Learn what words have the most power when spoken to a child/student by a small group leader who wants to help build the child's faith, in partnership with parents. When a small group leader fully embraces their role in a child's life, the results are nothing short of life-changing. Join us to find out how you can better coach your small group leaders to embrace this great responsibility.

Speakers: Sue Miller

It's interesting to note that volunteerism in our country is actually on the rise. According to recent data we have 1.5 million more volunteers serving this year in our country than last year. With volunteering on the rise, why is the church continuing to struggle with getting more volunteers to help, lead and serve? Two words come to mind: leadership and structure. In this session we will address the four areas of leadership and structure that will help you with those "VolunTears" and bring you into a healthy and productive relationship with your team.

Speakers: Craig Jutila

Remember the old question about the tree falling in the forest? If no one heard it fall, did it actually make a sound? Well, every week thousands of youth and children's workers ask the same question: "If a pastor gives a talk, and nobody actually hears it, did he actually speak at all?" It doesn't take long in youth ministry before you realize that giving a talk is not the same thing as being given a hearing.

This seminar will offer you a chance to think about the three basic components of a spoken message and to understand the "why" and "how" of inductive communication. You will walk away from this session with a better sense of how to prepare and deliver an effective message to teenagers as well as children.

Speakers: Doug Fields

For decades in most churches we have planned and programmed with the end goal of children and youth ministry as leading individual kids to Jesus Christ. We have invested everything from time and money to energy and resources to find ways to get a single child or teenager to accept and then follow Christ. Yet as they grow up we so often we end up losing them - both spiritually and programmatically - by the time they are somewhere in high school. Perhaps, however, we have lost sight of the richness of God's plan for his people when he calls us the "body of Christ." We know we need and long for community, yet we have allowed ourselves to separate our kids from our adults, and it is hurting all of us. This breakout will take a careful look at the scriptures, especially where it calls us to live as disciples who know and love each other. We will then discover how we can make minor tweaks to our systems and structures so as to bring in a whole new, more Biblical goal of our children's and youth ministries. Once we know where we are going with our kids - into relationship with our entire church - will be able to provide a powerful, sustaining faith journey for them that will last a lifetime.

Speakers: Chap Clark

Family First is a very popular & engaging idea - but how do we actually do it? In this session we will consider ten creative family first strategies - concepts that will add balance to the families in your congregation as well as those families that serve on your church staff. We will also introduce the idea of a "Family Dream Session" so you can pro-actively lead your family into a God honoring future!

Speakers: Todd Clark

Have you considered launching a family experience at your church but feel completely overwhelmed at the thought of all that's involved? This breakout will give you practical and proven low budget steps to launch an engaging family experience that will capture the heart of families in your community, increase attendance, remove staff silos, increase giving, and create a strong, positive community presence for your church using an out-of-the-box innovative approach. You will learn techniques from building sets without spending a dime to marketing techniques that attract tons of unchurched families in your community that keep coming back for more.

Speakers: Christine Kreisher

In the best-selling book "Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers," Chap Clark offers a detailed look into the hearts and minds of kids, and especially high school and emerging adults. Based on the most comprehensive study of its kind with this group ever done, "Hurt" gave us comprehensive and sobering insights into how culture has changed life for our kids. This seminar jumps off from there by providing new insights into how childhood and adolescents have changed, what growing up looks and feels like today, and what adults can do to help kids grow up in the most healthy, nurtured and Biblical environment as possible. This breakout is for everyone who leads, works with or loves children and young people in any context.

Speakers: Chap Clark

We all long to see real life change in the students we serve. Why doesn't it happen more? Often it's because our lives are not a living catalyst that inspires change in students. Every effective student ministry leader I know lives in the cauldron of being personally transformed by God. This reality grants them a powerful authority as they lead students. Staying in the change process personally unleashes a movement that ripples through our ministries. In this session we address how to become this type of transformational leader.

