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CURRICULUM

Praying with Scripture and Centering Prayer for Children and Adults

Andrea Andress
We teach children to listen to God, but how many of us are sure we are hearing from God? Praying with scripture (Lectio Divina) and Centering Prayer are two forms of prayer that focus on listening to God. We will discover Centering Prayer as a process to enter into Contemplative Prayer, or how to listen to God. This workshop will include background in these types of prayer and a time of prayerful practice in listening to God in scripture and centering prayer.

The Safe and Effective Church Nursery

Cindy Banek
As communities of faith we have a responsibility to minister to our youngest members and embrace them as an important part of our church family. We know that parents expect a church nursery to provide a safe, caring, and educational environment. This workshop will present ways you can turn your child-care rooms into a thriving and dynamic ministry that will benefit both young children and their parents.

Faith Begins at Birth

Kerry Blackwood
In this workshop we will discover ways your church can cultivate the faith of babies, toddlers, and two-year-olds. Even the youngest child can experience God through loving, caring adults who desire to share their faith. In this workshop we will examine curriculum that shows the youngest children the love of God. We will explore lessons of faith they can understand and how the support of a faith community plays an integral role in the development of that faith.

The Method to our Madness for Tweeners

Cindy Campbell
The right environment can help upper-elementary children grow spiritually and emotionally and ease their transition into middle school and youth groups. This workshop will look at ways to bring scripture to the everyday world of 10 to 12-year-olds through guided play, drama, missions, evangelism, study, prayer, and worship to provide spiritual-social networks to support them throughout middle school and high school.

The Way of the Child for Preschool Children

Cindi Catlin
As churches have used The Way of the Child, there has been a clarion call to adapt this resource for ages 3-5. This adaptation arrived in 2009 and is ready for use in Sunday School and weekday early-childhood education programs. In this workshop we will both discuss and experience developmentally appropriate practices that nurture the spirituality of preschool children.

Children and the Sacraments: A Hands-On Approach to Learning

Carolyn Tanner and Taylor Burton-Edwards
Using resources specifically designed for children and based on the official United Methodist documents "This Holy Mystery" and "By Water and the Spirit," this workshop will introduce a variety of ways to teach children about Holy Communion and Baptism. With a strong theological foundation and an understanding of learning methodologies, this material is adaptable to many different settings and group sizes.

Creation Exploration

Sandra M McGarrah
How do leaves change color? What happens to a bird nest when it rains? Can the sun cook an apple? Is all water the same? A hands-on approach can help answer these questions and more. In this workshop we will discuss how to help children become more aware of God's amazing creation through the use of easy science experiments as they explore the web of life.

The Way of the Child for Elementary Age Children

Wynn McGregor
The Way of the Child is a spiritual formation resource that helps elementary age children become more aware of the presence and love of God and leads them into deepening their relationship with God. Since The Way of the Child was published in 2006, leaders have reported that children love the experience and don’t want to miss. Leaders have experienced a deepening of their own faith, and parents have noted their children talk more about faith at home. This workshop will explore The Way of the Child and discuss how it can be used in a variety of settings.

Created in God’s Image

Leigh Meekins
This workshop will explore the process of leading Created by God: About Human Sexuality. We will discuss the importance of education in human sexuality and learn how to lead groups of older elementary children and tweens through the program. This workshop is open to those with all levels of experience.

Three Simple Rules

Deb Smith
Bishop Rueben Job, in his book, Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, has reintroduced the church to John Wesley and a guide for living in today’s world. In this workshop participants will explore a variety of ways to use the three simple rules with children, in intergenerational settings, and as a part of how we guide adults who work with children.

Delicious Bible Stories

LeeDell Stickler and Daphna Flegal
Everyone loves a good story, and everyone loves to eat. Delicious Bible Stories combines the physical act of preparing the foods, the sensory act of eating the foods, and the auditory act of listening to the stories to create unforgettable Bible lessons. Use no-cook cooking methods to reinforce Bible stories from both the Old and the New Testaments.

TRAINING

You’re Only Young Twice: Picture Books that Speak to Adults

Beverly Halperin
Many wonderful children's books have relevant messages for people of all ages. These books can be used to explore values, Bible stories, Bible people, and life lessons. Thought-provoking children’s books can elicit wonderful discussions for everyone involved in children’s ministry. In this workshop we will explore books that will not only engage a child but also engage your inner child.

