Registration and Connections

Doors are open and the coffee’s hot! Come early, connect with old (and new) friends, and check out the newest youth ministry resources from Group.

Session 1:

WHY SPIRITUAL GRIT?

In a culture that’s working overtime to make life easier for its kids, the unintended consequence is a generation of young people who lack the strength they desperately need to persevere in life, and in their faith. Learn about groundbreaking research into the two factors that fuel spiritual grit in young people, and how a deepening relationship with Jesus fuels both.

Session 2:

HOW JESUS GROWS GRIT IN TEENAGERS

We can’t “should” teenagers into an all-in desire to follow Jesus—desire grows organically. But there’s a lot we can do as youth workers to plant that desire in students, so they become “gourmet fanatics” about Jesus. Learn practical ways to help your teenagers find “a passion for something higher than themselves” in Jesus—the key to developing perseverance and strength in their faith.

Break

Session 3:

CREATING A MINISTRY ENVIRONMENT THAT NATURALLY PRODUCES GRITTY KIDS

With every single person he met, Jesus found creative ways to grow their spiritual grit. We can learn from what he modeled, and create a ministry environment that mirrors His grit-growing strategies. Here’s how to infuse your ministry with healthy risk-taking, and learn a crowd-sourced way to produce lots of field-tested ideas for growth-producing risks. Then learn and experience five ways you can “Lead the Hard Way” in your ministry, helping your teenagers develop grit by leaning into hard things. Our students grow like crazy when we pump the brakes on what we do for them, and expect them to do more instead.