Speakers: Dan Webster

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE.
Are you looking to get a handle on this thing called Orange? Then this is the place to start. In this two-part session, we will ask some critical questions that will help move you from the 50,000-foot view of Orange to a 50-foot view that will enable you to be specific as you seek to make your church an Orange church. During Part 1, we'll look at two Orange principles: Integrate Strategy and Refine the Message. You'll be challenged to examine where you are leading children and students and how you are presenting biblical truth to children students.
It is recommended that participants in Part 1 also register for Part 2 during Breakout B

Speakers: Mike Clear

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE.
Are you looking to get a handle on this thing called Orange? Then this is the place to start. In this second part of a two-part session, we will ask some critical questions that will help move you from the 50,000-foot view of Orange to a 50-foot view that will enable you to be specific as you seek to make your church an Orange church. During the second part, we'll look at the Orange principles of Elevate Community, Reactivate the Family and Leverage Influence. You'll be challenged to examine how you are connecting kids to leaders and their peers, what you are doing to engage the family, and how you are mobilizing the next generation to be the church.
It is recommended that participants in Part 2 also register for Part 1 during Breakout A.

Speakers: Mike Clear

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE.
To some, "Orange" may mean fruit, a sports team, or prison. To thousands of youth leaders around the world, "Orange" symbolizes the embracing of integration and change. In this two-part series, Jared Herd and Stuart Hall of XP3 and The reThink Group will lead a challenging and, at times, hysterical conversation regarding the Orange philosophy and critical questions imperative to you as a youth leader that will force you to examine where you are in the color wheel as you begin the Orangifying process. Part 1 will feature intense discussion regarding two Orange principles: Integrate Strategy and Refine the Message. This is a must for those youth leaders that value true partnership with the family. You'll be challenged to examine where you are leading students and how you are presenting biblical truth to students.
It is recommended that participants in Part 1 also register for Part 2 during Breakout B

Speakers: Stuart Hall, Jared Herd

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE.
To some, "Orange" may mean juice, a bowl game in Miami, or a flotation device. To thousands of youth leaders around the world, "Orange" symbolizes the embracing of integration and change. In this two-part series, Jared Herd and Stuart Hall of XP3 and The reThink Group will lead a challenging and at times hysterical conversation regarding the Orange philosophy, and critical questions imperative to you as a youth leader that will force you to examine where you are in the color wheel as you begin the Orangifying process. The second installment of a two-part session, The Teen Years Part 2, will examine three Orange principles: Elevate Community, Reactivate the Family and Leverage Influence. You'll be challenged to examine how you are connecting students to leaders and their peers, what you are doing to engage the family, and how you are mobilizing the next generation to be the Church.
It is recommended that participants in Part 2 also register for Part 1 during Breakout A.

Speakers: Stuart Hall, Jared Herd

Children attend our churches every weekend! How do we know that we are cultivating what is most important in their lives...Faith in God and a dependence on Him? In this session you will discover how to implement practical environments for your ministry that will allow kids' faith to grow and be expressed both in the home and in your program.

Speakers: Brian Pingel

How do we teach and communicate in a way that actually connects and sticks? How do we "Braille the culture" around us and allow our findings to shape what and how we communicate? Join the conversation and leave with ideas, tools, and an answer to "so what does this mean for me?"

Speakers: Julie Pierce

Join David in this breakout to continue the discussion we'll begin during the main session on Thursday morning. David will be unveiling the research that Barna and Orange have been working on regarding the state of the church and family. This groundbreaking study will give you an accurate reading on the current climate of families and their participation in the spiritual growth of their children as well as the real level of involvement by churches in this important partnership.

Speakers: David Kinnaman

From a senior pastor's standpoint, what does being an Orange church look like? Do you just give a thumbs up to your children's ministry people and let them go at it? Join Carey Nieuwhof and Chris Wiersma as they share from personal experience the strategic advantage they see in embracing Orange and how to best integrate an Orange strategy from the senior pastor's chair. Both Carey and Chris are pastors who are working 'in it' like you are: Carey launched Connexus Community Church two years ago on an Orange model while Chris has been transitioning Westside Kings Church out of a crisis situation and into a healthier, Orange model.

Speakers: Carey Nieuwhof, Chris Wiersma

If you are looking for a life that is simple, easy, and structured...don't come to this session. If you want to wrestle through loving people in a broken world, even if that makes our lives more interesting, then let's learn together. Let's broaden our personal story together. Join a practical conversation about creating real community in the midst of a connected world.