The Gift of Hospitality: Welcoming Children in All Areas of the Church

Delia Halverson
In this workshop we will explore biblical models of hospitality and how they can be carried out with children in our churches. We will discuss ways to exhibit hospitality to children and their families and ways to teach children to use the gift of hospitality that God has given us. This workshop will provide the opportunity to share and receive ideas and suggestions

Reaching the YouTube Generation: What’s So Different Anyway?

Mary Frances McClure
Jesus calls us to go and make disciples. We like to make disciples in ways that are most comfortable to ourselves, but what works for one generation may not work for the next. In this workshop we will look at characteristics of the two adult generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation X to examine what we do and do not have in common with the Millennial Generation. We will discuss how we must continue to form disciples in ways that are authentic and effective.

Creation Care and Greening Our Church Community

Sandra M McGarrah
This workshop will address how we can introduce environmental issues into Christian education and encourage a congregation to make a difference. We will explore options for advocacy for environmental issues, ways to encourage congregations to adopt green behavior, and how we can use the resources of our faith to accomplish these goals.

Tending Children's Growing Spirituality in the Home

Wynn McGregor
Family is the primary influence on the faith formation of a child, yet in the fast-paced daily life of work and activities, parents often become overwhelmed and leave little time for intentional spirituality. How do we nurture spirituality in the midst of a busy family life? What are attributes, qualities, and skills for spiritual parenting? This workshop will examine practical and inspirational ways to nurture a child's soul.

Helping Children Build Strong Character, Morals, and Commitments

Wynn McGregor
The spiritual journey occurs both inwardly and outwardly. We must all "go in" to discover God and self and "move out" to live in God's world. This workshop will explore ways to help children know their true selves. They, too, can be instruments of God's love and grace in our world. We will discuss how to help children build their own foundation and encourage them to make commitments that are in harmony with God, their inner selves, and the world around them.

Welcoming the Special Needs Child

Anne Holtsclaw Meyer
When an appropriate support system is in place, children with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities can happily participate in age-appropriate Sunday school, VBS, etc. Systems for involving these children may include a classroom "friend," adapted furnishings, adapted teaching materials, or carefully selected snacks. This workshop will look at ways to create a hospitable and effective setting.

Advocacy: The Heart of Discipleship – Mini-Plenary

Diane C Olson and Laura Dean F Friedrich
This workshop will present child advocacy as an integral and vital aspect of discipleship. Through the framework of Jesus’ ministry to children we will examine the biblical and theological framework of child advocacy, learn the range of child advocacy, gain tools strategies for action on behalf of children, and discuss methods, practical integration and application in our local situations.

Intentional God Connections

Lynne Paredes
This workshop will review the importance of young children making verbal connections between actions and faith. We are all "fearfully and wonderfully made," but we often forget to verbally make the God-connection for young children whose faith formation is just beginning. We will share ideas regarding the scriptural basis for many attitudes, activities, and guidelines in the faith-based preschool. We will leave with ways to continue bringing God to weekday ministries and a renewed dedication.

Healthy Church Growth through Children’s Ministry

Bob Pierson
This workshop will examine how children’s ministries can be used to lead new people to Jesus Christ and help them grow as disciples. We will focus on "needs-based evangelism" as it works in children’s ministry. These methods, principles, and plans for successfully using a children’s ministry to effectively reach new children and their families can empower the local church. We will discuss practical ways this works.

Small Church Children’s Ministry

Susan G Skaggs
The Lexington Kentucky District provides a ministry position to small congregations with both Anglo and African-American children’s ministry for consultation, guidance, networking, and materials. This workshop offers ideas and suggestions to other districts for funding and supporting small church children’s ministries.

How to Think Big in Small Congregations

Susan G Skaggs
In this workshop we will explore ways smaller congregations (under 75) can make kids count and not count kids. Small church problems – no money, no people, and no space – can make us think we have nothing to offer. Think again! We have the individual attention of people who care and the benefit of the United Methodist connectional ministry. We will look at team ministry and 12 steps to developing a "quality, intentional, on-going children’s ministry."

This Media-Rich Generation

Terri Stepek
Today's elementary children have never lived without cell phones, iPods, or laptops. This generation is like no other before it, and we need to reach out in a way that is culturally relevant. In this workshop we will discover current generational trends and ways we can reach our youngest and most technologically-savvy generation. We will also explore ways to adapt curriculum and resources to include this new knowledge.

Tweens Choosing Faith

Marcia Stoner
Being a Christian and a United Methodist is a choice we make. This workshop will explore ways to guide tweens who have been in Sunday school for years to a renewed understanding of their faith as well as ways to guide the “lightly churched” or un-churched to an initial understanding of faith. We will also discuss introducing tweens to the history and theology of the United Methodist church before they begin confirmation.

