Workshops

While Americans remain deeply spiritual, they’re leaving congregational life behind. This is especially true of Millennials – about 1 in 10 regularly attend a congregational worship service.

Surveys report that young people feel more isolated and lonely today than at any other point in modern history. Your congregation can offer valuable connection to these young adults, but only if you are willing to adapt to meet the needs of those you want to welcome. Writer, speaker and podcaster Mike McHargue leads this one-day workshop. He will explore the sociological, psychological and neurological underpinnings of a generation leaving the church behind, and offer insights on how to invite them back.

By the end of this workshop, you will:

Congregational life and activities are often absent from secular public media sources. It is assumed that these media outlets are not interested in stories about religion, but this is not necessarily the case.

In this luncheon workshop, you can learn how to create an awareness of what congregations are doing and showcase the good work being done in our communities by people of faith.

During her time at mainstream newspapers in Florida and the Philadelphia area, workshop facilitator Sharon Tubbs found that news outlets are interested in news from congregations because they reflect an aspect of community life in which the public is interested. Tubbs shares the story of how a short press release led to extensive newspaper, television and radio coverage of a local prayer… more

Are guests intimidated when they first visit your congregation? Before you answer “no,” think about how long you’ve been there. When you’re a seasoned attender, it can be easy to overlook the unspoken rituals, facility navigation or other issues that can impact someone’s first experience. But how can you assess what it’s like to be new when everything is already familiar?

Jason Moore, a consultant and frequent “secret worshiper,” knows that the first time experience can be intimidating for guests. Moore will guide you through the top five questions on the minds of visitors and help you explore how you can provide an experience worth returning to. He’ll help you see your worship experience through the eyes of first time guests.

By the end of this live online event, you… more

This on-demand series focuses on learning gleaned from Indiana congregations by the Center for Congregations in 2015-2016. Tim Shapiro, president of the Center for Congregations, shares the six principles distilled from the Center's experiences with Indiana congregational youth ministries.

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Every day we experience the reality that we are living in an era of change. But more importantly we are living in a change of eras. The models of faith formation and discipleship developed over the past decades cannot keep pace with the challenges of this new era. We need something new to address the lives of 21st century families, children, adolescents and adults.
    
In this live online workshop, you will envision a whole new way of forming faith—a new ecology of intergenerational relationships and faith experiences in congregations, lifelong faith formation from childhood through adulthood, family faith formation at home, and missional faith formation to the uninvolved and unaffiliated. LifelongFaith Associates President John Roberto explores these innovative approaches… more

You can help teenagers and young adults discover and embrace your congregation.

Through a landmark investigation of more than 250 diverse congregations welcoming and serving teenagers and young adults, the Fuller Youth Institute uncovered the core commitments that are key to reaching and retaining young people. Led by Fuller Executive Director Kara Powell, this live online workshop explores those findings, as well as stories of real-life congregations that are thriving. As a congregational leader, you’ll gain a host of possible ideas to help your organization change young people, and help young people change your organization.

In this live online workshop, you will:

Your congregational facility tells a story. Stories are all around us, in virtually every aspect of our daily experiences. In this live online workshop, facility management leader Tim Cool offers a unique perspective on the importance of congregational buildings.

These buildings are vastly more important than most understand. The congregational campus and the story of the people in the congregation go hand-in-hand and are interwoven into each other. You cannot neglect the power of story and how your congregational facility communicates a story.

Cool will answer several key questions about congregational facilities. How does congregational space support the story of the people? How does the congregational space prime the heart, minds and emotions of your guests? How does… more

This on-demand course explores Engaging Young Adults, a special report of the 2015 American Congregations study of Faith Communities Today (FACT).

Wendy McCormick of the Center for Congregations interviews the report’s author, Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, about the research and what congregations can learn and apply from the findings.

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You’re constantly planning for the next thing. Whether it’s the next sacred season, service opportunity or change of focus for your congregation. You know there’s a lot of great information on how to plan, but much of it is geared for business or military rather than congregational life. While helpful, this information can require a lot of translation.

Dave Odom of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity wants to introduce you to an approach that will more specifically fit your congregational planning needs. Come learn about a life-giving method to planning that acknowledges congregations are a unique hybrid of organization and family.

In this live online workshop, you will learn how to:

In this fast-paced, upbeat workshop, you can learn about an innovative strategic planning process that congregations of all sizes can successfully complete and implement. This live-online workshop is a hands-on experience, which prepares you to take what you’ve learned back to your congregation to begin the process of planning.

Led by June Miller, regional director for Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network, this workshop provides fresh ideas and a better understanding of what it means to think and plan strategically. Miller explores the tools of strategic planning, helping you create a manageable and easy-to-implement plan.

You will leave with:

This on-demand course focuses on the 2015-2016 Center for Congregations investigation of Indiana congregations engaging young adults. Center staff member Wendy McCormick coordinated the project, which included interviews with leaders of young adult ministries around the state and a gathering of leaders from about 20 congregations effectively engaging young adults.

Course Elements

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