Speakers: Jeff Shinabarger

Ready for change but concerned about alienating leaders you don't want to alienate? Hoping to go Orange but dreading the full spectrum of opinions and traditions? Need to find a way to create a seismic shift without causing earthquake-like collapses and casualties? Larry Thompson has transitioned a 100-year-old downtown church into a vibrant center for worship and diversity. And he did it step-by-step and circle-by-circle. Experience a proven, practical way of giving ownership to leaders and followers alike, no matter how big or small a change you need to make.

Speakers: Larry Thompson

Did you know that how smart you are as a group reflects the types of conversations or interactions you are having (or not having)? Knowing that, it's important to ask the question "How can I create a strategic culture that's both positive and participatory for my team?" In this breakout, we'll talk about paradoxes to avoid like social loafing, brain backlash and "group think." We'll also talk about what the latest research says about how to create a culture that promotes idea-generation and implementation so that all those great ideas you come up with don't get lost in the daily shuffle!

Speakers: Cara Martens

Has the budget been cut? Do you get frustrated having to produce a great program on a shoestring? Are you leading a team that keeps begging for more funds? You can't squeeze blood from a turnip, but you can have a powerful ministry with relatively no funds. Let us show you how. From your environments, to your props, to your lessons and small group stuff, you can make it work...and well.

Speakers: Jeffrey Reed

Understanding any role in ministry can be hard; understanding ministry roles as an unmarried woman can be harder. Sharing from her own journey, Abbie will help us further uncover our voices and live-out the stories we were made for as single women in ministry.

Speakers: Abbie Smith

Have you ever wondered, "Does it really matter what I do?" I can honestly say that it's never mattered more. To emphasize this point, we'll take a look back and create a visual time line to show how families, communities and churches have developed and changed through the ages. Then we will move on to think through some of the latest research on our minds - how we learn - and how this is being shaped daily by technology and globalization. Before the breakout ends, we'll dialogue together about what our response to all this could be as Orange leaders and how it could affect our own families, communities and churches at home if we acted on what we know.

Speakers: Cara Martens

Does your church and children's programming intentionally reach out to include children that are different learners? This workshop will teach you the common barriers and how to develop a plan and outreach to include those children with physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities in your church programming.

Speakers: Jackie Mills-Fernald

Currently, 1 in 94 children are being diagnosed with Autism. Are you ready as a children's ministry leader to include those children in your classrooms? In this breakout, you'll learn about Autism, as well as some of the common characteristics, behaviors, and tactics/strategies for engaging and teaching students on the Autism spectrum.

Speakers: Jackie Mills-Fernald

Nothing stays the same except the fact that change is always present. Join Jim Wideman for this breakout where you'll not only learn why people resist change but you'll also learn Jim's top ten ways that will help you encourage and flow with change.

Speakers: Jim Wideman

Everyone says they have priorities but most don't live according to their priorities. In this practical teaching, Jim will help you not only identify your priorities but he'll also teach you how to evaluate your priorities and keep them in the right order to accomplish the things that God has ordered for your life.

Speakers: Jim Wideman

So the 'red' side of 'orange' is ready for daylight and for parents in your community. Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof's new book, "Parent Beyond Your Capacity," will be available at Orange. In this breakout, Carey and Reggie will outline creative ways that church leaders can use the five family values outlined in the book to help parents in their church and wider community. They'll share the latest thoughts on the parent side of the orange strategy and how church leaders can come alongside parents to help them win at home.

Speakers: Reggie Joiner, Carey Nieuwhof

So you're creative, you have ideas, you've strategized every possible angle and your team is ready to work. What's missing? You might be able to create the experience of a lifetime INSIDE your church building, but impact is happening OUTSIDE of your church building. Parents are a key missing ingredient to success in the changed lives of our student population. Want to know how to get them on your team? Start here.

Speakers: Andy Tilly

Every leader faces unhappy parents, dissatisfied volunteers, or tension with senior leaders that requires tough conversations. (Sometimes even all on the same day!) Each situation requires courage, wisdom, and prayer to handle it. None of us like conflict, but all of us can be equipped to handle these difficult conversations better. Join us to learn some practical tips and tactics that will enable you to face this tricky situations with confidence and poise.

Speakers: Sue Miller

From the day a child enters the nursery of your church do you have a plan for what they will learn? Can you envision what kind of young man or young woman the toddler will grow to be? Does your preschool ministry understand how essential youth ministry is? Does your youth pastor know where the nursery is?

