Workshop 1 - YOU: The Missing Piece in a Child's Spiritual Puzzle

YOU have the power to make a significant difference in the spiritual destiny of the children in your life. Discover the relational secrets that can transform your youth ministry.

Karl Bastian has over fifteen years of experience as a full time Children's Pastor in large, small, and mobile churches. He is also the founder of Kidology.org, one of the leading Internet destinations for those who minister to children. He has a Bible Theology degree from Moody Bible Institute and a Masters in Children's Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Karl is an author of and contributor to several children's ministry books and magazines, a trainer and encourager at conferences around the world, but his favorite place to be is in front of kids creatively teaching them the Bible and training them to serve God. In his workshops Karl brings the joy of Children's Ministry to life and with it, creative and practical ideas and principles that will recharge your ministry.

Workshop 2 - Sex Without Rules

In a sexual culture of anything goes, Sex Without Rules has become the latest trend. This seminar looks at the problems and challenges facing young people growing up in promiscuous times - hook-ups, friends with benefits, casual sex. What role does brain development play in adolescent sexuality? How are young people influenced by their media? What should our response be as Christian youth workers?

Marianne Deeks has been working at Youth Unlimited for the past 12 years. In that time she has spent countless hours with teens listening to their stories. Her ministry time is spent on campus at Stouffville District High School as a Child and Youth Worker. She is passionate about teens and what is happening in the culture around them. Marianne has been married to Danny for almost 12 years and has been blessed with three wonderful little girls.

Workshop 3 - A true leader always listens for God's heartbeat

Reverend Doctor Pierre Allard is a crusader for justice and truth!

For over a quarter of a century, Rev. Allard has been engaged in the spiritual sustenance of prisoners. His work has placed him at the forefront of the new restorative justice movement, which brings together communities, offenders and victims of crime to discuss the effects of criminal acts on the community.

 

Workshop 4 - Grief and Trauma: Acknowledging and Responding to Grief and Trauma in the Community Of YFC

This workshop will explore the issues of grief and trauma as they present in the community of YFC. It is imperative that we recognize, validate, and respond to grief in healthy ways to assist individuals to mourn well. It is also important for workers to understand the differences between grief and trauma, so that appropriate and helpful support can be offered. We will define disenfranchised grief and offer practical ways to respond to this challenge, both in the individuals YFC serves and in those who work in front line positions.

Workshop 5 - Creating Cross Cultural Community: Global Engagement for Local Ministries

There are many ways to engage your local YFC ministry in the global community. Young people today are naturally aware of and interested in the international world. It does not have to big, but it can be as big as your imagination. This workshop will be a discussion forum where ideas will be shared on different ways to engage your local ministry with the world around us.

Daryl Stogryn joined Youth For Christ as the Executive Director for Northumberland YFC in 1989. He served in that capacity until the end of 2008. Now, as Director or World Outreach for YFC Canada he is dedicating his time to helping engage Canada's youth in international ministry, primarily through YFC. He is married and has 4 children.

Set #2

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Workshop 1 - The Object Lesson Explosion

Why did Jesus teach with objects? Simple... they are effective and powerful. Forget the object lesson books. Learn how to create object lessons from any object INSTANTLY!

Karl Bastian has over fifteen years of experience as a full time Children's Pastor in large, small, and mobile churches. He is also the founder of Kidology.org, one of the leading Internet destinations for those who minister to children. He has a Bible Theology degree from Moody Bible Institute and a Masters in Children's Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Karl is an author of and contributor to several children's ministry books and magazines, a trainer and encourager at conferences around the world, but his favorite place to be is in front of kids creatively teaching them the Bible and training them to serve God. In his workshops Karl brings the joy of Children's Ministry to life and with it, creative and practical ideas and principles that will recharge your ministry.

Workshop 2 - ApoloWHATics?!

In this workshop we'll be exploring the notion of apologetics in our culture. Is it necessary? Is it relevant? What does it look like if it is? We will also discuss what holds people back... on both ends of the conversation. Please bring your thoughts, opinions and a dollar to leave as an appreciative tip!

Carlo Raponi is the Satellite Director for Peterborough Youth Unlimited. He's risen the corporate ladder of our organization through lies, coercion and passing off ideas that are not his own. This workshop should prove to be more of the same. And still, regardless of his gender or smell, he would love to share with you his experiences in evangelism and lessons learned over the past ten years of service.

Workshop 3 - Exploring Sex Trade Ministry

This workshop will introduce you to the realities of the sex industry in Canada. John and Rosalie will share about their own work with young women who have been victims in this dark and destructive world. You will gain a greater understanding of the many challenges faced by girls in the sex industry and the barriers to their recovery. You will hear about human trafficking in Canada, the current trends in prostitution and how wide spread it is. Finally, we will explore some of the ways you can help girls who are at risk, or already involved in the sex trade in your own community.

John Cassells has been a member of the Youth for Christ family since he began ministering at Toronto's Frontlines Youth centre in 1993. Prior to joining YFC, John served as a youth worker in group homes and custody facilities for young offenders. Throughout the years, John has maintained a special concern for street-involved girls and has often helped them on their journeys away from the clutches of the sex trade. John joined Toronto Youth Unlimited in 2007 to serve as Managing Director of Light Patrol, reaching homeless young people. John works closely with Outreach Worker, Rosalie Sioui in Light Patrol's "Safe Light" ministry for sexually exploited girls.

 

Rosalie Sioui works with Light Patrol's "Safe Light" program, developing outreach and counseling initiatives for sexually exploited girls. Her background includes working with an organization that assists francophone women who are victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. She has also served in Niger as an aid worker with women in prison and in a rehabilitation centre. Prior to this she worked as a Communication Advisor for the Indian and Northern Affairs Department in Quebec and also served with her church to pioneer a Christian based street outreach program to women in prostitution. She has a B.A. in Public Communications from Laval University and a Master of Divinity in Spiritual Formation from Tyndale Seminary.

Workshop 4 - Grief and Trauma: Acknowledging and Responding to Grief and Trauma in the Community Of YFC (Part 2)

This workshop will explore the issues of grief and trauma as they present in the community of YFC. It is imperative that we recognize, validate, and respond to grief in healthy ways to assist individuals to mourn well. It is also important for workers to understand the differences between grief and trauma, so that appropriate and helpful support can be offered. We will define disenfranchised grief and offer practical ways to respond to this challenge, both in the individuals YFC serves and in those who work in front line positions.

Workshop 5 - Building Youth Resiliency in Youth, Families and Environment

Building resiliency is a strength-based practice that holistically focuses on the strengths, resources, assets and capacities of the youth, their families and environments. It is ultimately seeing youth as at-promise and not as at-risk. As a teen once said, it is "the power to bounce back from problems and stuff with more power and smarts." The key to understanding resiliency is to understand how risk factors and protective factors cumulatively affect it. By reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors we can strengthen the resiliency of our youth, their families and their physical and social environments.

In this workshop we will first look at ourselves and see how our own working assumptions, especially our misassumptions, undermine our efforts to build resiliency. Next and lastly, we will learn how to engage, assess, and utilize a range of intervention strategies that help our youth become more resilient. In other words, "to help young people attain their full life potential."