Where: This conference will take place on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. See "Lodging and Site Information" for more details.

When: The conference begins at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 26 (registration 9:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.), and concludes at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28.

Fees: The fee of $380 includes tuition, materials, and some meals (Monday dinner, Tuesday lunch and dinner, Wednesday lunch and dinner). Lodging and breakfasts are not included in the forum fee.

Lodging: Limited lodging is available in the Erdman Center, nightly rate varies based on room type. To book a room, you must be registered for the forum and will need to contact the Erdman Center directly by telephone at               609-497-7990         609-497-7990, Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 3:00 pm.

Hyatt Place Princeton is offering a special conference rate of $135 per room, per night, double occupancy. The Hyatt Regency Hotel is offering a special conference rate of $135 per room, per night (single occupancy) and $145 per room, per night (double occupancy). Daily shuttle service will be provided from the Hyatt-Place and Hyatt Regency Hotels.

Discount notes for both events: $25 will be deducted from the tuition of those who have completed the Certificate in Youth and Theology Program. $35 per registrant will be deducted from the tuition of participants attending with three or more registrants from the same church. To receive this discount, three or more registrations must be sent at the same time.

Refunds and Cancellation Policy:
Four weeks before program start date - Full Refund
Two weeks before program start date - 75% Refund
Under Two weeks before program start date - 50% Refund

Shane Claiborne
Shane Claiborne is a founding member of The Simple Way faith community in Philadelphia, PA and author of The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. Shane Claiborne is an original voice, a creative spirit, in a gathering movement of young people known as the "new monastics." With virtues like simplicity and imagination, they are engaging great contradictions of our culture - beginning with the gap between the churches they were raised in, the needs of the poor, and the "loneliness" they find in our culture's vision of adulthood. For more information on The Simple Way see
http://www.thesimpleway.org/

Kenda Creasy Dean
Kenda Dean is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference (United Methodist) and Associate Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry.  A graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary, she served as a pastor in suburban Washington, DC and as Wesley Foundation Director at the University of Maryland-College Park before coming to Princeton Seminary.  Her most recent books include Occasional God:  What the Soul-Searching of American Teenagers Is Telling the American Church (Oxford, forthcoming) and Generation OMG: A Youth Ministry Handbook, ed. (Abingdon, forthcoming).  An Ohio native who has accidentally landed in New Jersey, she loves the beach but still can’t make herself say "downtheshore."

Peter Gomes
The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes is an American Baptist minister ordained to the Christian Ministry by The First Baptist Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Since 1970 he has served in The Memorial Church, Harvard University; and since 1974 as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church. His numerous publications include New York Times and national best-selling books, The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, (1996); and Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living (1998), as well as The Backward Glance and the Forward Look (2005).

Luke Powery  
Luke Powery is the Perry and Georgia Engle Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary. Nurtured in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition, he is an ordained Baptist minister who has served in an ecumenical capacity in churches throughout Switzerland, Canada, and the United States. He is author of the forthcoming book, Spirit Speech: Lament and Celebration in Preaching and serves on the lectionary team for The African American Lectionary, a Lilly-funded project.

Extended seminars are three-day courses, 75 minutes each day.
Participants should select one extended seminar.

A.  Greenhouses of Hope: Growing Young Leaders for the Church-that-Is-Becoming (Dori Baker)
The seminar will define Greenhouses of Hope, using the theological underpinnings of Walter Brueggemann’s edited volume Hope for the World, Evelyn Parker’s concept of emancipatory hope, and Baker’s understanding of the concept of "hoping backwards." The seminar will use case studies from research, profiles of young leaders, and exercises in holy listening to the vocational histories of participants to create practical, take-home learnings that will help pastors and youth workers imagine how their particular context might function as a Greenhouse of Hope.

B.  Should we do "IT"? Adolescent Moral Development and Sexual Decision Making (Kate Ott)
This course focuses on how to help teens make healthy sexual decisions. We will explore how stages of moral development influence sexual decision making and relationship building to develop an adolescent sexual ethic beyond “Just say no!” The ethic is theologically and developmentally appropriate, and effective in reducing mature sexual behaviors (e.g. engaging in intercourse). Significant portions of the course are dedicated to theological understandings of sexuality and new challenges from sexual health research.

C.  How Can I Keep from Screaming, Crying, and Laughing? Theological Reflections on Everyday Emotions (Rolf Jacobson)
Much of theology concerns itself with the macro issues of ethics, society, or creation. In this seminar, attention will be turned to the micro issue of what difference the Christian faith makes for how one experiences the everyday emotions of anger, sadness, and joy.

D.  The Courage to Hope: Caring for Marginalized Youth (Greg Ellison)
"They didn’t know me and I didn’t know myself." These chilling words from a marginalized young person struggling to maintain hope stand as a challenge to caregivers in the twenty-first century. Employing a full-sensory pedagogy, this seminar aims to equip caregivers in responding to the primary threats to hope, to aid caregivers in creating survival strategies that can assist young people in envisioning more generative futures, and to enhance the caregiver’s own skills of self-awareness and self-care.