We have to build a team to link the ages because what we teach is too important to be lost in silo departments and varying teaching philosophies. In this breakout you will discover how to link the ages, build a team which speaks into each others ministries, and fade the lines of programming to focus on kids in your ministry.


Speakers: Scott Austin

People are necessary for ministry, but having the right people can make all the difference. As leaders we can have all the programmatic things in place and yet if we don't have the right type of people we'll end up frustrated. For churches to have an effective ministry to college age people leaders must have certain characteristics - some of which are unique from other ministries. This seminar will describe the leadership characteristics necessary as well as discuss the characteristics of churches that have effective ministries to college age people.

Speakers: Chuck Bomar

Attracting, recruiting and growing a "sticky" team that adds value to ministry to kids and family can be challenging. What attracts a volunteer? What are some best recruiting practices? How to create a team environment where people of all ages "stick" around and create a vibrant ministry? Together we'll wrestle with some practical ideas. (P.S. This will be fun!) THIS MESSAGE IS ALSO OFFERED DURING PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP 1.

Speakers: Misty Phillips

If your church operates on a small group model to promote community, you may have an undiscovered inroads to community that's being overlooked. Have you considered making your volunteer opportunities intentional introductions to the idea of community for your team members? This idea could make community, and later small groups, much more appealing to your volunteers that are just getting plugged in for the first time. Make the most of their experience and find out how to accomplish that in this breakout.

Speakers: Clay Scroggins

As followers of Christ we are called to serve, and that should go beyond just serving on a foreign mission trip. It should begin in our own backyards. If that is the case, then how do we mobilize students to serve and better yet, how do we get their hearts to transform as they answer the call Christ set before us all? It isn't easy mobilizing students to serve - much less changing their perspective of themselves and others who are less fortunate. But through serving, amazing things happen in the life and heart of a student. This workshop will look at the practical side of mobilizing students and the obstacles that get in our way. Participants will also look at what we really want students to get out of serving and how to guide them in that process.

Speakers: Kimberly Scales

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE. Is it possible to put a group of elementary kids in a room with their parents and keep everyone engaged and involved? Sure, it's possible. Disney does it all the time. This session helps you discover what your community can become when you introduce an environment specifically designed to partner with parents and provide them with the tools to raise their kids in faith and character. See what a multi-media, multi-generational environment can do for your church. During this first part of a two-part session, we'll look at two Orange principles: Integrate Strategy and Refine the Message. You'll be challenged to consider why you need to build environments for families and why you should partner with parents who want to teach their kids what is really important. We'll also examine five of the top ten ways to create an engaging Family Production. (We'll save the remaining five for Part 2.)
It is recommended that participants in Part 1 also register for Part 2 during Breakout D.

Speakers: Mike Clear, Christine Kreisher

FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO ORANGE. Is it possible to put a group of elementary kids in a room with their parents and keep everyone engaged and involved? Sure, it's possible. Disney does it all the time. This session helps you discover what your community can become when you introduce an environment specifically designed to partner with parents and provide them with the tools to raise their kids in faith and character. See what a multi-media, multi-generational environment can do for your church. During this second part of a two-part session, we'll look at three Orange principles: Elevate Community, Reactivate the Family, and Leverage Influence. You'll be challenged to consider how Family Production can do things that no other environment can do as well, whether Family Production means you believe that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church, and that God uses parents to shape kids so we need to create ways to shape parents. We'll also examine the final five of the top ten ways to create an engaging Family Production.
It is recommended that participants in Part 2 also register for Part 1 during Breakout C.

Speakers: Mike Clear, Christine Kreisher

Parents, youth workers and teachers are all concerned for the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual development of the young. Kid Unique equips those entrusted with the development of the next generation to go one step further and help kids solve the mystery of 'me'. Helping students enter adulthood with clarity as to who they are and what they are impassioned to do is priceless for a young person. Investing the needed time and energy into this all-important task of helping our kids discover who they are so they can win in life is just plain smart.

Speakers: Dan Webster

Did you know that much of what we do in programming can actually hurt what happens in group? Did you know that a speaker can be so effective that there is nothing left to do with fourteen 6th grade boys but review to sermon? You can ruin your small groups with your program if you don't have a strategy. Join us for this breakout as we discuss strategies for your program that lead to quality small groups, empowered and engaged leaders, and students growing a faith of their own!

