Most ministry training gives volunteers more information, but information alone rarely changes what happens in kids and student ministry spaces. In this workshop, we’ll look at a simple framework for building training that sticks. You’ll learn how to replace one-time, information-heavy training with practice, coaching, and simple follow-up that helps...
Each member belongs to all the others. Brain changes don’t change that truth. Beginning with an overview and framework for understanding dementia, this workshop equips you with worship practices that spark engagement, maintain community, and practical strategies to faithfully companion with people through the dementia journey.
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Special needs parents often possess the wisdom, experience, and gospel perspective that newer families desperately need. This workshop will help church leaders identify, equip, and deploy veteran special needs parents to disciple and encourage other families through intentional relationships and gospel-centered conversations. Participants will leave with practical strategies for creating...
You don’t need a big budget or a dedicated room to support kids with sensory needs; you just need the right framework. This hands-on session introduces the “three A’s” — Attitudes, Architecture, and Accessories — a practical blueprint for creating sensory-friendly environments anywhere in your ministry, whatever your space or...
Churches are increasingly encountering individuals and families affected by mental health concerns, disabilities, and complex life challenges, yet many pastors and ministry leaders feel uncertain about when and how to partner with community professionals. This workshop will provide practical guidance for building effective relationships between churches, mental health providers, disability...
Most church conversations about AI pick a lane: breathless adoption or anxious avoidance. This seminar refuses that choice. We’ll look honestly at both the promise and the peril, then work through a simple framework for staying faithful while actually using these tools well. You’ll leave with guardrails that keep AI...
Get ready for a high-energy, hands-on workshop that will spark your creativity and transform the way you teach! In this session, we’ll explore practical ways to bring any lesson to life through imagination, interaction, and intentional design. From storytelling and sensory activities to visuals and movement, you’ll discover how to...
One in nine school-age children have received at least one prescription for ADHD medication, and ADHD now represents the third most common mental health condition seen in adults. Participants in this breakout will explore the relationship between neurocognitive weaknesses associated with ADHD and the unique challenges persons with ADHD experience...
Finding volunteers is one thing, training and keeping them is another. In this session, we’ll discuss practical strategies for recruiting, equipping, and retaining volunteers who help create a thriving and sustainable disability ministry.
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Have you ever wondered why someone covers their ears during worship, avoids crowded fellowship spaces, becomes overwhelmed during transitions, struggles to remain seated, or unexpectedly withdraws? These responses are often not about willingness or behavior alone—they may be connected to how a person experiences and processes sensory information. In this...
For Youth Leaders, By Youth Leaders: A Practical Conversation About Discipling Students with Disabilities is a practical and encouraging seminar designed to help youth leaders create ministries where every student is known, loved, discipled, and empowered to serve. Through personal stories, biblical teaching, and real-world ministry experience, Jay and Amy...
Moving from kids ministry to student ministry can be hard for students who are disabled, neurodivergent, anxious, or have experienced trauma. In this session, we’ll look at what often makes the transition difficult and how churches can prepare students, partner with parents, equip leaders, adjust environments, and build support systems...
Learn how to move beyond managing to discover what lies behind behaviors. Whether you lead young children, youth, or adults of varying ages, this workshop will provide you with proactive and restorative strategies that consider the delights and support needs of those you serve.
... Supporting special needs families isn’t a one-time gesture; it’s a long-term commitment rooted in relationship, presence, and love. This practical workshop equips everyday people to show up meaningfully and consistently for the SN families in their lives. We’ll cover practical ways to include, invite, and listen proactively to SN families;...
A decade ago, Andy Crouch gave parents and churches a gift in The Tech-Wise Family: not a rulebook, but a way of putting technology in its proper place so it forms the people we actually want our kids to become. AI raises the stakes on every one of his commitments....
Ministry leaders often face complex emotional and behavioral crises, making it difficult to know when to refer individuals to a Biblical counselor versus a licensed mental health professional. This session provides a practical framework to understand the distinct roles of each, with a specific focus on how mental health concerns...
Too often, disability ministry ends when childhood does—but faith development doesn’t stop at graduation. In this hands-on session, you’ll learn how to build a thriving adult ministry that goes beyond care to create true community and purpose. Discover practical steps for helping adults with disabilities grow in their faith, use...
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions, affecting one in nine children, one in six teens and nearly one in five adults and represent the most common disability in North America adversely impacting church attendance. In this breakout, participants will recognize common challenges to church participation for families...
This breakout session is designed for pastors, ministry leaders, disability ministry teams, and church leadership seeking practical and biblical guidance for creating a more welcoming and inclusive church culture. Attendees will explore how the Gospel compels the church to intentionally include people and families living with disability through discipleship, accessibility,...
Do you have children or youth in your school, church, or ministry who come from hard places and struggle in ways that are difficult to understand? Today’s children are facing unprecedented levels of stress, anxiety, and trauma, and the effects are showing up in our classrooms, churches, and relationships every...
Leading and advocating in the disability community often comes with immense emotional pressure, making it incredibly easy for passionate leaders to slip into burnout or destructive defaults. Based on Erwin McManus’s Uprising, this workshop introduces “The Character Matrix”—a practical, spiritual framework designed to help leaders pivot from exhaustion to resilience,...
