requires more than Bible study and prayer. While those are basic ingredients, they must aim at making disciples with a broad holistic kingdom focus. |
| Session 2 – Tuesday, January 15, 4:15 – 5:15pm |
| All the Children of the World Graham Behnke Category: Children |
| We know that God’s heart is for all the nations—but how do we communicate that to the next generation and raise them to be global Christians? Come and hear ideas about teaching missions to kids including considering how we teach the Bible and church history, what mission resources are available and more. |
| Evangelism Through Service Barksdale Pullen Category: Children |
| Jesus stated that He came to seek, serve and save the lost. How can we use children’s ministry to evangelize through service? This workshop will investigate such things as beginning a preschool ministry, to VBS, to special events, to one day summer projects and more. |
| Building and Sustaining a Thriving 6th Grade Ministry Ty Bryant Category: Children |
| Have you ever wondered what to do with 6th graders at your church? Too old for Children’s Ministry, and too young for Junior High, discipleship and community is key in this process. Ty will share how he and his team started from scratch and how the Lord has worked in their efforts. |
| Creating Sustainable Youth Ministries John Chung Category: Youth |
| How does a church build a youth ministry that will last for the long haul? What are the ways that sessions, ministry leaders, and the laity can create a sustainable youth ministry? This seminar will focus on seeing and supplying solutions to the practical needs that youth ministry requires to create a ministry for the long haul. |
| Boys to Men: How Being a Fatherless Generation Impacts Becoming a Man Danny Mitchell Category: Family Ministries |
| Some have coined this current generation of adolescents as the “Fatherless Generation”, others the “Abandoned Generation”. This seminar will look at the impact of these cultural trends on teenage males as they struggle to become men. |
| Getting the Biblical Perspective on Discipleship, Part 2 Charles Dunahoo Category: Leadership |
| The church, home, and school can and should play a major role in making kingdom disciples. Working in concert among those entities is the key to effective Christian living. |
| Leading from Below Bob Burns Category: Leadership |
| This workshop will help participants learn how to lead when they are not in charge and how to work with people who are above them. |
| Session 3 – Wednesday, January 16, 9:00 – 10:00am |
| How to Have an Effective Communicants’ /Membership Class for Children Barksdale Pullen Category: Children |
| Communicants’/membership classes for children look different depending on the make-up of your church. Come and explore different models for preparing your children for church membership. |
| Large Group-Small Group: How to Use GCP’s Show Me Jesus Curriculum Mark Lowrey Category: Children |
| First we will look at the basic elements that are part of any large group-small group approach. Then we will discuss why people are using this approach. Thirdly we will discuss some of the advantages and liabilities pedagogically for various age groups. We will conclude looking at how Show Me Jesus curriculum can be used with this method of teaching. (GCP curriculum has all the elements needed for use in a large group-small group format.) |
| Propositional Truths in a Postmodern World: Teaching God’s Word From a Kingdom Perspective Danny Mitchell Category: Youth |
| Are our methods of teaching the Bible no longer effective with the next generation? Some believe so. In this interactive seminar, we will look at whether Post modernity necessitates a change in our methodology. We will also look at various models of discipleship together to move toward an effective way of engaging teenagers with the Word of God. |
| Character Development in a Christian Education Environment Stephen Estock Category: Family Ministries |
| A difficult reality facing many schools and ministry programs is that parents are looking to others to train children in ethical behavior. Unfortunately, much of the culture focuses on behavior modification rather than ethical maturity. Education and ministry leaders must disciple both the parents and the child in understanding God’s design for character development. This seminar considers how the reformed doctrine of sanctification can help us design a program that leads to genuine change in the life of children and families. |
| Gospel Centered Parenting Scott Barber Category: Family Ministries |
| Training the Parents in our church to raise up their children in the Lord may take a different turn if we truly understand the Gospel and its power in our lives and theirs. Let’s take a look at how we tend to follow the rules of parenting without the Gospel and then take a closer look at what true Christian parenting should be. |
| What is Biblical Christian Education? Bruce McRae Category: Leadership |
| Too often, children’s and youth ministries are put in place just so we “have something for the children to do,” and adult education is offered to just fill up time. But this is not enough! We will look at why and how we make disciples of covenant children, youth and adults, and how this mission is rooted in the covenantal promises of God Himself given to us the gospel. |
| Mentoring Phil Douglass Category: Leadership |
| Come to this workshop and learn about the various aspects of mentoring people in their Christian growth. |
| Session 4 – Thursday, January 17, 9:00 – 10:00am |
| Developing a Vision and Strategy for Children’s Ministry Tim McCracken Category: Children |