WORSHIP

To Sing is to Pray

Nanette De Andrade
We remember what we sing, especially what we sang as children. Tap into the increased power of memorization, emotion, and community that music can bring to your children. This workshop will explore ways that non-musicians can successfully lead music in settings such as the classroom and children's worship with elementary-aged children. Techniques for teaching song, helping music to flow naturally through your teaching and worship plans, music samples, and resources for good children's music will all be included.

Children Leading Worship

Ruth Grissom
While children are important to the worship experience for church families, it is crucial that they understand what is happening in worship and why we do what we do. One way to help our kids understand worship is to train and allow them to lead worship. Through their experiences in worship leadership, children can begin to see worship with new eyes and older generations will gain new respect for children’s potential in ministry.

High-Energy Preschool Worship

Karen Holm-Hudson
This workshop will introduce the newest research in brain development for young children and the most effective ways to reach young children for Christ through music and movement. We will experience several new songs in preschool worship and watch a short clip of successful preschool worship. Time will be set aside for questions and a list of websites, resources, and recordings for preschool worship will be provided.

Incorporating Children in Worship

Debbie Irving
This workshop will provide the tools and framework for successfully including children in the full worshipping body of a congregation. All tips and tools are designed to help fully incorporate children into the worship service and to help children deepen their appreciation and understanding of the worship experience.

The Sanctuary: If God Is Present, Why Aren’t the Kids?

Jim Ritchie
We call to the Spirit of God in worship, but we dismiss the children. In this workshop we will discuss the presence of children in the whole hour of worship, the parents who would prefer them elsewhere, and what God — and the children — might have to say about the situation. We will strive to think differently about worship and leave with practical ideas for keeping children engaged in worship.

"Come! Come! Everybody Worship!": The Patterns of United Methodist Worship

Carolyn Tanner and Taylor Burton-Edwards
Based on a brand-new resource, this workshop will introduce teaching the basic four-fold pattern of Christian worship — in its uniquely United Methodist form — to children ages 7 - 11. We will examine this interactive resource which employs a variety of teaching "intelligences" and review the pattern of United Methodist worship.

Worship for Life: Helping Children Explore and Experience Worship

Phyllis Wezeman
Constructing a culinary cathedral to learn about worship, playing a tune on bottles filled with colored water to learn about baptism, participating in a drama through an after school event to learn about confession and assurance are all unique ways experience worship. In this workshop we will discover creative approaches for helping children and tweens experience and learn themes of worship and the main parts of a service of worship such as prayer, proclamation, and offering.

PROGRAMS

Camp Narnia: Camping and the Chronicles of Narnia

Andrea Andress
Using four of the Chronicles of Narnia books (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Last Battle), this workshop will present curriculum for four (five-day, overnight) camps. These may be adapted for single Sunday or weekday events at a church. The curriculum includes large/small group settings, crafts, games and skits.

Go, Plant, and Grow Children's Ministries in a Large Church

Cay Barton
This workshop will examine ways to structure and grow children's ministry in a large church. We will look at ways to motivate, empower, and involve church members in our children's ministries. We will also provide tips for being an administrator and organizer.

Days in God's World: An Alternative to Traditional VBS

Libby Eaton
This workshop will present, as an alternative to the traditional week-long evening Vacation Bible School, a five full-day VBS. These days focus on a Bible story and include a mission project, crafts, music, art activities, and opportunities for the children to experience God outside the church building, teaching children to apply what they learn in the church to God's world outside of the church. This type of VBS works best for downtown churches who find a neighborhood-based VBS is not meeting their needs but is also adaptable for any church that wants reach the lifestyle of today's young families.

Special Celebration Sundays

Debbie Irving
Special Sunday celebrations such as Earth Day, International Sunday School, Back-to-School Sunday, and Grandfriends' Day connect children and their families’ faith with issues outside the church walls and celebrate creation, diversity, generations, and God's presence. This workshop will give teachers and children's education directors the tools, techniques, and creative spark needed to conduct these special Sunday celebrations for children and families.

Healthy Children

Marie C King
This workshop will focus on health issues for children today by identifying risk factors for children and discussing the varying facets of health – physical, spiritual, emotional, relational, political, environmental, and socio-economic. We will explore ways to implement a health ministry for children, ways to be an inclusive culture as it is related to health issues, disabilities, and gender, and ways to incorporate Wesleyan tradition in this ministry.

Children’s Fellowship Opportunities

Deb Miteff
Through children's fellowship groups, children can grow in their faith through study, games, and activities. This workshop will explore curriculum ideas, resources, games, and activities for churches wishing to grow or begin a children’s fellowship group. We will discuss ways to begin a program and how to use the fellowship groups to invite families into your congregation.

