Breakout Sessions

Scroll to the bottom of this page 
to choose your breakout sessions. Then, head to the registration tab to finalize your registration.

Crafting a Vision

Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

 

This session offers five questions laity and clergy leaders can use to discover the next faithful steps to which God may be calling their congregation to fulfill their mission most vitally in the days ahead.  Your steps may be similar to those of other churches, but they will also be distinctive to fit the particular circumstances of your church and community.

 

Thinking Outside of the Box

F. Douglas Powe, Jr.

 

Do you feel stuck as a leader or a congregation?  This workshop will provide ideas for you to get unstuck by helping you to think outside of the box.  It will share ideas for sustaining the important work you are currently doing and offer ways to build upon it to engage others in your community.  You will learn a framework for how to think outside of the box as a leader and congregation.

 

Fresh Expressions

Jessica Anschutz

 

How can your congregation help people outside the walls of your church connect with God?  Fresh Expressions are creative and innovative forms of reaching new people to live out Christ’s mission by meeting them where they are.  Fresh Expressions are formed around a common interest, help people grow in relationship with Christ, and serve as church for those who participate. 

 

The State of Stewardship

Ken Sloane

 

Interesting data taken from the Giving USA report will serve as a launching pad for a discussion on giving trends in general.  Then, more specific giving trends in our church culture will provide helpful information for congregations striving to continue their generosity in support of the church’s mission.

 

Ministry with Young People

Kris Konsowitz

 

Creative ministries emerge at the intersection of a faith community’s mission, a community's assets, and a community’s needs.  The most transformational ministries begin not with ideas, but with listening.  As pastors, youth leaders, volunteers, and parents, intentional discipleship is a call to develop ministries with young people that provide ways, through programs and relationships, to help young people know and experience Jesus.  By identifying the key stages and catalysts of the discipleship journey, intentional discipleship provides a map to help young people navigate their spiritual journey. 

 

Social Media & Digital Ministry

Lawrence Monahan

 

Are you eager to elevate your church's digital presence but unsure where to start?  This workshop is designed to empower you with effective strategies to transform your church’s outreach.  Topics for discussion include essential search engine optimization tools that can significantly boost your online visibility, how to tailor your social media posts that resonate and engage broader audiences, and the application process for a $10,000 Google advertising grant.

 

Engaging Events for Children’s Ministry

Natalie Adkinson

 

This session will showcase events and programs that the Germantown UMC Children’s Ministry hosts.  Sunday morning, Wednesday evening, special event programming, and the advertising used for each of these components will be addressed.  Program evaluation and stakeholder buy-in will also be discussed. 

 

Showing Hospitality

Chesley Porteous, Alice Clare Colville, and Donna Haley

 

Using a team approach, this workshop will challenge participants to share their current definition of hospitality and briefly describe one or two ways their church shows hospitality.  Participants will learn the meaning of hospitality, learn how and why churches should show hospitality, and leave the workshop with information, ideas, and tools to assist them in creating a hospitality ministry in their own churches.

 

Embracing Your Community: How to Love Neighbors and Welcome Strangers into Family

Zach Lykins

 

Hospitality in Greek is philoxenia, meaning "love of stranger" or "turning strangers into friends." Jesus showed radical hospitality by sharing food and drink with strangers and enemies to bring them close to God.  In this workshop, discussion will focus on God's love for outsiders (the poor, the foreigner, the marginalized), barriers that keep us from knowing our neighbors, and tangible ways for followers of Jesus to welcome outsiders in, turning guests into neighbors and neighbors into family.

Breakout Sessions