Speakers: Tom Shefchunas

Have you ever attended a Family Experience environment that obviously had more in their budget for a single production than you can afford to spend over the entire year? Intimidated by all the lights, sound, fog machines, and three story Broadway set? Well, fuggataboutit! The strategy behind the shared family experience doesn't depend on all the flashy extras. Come see a demonstration of the Family Experience that shows you how you can produce a quality program on any budget.

Speakers: Greg Payne, Jon Williams

Family ministry - In order to achieve maximum potential, it must be championed and FULLY supported by the Senior Pastor. What does that look like? Come and see!

Speakers: Perry Noble

Ever want to hear what's happening at your church's equivalent of the office water cooler? Jeff Henderson, campus director at Buckhead Church, offers an insightful perspective on what your team would most like you to know. From his interviews and experiences with mid-level staff members from around the nation, Henderson offers the top ten things your team member might say in a no-holds-barred conversation.

Speakers: Jeff Henderson

When your senior pastor is also your boss and the chief executive in your organization, it's easy to convince yourself you know what's going on inside his mind. But you might be surprised that he's a lot more like you than you think. Jeff Henderson draws on his experience as campus director at Buckhead Church to give a practical perspective from both sides of the senior pastor's desk. Leading up becomes a lot more effective when you know what you're leading up to.

Speakers: Jeff Henderson

Baby Dedication is more than an event. It is an opportunity for the church to partner with families from the very beginning. Learn how we can leverage this opportunity to help parents focus on the things that will matter the most to them as they raise their child and how we can celebrate the birth of a new baby into their family.

Speakers: Kendra Fleming

Why would you stop what's working? Because EVERYONE makes the mistake of assuming that something else can't work even better. Not convinced? If the following topics either make you cringe or give you an extremely "bubbly" feeling, then this workshop is for you. VBS. Graded Choirs. Camp. Sunday School. You can do it. You can lead the way to change. Hear tips on how to walk staff, leaders, and naysayers through the process without throwing people from the ship.

Speakers: Jeffrey Reed

Are you just staring to implement an Orange Strategy and want to know where to begin? It can be difficult to determine what to do first, where to prioritize, and how to help your people have a clear understanding of this new strategy. In this breakout you will be given very practical steps for the VERY beginner on how to take your ministry Orange.

Speakers: Adam Duckworth

Think it takes a BIG church with a BIG budget and a BIG congregation to make a BIG difference your community or in other parts of the world. Think again. Listen to the creative ways that Shaun and his 1 year old portable church with attendance around 200 each week has been featured on national news programs for their contributions all around the world (Want to get started learning about this early? Follow Shaun and his church on Twitter at @ShaunKing and @Couragous)

Speakers: Shaun King

The state of marriage is one of the biggest crises facing our generation.  In this session, we will explore what the church is doing, what's working, what's not, and the INCREDIBLE opportunity we have to turn it all around.

Speakers: Ted Lowe

In this breakout session we will talk specifics on including those with special needs within family ministry. Join us in this breakout to find out how you can utilize and adapt the First Look, 252 and XP3 curriculum for those with special needs. We'll cover specifics about the process of modifying this material as well as tips and ideas to implement it within your classrooms.

Speakers: Tammy Burns

Cutting to the chase, this workshop is all about using kids and students to serve kids and students. From leading small groups, to leading worship, to helping out with the creative stuff, children and students can have as great an impact on your ministry as the adults (possibly greater). Help your volunteer dilemma. Make a deeper cultural connection. Utilize the gifts that God has given the next generation. Learn some boundaries as well.

Speakers: Jeffrey Reed

What does it take to be a Christian parent in today's rapidly changing culture? Many parents fear of losing their children to the culture leads them to react in ways that actually break down the spiritual growth of their children. In this session we'll examine the "stories" that shape many parents ability to lead their family into the story of God and how we can help parents become proactive in the spiritual formation of their children.

Speakers: Mark Matlock

How do you know if your ministry for middle school students or high school students is effective? What kinds of questions do you ask to make sure that your ministry is going to not only last, but grow in the future? More importantly, who can answer these questions? Join Kevin for this breakout where he'll share the lessons he's learned over the last 14 years of leading the charge for the model of reaching and influencing students at North Point Ministries.

Speakers: Kevin Ragsdale