How to Plan Special Events with Kids

Deb Miteff
Through special events churches can reach out to the community by offering safe, non-threatening events and activities for children and tweens. This workshop will present ideas for starting a program, reasons to start a program, curriculum and resources for special event programs, how to gather information for future use, and how to use this information to reach out to the community and invite guests back.

Children are the Priority – Mini-Plenary

Bob Pierson
The importance of children in our churches is not only a statistical reality but a spiritual one as well. Local churches must make children’s ministry a priority, particularly in the midst of and increasingly secular culture where the opportunity to learn values and faith is dwindling. This workshop will explore how to successfully organize and build a powerful and life-changing Children’s Ministries.

Professing our Faith: Confirmation Planning for Faith Development

Susan Hay
This workshop will look at various formats for confirmation classes and interactive teaching techniques. We will work through the planning process and develop an outline of meaningful confirmation lessons that lead to faith development.

Together Is Better: Learning in an Inclusive, Multi-Age Preschool Environment

Bonnie Spear
This workshop will explore the benefits of multi-age learning in an inclusive environment and discuss hints and suggestions for including special needs children. Experiences from directing an NAEYC accredited program that serves a diverse population of ethnicities, religions, cultures and socio-economic groups will be shared.

Using Drama to Teach Biblical Truths to Tweens

Marcia Stoner
This workshop will introduce a six-week study of Jesus’ parables that uses drama as an entry point to invite tweens to a deeper understanding. We will also discuss techniques for using drama to teach other types of biblical lessons in various settings and how to do special event studies through drama for times such as Lent, Christmas, summer camps, and retreats.

Developing a Ministry with the Entire Family – Mini-Plenary

Brenda Story
This workshop will encourage teams and leaders to begin analyzing and developing ways to perceive the needs of the families within their church and those they are trying to reach. We will examine how children's ministries in various setting can become family ministries and how to cultivate the creative process to envision a unique ministry to meet the needs of your church.

DIVERSITY

Becoming a Church for All of God's Children

Laura G Early
This workshop will encourage local churches to celebrate diversity in every area of children's ministry by intentionally reaching out and inviting a multiracial and multicultural group to be in ministry together. The story of All God's Children UMC will be shared as a means to teach and encourage the development of a diverse congregation. We will share program ideas, theological study, practical tips, and hands-on tools.

Cross-generational Learning: Adults of All Ages and Children

Delia Halverson
Parents sometimes have little time to spend with their children during the week. Why not offer them this opportunity on Sunday morning in a Christian learning situation? This workshop will present opportunities for special events in cross-generational learning and for parents and children to learn together in a Sunday-school classroom setting.

Many Families, Many Children, Many Voices

Theresa Thames-Lynch
As our churches become more varied, it is critical that Christian education reflect this diversity. This workshop will encourage Christian education leaders and teachers to provide inclusive and engaging ministry for diverse families and children. We will learn how to provide programming for diverse families and children, review the importance of cultural awareness and sensitivity, and discuss ways to increase participation among various children and families.

Children: Present and Future of the Church

Liana H Perez-Felix
Using La Niñez: Presente y Futuro de la Iglesia, this workshop will look at ways to organize, develop, and lead Hispanic children's ministries (as well as non-Hispanic ministries). We will explore important and relevant topics, discern whether specific ministries fit the mission of the church, and discuss organization and development of ministries with children.

Gender and Learning

MaryJane Pierce Norton
How do boys and girls learn? Are there differences related to gender? If so, how do we know if they are environmentally induced or related to true learning preferences? In this workshop we will explore recent research in gender and learning, identify ways to optimize the learning of both boys and girls and determine ways to balance gender-specific learning opportunities as well as coeducational opportunities at church.

LEADERSHIP

Children's Ministry: Alpha to Omega

Sue Campbell
A is for Acolyte; B is for… This workshop will include practical ideas for Children’s Ministry on a journey through the Alphabet. Take home fun ideas for snacks, crafts, dance, choir, as well as tips for office tasks and involving children in worship while juggling your job and your personal life. Whether you’re a newbie or an old-timer, you will not want to miss this workshop which shares nearly 20 twenty years of ministry from A to Z.

Children and the Means of Grace: Reclaiming our Wesleyan Heritage for a New Generation

Beth Fender
This workshop will provide an introduction (or review) of John Wesley's "Means of Grace," basic Christian spiritual practices that help us grow in love of God and love of neighbor. We will examine both the importance of our own personal practice in the “Means of Grace” and ways we can incorporate the “Means of Grace” into our work with children. We will consider ways to emphasize spiritual practices in any curriculum.