| Developing a Vision and Strategy for Children’s Ministry- If you aim at nothing you are sure to hit it. We will explore in a collaborative workshop how to develop a strategy and vision for children’s ministry to help parents and volunteers see where you are headed and how you are going to get there. |
| How to Have an Effective Summer Ministry with Children (i.e. VBS, camps, special events, etc.) Barksdale Pullen Category: Children |
| The children are out of school and parents are looking for something for them to do! Come and learn with other children’s ministry leaders the best ways to use the summer to reach out to those around you and deepen your kids’ faith. |
| Maximizing Youth Bible Studies Using So What? Bible Studies Mark Lowrey Category: Youth |
| We will look at ways to help your youth Bible Studies be more effective during your group meetings and also afterwards. We will use the elements available in So What? Bible Studies as examples of how you not only can use this material more effectively but also how these principles can be used in any Bible study. We will look at the various parts of a Bible study to understand why they are used and how they can be used in helping teens know Christ, grow in their faith and relate to others…”Relating faith to life and life to faith.” |
| Leaving a Legacy of Faith for the Next Generation B.A. Snider Category: Family Ministries |
| Whether you are a Children’s Director, Sunday School teacher, parent, aunt, uncle or just love kids, come and look at the characteristics of the covenant and the importance of understanding, teaching and living in light of the covenant and the covenant community. |
| Worship Training Jason Walch Category: Family Ministries |
| Children’s Church is the answer most often given to the question, “What should we do with the younger kids?” Yet many children’s church programs would be difficult to distinguish from Sunday School or mid-week offerings. Let us explore together the opportunities afforded us when the youngest (and sometimes most fidgety) of our church members need a developmentally appropriate setting to learn the patterns and practice of worship. |
| Discipling the Heart of a Man Gary Yagel Category: Leadership |
| Did you know that 9 out of 10 Christian men have no best friend, 5 out of 10 will fail in their marriages, and 7 out of 10 struggle with pornography? Defeated, and ashamed most Christian men are fighting their spiritual battles alone. But imagine men walking through life as a band of brothers—each man having strong arms lifting him up when he fails, fellow strugglers on their knees praying for his spiritual battles, close friends who celebrate his victories with him. What a picture of discipleship! Such bands of Christ-followers are not just a fantasy; they are being forged in many churches today. This seminar explains how that is happening. |
| Leadership by Example Bruce McRae Category: Leadership |
| This seminar examines the importance of leading by setting a godly example for those we lead. And, we can only set this example when we live by grace: when we live by faith and repentance, resting on the work of Christ and walking by the Spirit of Christ. |
| Session 5 – Thursday, January 17, 10:30 – 11:30am |
| Developing a Discipleship-Focused Children’s Ministry Ty Bryant Category: Children |
| Scripture teaches that Jesus has a heart for children, and even goes as far to say that unless we become like a child, we can’t understand the true Gospel. The building blocks of discipleship need to begin as young as possible. Come and learn how you can build a life-on-life discipleship ministry at your church, no matter how large or small the congregation. |
| Looking Backward from Campus Ministry: What Helps Children? Brian Habig Category: Children |
| You may or may not have children of your own. But, if you are in a local church, the children there are “yours” in a very real way, and together we are either helping them toward or away from Jesus. Workshop participants will consider: taking children serious theologically, prioritizing heart response to the gospel over behavior modification (including how we respond to our own sin in front of children), modeling love for the church behind closed doors and engaging their culture (and commending what is true, good and beautiful). |
| Six Things Every Adult Should Know About the Next Generation Danny Mitchell Category: Youth |
| This seminar will combine the latest research concerning adolescence with the timeless truth of the Bible to provide insight into effective ways of ministering to the next generation. |
| The Missional Child Mary Oldfield Category: Family Ministries |
| This workshop will explore the family role in discipling children to have a heart for what God is doing the world. We will look into how we can prepare our children to go where God send them to be salt and light. |
| Recruiting People for Ministry Phil Douglass Category: Leadership |
| Just as the title states, this workshop will assist participants to know how to go home and work on the important task of recruiting and equipping people to serve in the Lord’s harvest. |
| The Political Realities of Ministry Bob Burns Category: Leadership |
| Those attending this seminar will learn about how to deal with the issues of ministry politics in a God-honoring manner. |
| Leading a Large Group in Learning Jason Walch Category: Leadership |
| “How am I going to hold their attention?” The prospect of teaching a large group can be intimidating… and if one child in a room of 8 can unhinge things, what do we do with a group of 25? 40? 200? The key to winning a hearing is to engage the imagination of the kids you have there – no matter how many! Creative development of our teaching is essential, and it works best when we work together. |