E.  Hope in the Story: A Narrative Theology (Yolanda Pierce)
How can the narratives, stories, poetry, and fiction of both secular and religious writing provide the reader with hope? Narrative theology urges a more careful understanding of personal stories as a means of spiritual growth and development. Using literature from the African American experience, can we together imagine a narrative theology centered on hope, in the midst of pain and sorrow? Can literature provide hope for the disillusioned seeker, who cannot imagine himself or herself within the biblical text?

F.  Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry (Drew Dyson)
Youth ministry is a theological enterprise that, as Kenda Creasy Dean and others have noted, is focused not on what but on who¬––who God is, who young people are, and who we are as leaders and learners in their midst. These ultimate questions give shape to a practical theological framework for youth ministry. Beginning with a shared understanding that our theological commitments do (and should) give shape to our ministry with young people (whether we consciously acknowledge it or not), we will examine various theological starting points for conceiving youth ministry. Over the course of three sessions, this interactive seminar will place youth ministry within the broader arena of practical theology and help participants identify and develop a practical theological framework for their ministry with young people. Priority for this seminar is given to those enrolled in the Certificate in Youth and Theology program.

Electives are one-session courses that meet for 90 minutes.
Participants should select five electives, one for each time slot A-E.

Elective A

1.  Worship 1.0: Why We Might Not Need an Upgrade (Stephen Cady)
For some time, churches have sought to attract young people by "upgrading" the style and technology of worship, but something is often lost in the transition. This elective explores the role of worship in youth ministry, examines the benefits and challenges of sharing the traditional liturgy of the church with adolescents, and seeks to highlight faithful practices of worship.

2.  The Perks of Being a Magical Snogger: Reading with Young People (Blair Bertrand)
Bella, Charlie, Georgia, and Harry––four fictional young people who have something to say to us about how young people read. As the digital age takes over, the church needs to reconsider how young people encounter God through the printed word. Based on recent research into adolescent reading patterns, this seminar will give theoretical and practical strategies that anyone who cares about young people and the Bible can use.

3.  Loving Youth to Christ: The tough job of building relationships in everyday Youth Ministry (Amy Valdez Barker)
Every youth worker, minister, leader, or director wants to relate well with young people. We also (if we’re completely honest with ourselves) want to be loved by the young people we serve. The tough and harsh reality of youth ministry is that you can’t please everyone all the time. How do we survive and thrive in the places God has called us to serve God’s people? This course will look at youth ministry in local settings and help participants find a way to build a foundation, based on Christ’s love, that honors ones gifts and ministry context. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all youth ministry or youth leader. Find a way to be authentically you in the youth ministry world you serve.

4.  Sneaking Past Sleeping Dragons: Awakening Your Sanctified Imagination in Youth Ministry (Amanda Drury)
Youth workers often scratch their heads wondering how to share the gospel with teenagers who live in a skeptical, materialistic, and secular society. How can we present the gospel as relevant and life changing without compromising our theological integrity? C.S. Lewis described dragons of skepticism that must be lulled to sleep in order to hear and accept the gospel narrative. This elective is designed to explore ways to awaken youth workers’ sanctified imaginations in order to sneak past these dragons. By the end of this elective, the youth worker will have practical ideas on how to awaken his or her sanctified imagination in his or her preaching, praying, and activity planning.

5.  Sustainable Youth Ministry (Mark DeVries)
There are a handful of factors present in youth ministries that thrive over the long haul. This seminar will introduce participants to these factors and offer a strategic design for instilling these foundational patterns into the fabric of any youth ministry, regardless of its model. Learn how to build your ministry with intentionality––with advice, ideas, and strategies from the “gold standard of youth ministry consultants,” Mark DeVries.

6.  Eating Our Young: Societal Regression Meets the Millennial Generation (Rhonda VanDyke Colby)
Anxiety is high. The church and the culture seem to be running on survival instincts. In an uber-stressed, frenetic, fight-or-flight environment, what can we expect to encounter in our churches? In our youth? In ourselves? This workshop (part brain research, part Bowen Family Systems Theory, part generational cohort theory, and part raw speculation) seeks to clear a trail of hope through the thicket of anxiety and reptilian thinking for those ministering with youth.

Elective B

1.  Soul-Tending part I (Becky Hart)
Feeling a little off-balance? Drained by the competing demands of church, home, and life? This track is designed to help you re-center and refill the well of your own spiritual life. A practicum focusing on reflective exercises rather than a typical class. Soul-Tending takes the place of two electives. Select the Soul-Tending Track for both Elective B and Elective D if you wish to participate.

2.  The New Name Project (Charles Atkins Jr.)
"You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will name…" Isaiah 62.2b.
In this course we will explore several techniques for helping disadvantaged youth: (1) finding ways to gain and maintain holistic health for the S.E.L.F; (2) finding and expressing their G.I.F.T.; and (3) using a healthy S.E.L.F. and a unique G.I.F.T. to develop a new "name" or identity based on a purpose that nourishes the person and the world.