New Trends in Children’s Ministries

Daphna Flegal
Find out what's new, exciting, and successful in children's ministries across the nation. Listen to stories gathered from both United Methodist churches and churches in other denominations. Share your own stories and evaluate how varying ministries could work for you in your unique setting.

Tending the Shepherd

Susan Hay
Too often in the servant hood of our ministry we find we tend the sheep far better than we tend the shepherd, ourselves. We long for connections in the midst of disconnected lives – connections to ourselves, to others, and to the world in which we live. Most of all we yearn to connect with the Sacred. This workshop will explore ways of finding, nurturing, and renewing a friendship with God.

You are a Children’s Pastor

Rita B Hays
As leaders in children’s ministries, our role is often that of pastoral care for children and their families. This workshop will provide ways to approach visiting children in the home, helping children in times of crisis and change, and caring for children during special occasions in their lives.

Developing Teams: A New Way to Lead

Mark Hoogerhyde
Two of the greatest challenges in any children’s ministry are organizing and inviting volunteers. Using Luke 10, this workshop will establish a realistic perspective on the challenges of inviting and involving volunteers in your ministry teams. We will examine a new way to organize your leadership teams based on what we do (communication, training, and appreciation) rather than individual departments (Sunday School, Nursery, choirs, and midweek clubs). This dynamic way of organizing your helpers will help your teams work better together as well as eliminate walls and silos in your ministry.

If You Don't Feed the Teachers, They Eat the Students

Linda McGlashan
This workshop will help weekday directors support, encourage, and retain staff through ideas for inexpensive or no cost "perks," celebrations, devotions, team building activities, prayer support ideas, moral builders, and other activities that help build up the body of those who work with children in your program. Help keep your team happy, healthy, and well “fed.”

Best Practices in Safe Sanctuaries

Joy T Melton
This workshop will survey the best current practices for developing and maintaining Safe Sanctuaries in congregations and conference level ministries. We will learn the most up-to-date practices and policies regarding recruiting, screening, and hiring, and we will discuss the latest resources for staffing and operating ministries safely.

Building Positive Relationships between Churches and Weekday Ministries

Fran Porter, Linda McGlashan, and Bob Pearcy
In this workshop a panel from the United Methodist Association of Preschools of Florida (UMAP) will share their experiences working through the process of building a covenant relationship. We will examine how a covenant relationship provides a scriptural basis for working through issues such as shared space, finances, liability, missions, and staffing.

How to Get, Keep, and Appreciate Volunteers

John Sullivan
In a period when there is so much demand for our time we need to show potential volunteers the importance of a spiritual foundation for our children and how, as Christians, we are all called to use our God-given talents to help lay that foundation. This workshop will include practical tips and advice on how to acquire, keep, and appreciate these volunteers. We will also explore creative ideas for hosting family ministry events to pique the interest of the parents who may wish to serve.

MISSION

Engaging Children in Mission Institutions and Programs

Ellen Knudsen, Dee Dee Heffner, Glenn Druilhet, and Robert Walker
A panel of experts from National Mission Institutions (i.e. McCurdy School and Red Bird Mission) and community ministries programs will speak about strategies for engaging children in the work of United Methodist-related mission institutions and programs.

DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

"Jesus Wept:" The Critical Role of the Church in Addressing Grief in Children and Adolescents

Tonya D Armstrong
Integrating clinical psychology, child development, and pastoral care, this workshop will motivate and equip persons involved in all aspects of children's ministry to recognize and support bereaved children. We will explore the pervasiveness of grief in our lives and in the life of the church; patterns of grief among children, adolescents, and their families; and ways of providing concrete, practical support to those who are grieving.

Preparing for Difficult Conversations

Terry Gladstone
Difficult conversations are an inevitable part of conflict transformation. This workshop will guide participants in identifying what makes conversations difficult, provide a scriptural framework for such conversations, and illustrate positive techniques for preparing Godly responses. We will practice and experience these techniques, providing the necessary tools to take with you back to your ministry.

Reaching Out to Children Touched by War

Leanne Hadley
With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan approaching six years, children with military parents and family members are facing multiple deployments of their loved ones. Fear, pain and worry recur with each deployment. Children need a safe, caring place where they can express their feelings and where they can find hope and courage. This workshop will discuss the unique challenges faced by military kids and how the church can provide a place for these children. We will also look at outlines for three events designed to specifically meet the needs of these children.