GENERAL

Room 50 – Equipping Churches to Minister to Marriages
Don Smith, Bridge to Life Ministries
If your church does not offer a marriage ministry model supported by the church leadership, couples will turn elsewhere for their marital needs. Would you ask your church for help if your marriage was in trouble? We will help you envision how your church can be equipped to minister to marriages. You will learn how your church can be a safe place to help marriages in your community.

Room 126 – Your Pastor Needs Your Help
Chris Minor, Oakfield Baptist Church
The average pastor won’t last more than four years in a church. At least once every Sunday they will be given negative feedback from unhealthy pressures and expectations put on them and their family. Most live under the constant threat of not just losing their job, but losing their house, and their family being abandoned by their church and community. Of those who survive, only 10% make it to retirement as a pastor. How can your church recognize a hurting pastor? How can your church heal a broken pastor? And how can your church encourage future pastors?

Room 131 – Church Libraries: A Ministry to Meet the Times
Denise Roberts & Debbie Dehart, Berean Baptist Church of Portage
How can your church present the Godly Christian worldview to counter the cultural influences impacting families? Public libraries are increasingly becoming a danger zone where parents don’t want their children to browse freely. Discover a great alternative: build and develop a church library. We will discuss starting a library and some programs to develop and enhance this ministry.

Room 31 – Gender Identity and Worldview
Nate Archer, First Baptist Church of Middleville
As the transgender movement continues to press its ideology everywhere, it is necessary for Christian workers to be equipped to respond in truth and love to those who are being influenced. In this workshop, we will see how communicating the Christian worldview can immunize people to this ideology. The Christian worldview shows God’s good design, helps people interpret their experiences, and gives hope.

DISCIPLESHIP

Room 38 – Growing the Godly
Gail Ramish, Living Out 3:18 Ministries/Ada Bible Church
This session is designed to give you innovative and practical ways to bring spiritual maturity to the people entrusted to you in your ministry and ministry leadership teams.

Room 52 – Fighting the Fatherless Epidemic through the Gospel and Wholistic Discipleship
Joel Shaffer, Urban Transformation Ministries
Fatherlessness is one of the most urgent social problems our nation faces today affecting every demographic in America. Learn how the church can reach out to the fatherless in your community and also wholistically disciple those who are dad-deprived in your church without adding more programs to manage. 

Room 56 – A Biblical View of Self-Esteem
Terry Burlingame, Jamestown Baptist Church
The popular concept of “building ourselves up” and “creating a positive self-image” is in direct contrast to the biblical truth of who we are in Christ. Having a right view of ourselves makes a difference in our attitudes, goals, and the way we approach our daily lives. We will be addressing scriptural truths of how to help someone be free from the domination of self, leading to freedom from pride, anger, and depression.

Room 64 – Leaning into the Mission: Gospel-Centered Missional Groups Ministry
Trent Heaton, Magnify Church
Many times we want to know what we are to do and how to do it without ever considering the ‘why.’ In this workshop we’ll take time to focus in on why the ‘why’ of groups is so significant and how groups can fit into the larger ‘why’ of your church.

Room 119 – Discovery Bible Study #2: C-P-O Method
Jake Tibbe, Forest Hills Baptist Church
Come participate in an inductive bible study called, Discovery Bible Study (DBS). This method is suitable for many ages and stages, from elementary-aged children to the grayest and wisest, from unbelievers to new believers, to the Pauls and Timothys. This simple, reproducible, yet powerful method creates disciple-makers who are transformed by the Holy Spirit to abide with Jesus and produce fruit that will last to the glory of God the Father. This workshop introduces the C-P-O style of DBS.

Room 32 – Intentionally Helping Disciples Get It
Doug Burrier, Sustainable Discipleship
Why are stop signs red? Why do red sales tags generate more purchases? Once you know why you will never make disciples the same way again. Learn what few of us learned in seminary – how God designed his people to learn, make decisions, and mature. Doug Burrier, a decision scientist and disciple-maker, leads this fun, eye-opening talk.

Room 54 – How to Find People to Disciple
Ben Marx, First Baptist Church of Holland
Sure, they are all around you…people with needs. But how do you figure out who they are? And how do you determine what they need? In this workshop, you will gain a framework for strategically ‘observing the landscape around you’ and determining who needs help and how you can move them forward in their spiritual growth.

LEADERSHIP

Room 30 – The Challenges of and Rewards from Leading by Consensus
Eric Strattan, Bridge Bible Church
Join us for a presentation and discussion on important concepts such as dealing with criticism, maintaining long-term relevance, having hard conversations, and growing in humble leadership — all while moving forward in ministry development.

Room 34 – The Heart of a Church in the Pastoral Search
Andy Molyneux, First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant
When a church begins their search for a new pastor they know their most pressing need, but are there other things that should be drawing their attention as well?

MISSIONS & EVANGELISM

Room 58 – Evangelism and Discipleship Strategies
Scott Klooster, Georgetown Bible Church
We will be defining what it takes to adopt an evangelism and discipleship strategy based on the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. We will discuss cultural barriers to starting spiritual conversations, and we will demonstrate an effective evangelism method that everyone can use to share the Gospel.

CHILDREN

Room 124 – Help! I Can’t Get These Children to Listen
Marrena Ralph, Regular Baptist Press: Kids4Truth Clubs Program Specialist
Engaging and motivating children to listen while you teach can be challenging especially if you are working with them at the end of a long day. Learn practical tips and ideas on how to keep children engaged, involved, and learning while you are teaching.

Room 128 – Building an Effective Children’s Ministry
Janelle Bernhardt, Cedar Springs Baptist Church
Since starting from ground zero, I’ve learned the ins and outs of what it takes to build the foundation of an effective Children’s Ministry. This workshop will dive into topics such as: the vision for your ministry, volunteer management, and classroom management.

Room 132 – Visualize or Fossilize: Using Visual Aids Effectively
Anna Sytsma, Child Evangelism Fellowship
Do you as a teacher find yourself using only the visuals provided in the teacher’s manual? Do you ever struggle coming up with visual aids to use? Do you ever find yourself using the same visuals over and over again? Then this session is perfect for you. We will explore reasons for using visual aids and give you tips on how to select and use visual aids. As a result of this session, you will see how using visual aids can be incorporated in the learning process.

STUDENT

Room 129 – How To Become An Effective Youth Leader
William Snyder, Kent City Baptist Church
We are all called to servanthood to our King, but how do we effectively lead and faithfully serve in youth ministry? In this session I will train and encourage you in the work God has laid before you. Learn to use the short but precious time you have with youth students to faithfully plant, water, and nurture spiritual growth in their lives.

WORSHIP

Room 66 – Jesus’ Worship School: Calibrating Craft and Character
Christopher Paoni, Kent City Baptist Church
In Worship Arts there are often two separate (and subtle) schools of thought: our worship ministry values musical excellence OR our worship ministry values personal excellence. Many leaders will say, “We value both!”, but I’ve found that when you look under the hood, one of these values is often the real driving force that directs the culture of the ministry and even the church. With the help of Jesus and his clear training, let’s use our attention, our intention, and our creativity to learn how we can calibrate craft AND character successfully for the sake of worship.

TECHNOLOGY

Room 122 – Online Church Media & Live Streaming: When and How To Do It
Justin Edmonds, Enhance Don’t Distract
In this breakout class, we discuss what online media for your church should be and look like and what you should and shouldn’t do. We will give you the tools to understand how these online platforms should be used and what they should be used for.