3.  Sustainable Youth Ministry (Mark DeVries)
There are a handful of factors present in youth ministries that thrive over the long haul. This seminar will introduce participants to these factors and offer a strategic design for instilling these foundational patterns into the fabric of any youth ministry, regardless of its model. Learn how to build your ministry with intentionality––with advice, ideas, and strategies from the “gold standard of youth ministry consultants,” Mark DeVries.

4.  Christian Daily Life in a Daily Show World (Rolf Jacobson)
Each Christian is called to live out her or his baptismal promises in everyday life––in Luther's famous phrase, “daily a new person is to come forth and rise up and live with God.” But this simple calling has been made more challenging by the fact that daily life has been radically transformed in the last 150 years. Workshop participants will be invited to consider the challenge of living a Christian daily life in a world undergoing dramatic change.

5.  Embodying Hope: Short-Term Youth Mission Trips as an Incarnation of the Word (Matthew Schultz)
This course will present a theological approach to short-term youth mission trips. We will provide a theological framework for some popular motivations for mission trips, including the desire to serve people in need, the desire to teach the life of faith to trip participants, and the ever-popular "our church has been doing it for years." We will also present practical strategies to connect this theological framework to the realities of leading these trips.

6.  epoH! That’s Hope Backwards (Dori Baker)
Don’t all Christians have a call in God’s unfolding hope for the world? "Hoping backward" involves remembering the ways God has been there for us in the past––even in the midst of personal and communal suffering––and "remembering forward" as we reach toward the new thing God might do through us. In this workshop, you will be invited to look to your own life as a trustworthy source for helping young people find their place in the world. Using media, drama, movement, and human connection, we will guide you in a reflective journey toward understanding your unfolding vocation as part of something larger than you can imagine. Helping young people in your congregations do the same will be the practical how-to you bring home.

Elective C

1.  The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church, Ministry, and Life (Jason Santos)
This seminar takes a closer look at how spiritual habits are formed in faith communities through the concept of habitus (a developed set of "tastes" or "dispositions" through which we take on the identity of our cultural surroundings). It will specifically explore how intentional engagement in specific spiritual practices can foster a greater sense of hope in the lives of young people.

2.  The New Name Project (Charles Atkins Jr.)
"You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will name…" Isaiah 62.2b.
In this course we will explore several techniques for helping disadvantaged youth: (1) finding ways to gain and maintain holistic health for the S.E.L.F; (2) finding and expressing their G.I.F.T.; and (3) using a healthy S.E.L.F. and a unique G.I.F.T. to develop a new "name" or identity based on a purpose that nourishes the person and the world.

3.  Worship 1.0: Why We Might Not Need an Upgrade
(Stephen Cady)
For some time, churches have sought to attract young people by "upgrading" the style and technology of worship, but something is often lost in the transition. This elective explores the role of worship in youth ministry, examines the benefits and challenges of sharing the traditional liturgy of the church with adolescents, and seeks to highlight faithful practices of worship.

4.  Eating Our Young: Societal Regression Meets the Millennial Generation
(Rhonda VanDyke Colby)
Anxiety is high. The church and the culture seem to be running on survival instincts. In an uber-stressed, frenetic, fight-or-flight environment, what can we expect to encounter in our churches? In our youth? In ourselves? This workshop (part brain research, part Bowen Family Systems Theory, part generational cohort theory, and part raw speculation) seeks to clear a trail of hope through the thicket of anxiety and reptilian thinking for those ministering with youth.

5.  Embodying Hope: Short-Term Youth Mission Trips as an Incarnation of the Word
(Matthew Schultz)
This course will present a theological approach to short-term youth mission trips. We will provide a theological framework for some popular motivations for mission trips, including the desire to serve people in need, the desire to teach the life of faith to trip participants, and the ever-popular "our church has been doing it for years." We will also present practical strategies to connect this theological framework to the realities of leading these trips.

Elective D

1.  Soul-Tending part II  (Becky Hart)
Feeling a little off-balance? Drained by the competing demands of church, home, and life? This track is designed to help you re-center and refill the well of your own spiritual life. A practicum focusing on reflective exercises rather than a typical class, Soul-Tending takes the place of two electives. Select the Soul-Tending Track for both Elective B and Elective D if you wish to participate.

2.  Spiritual Autobiography  (Yolanda Pierce)
This elective will examine the rich diversity of the spiritual autobiography tradition, paying particular attention to how religious faith shapes the telling of an individual’s life. What types of truths are hidden or revealed in autobiographical writing? How does religion explicitly contribute to the shaping of a life story? We will use life-writing, as well as the reading of excerpts of spiritual autobiographies, as the tools for greater spiritual formation and reflection.

3.  Loving Youth to Christ: The tough job of building relationships in everyday Youth Ministry (Amy Valdez Barker)
Every youth worker, minister, leader, or director wants to relate well with young people. We also (if we’re completely honest with ourselves) want to be loved by the young people we serve. The tough and harsh reality of youth ministry is that you can’t please everyone all the time. How do we survive and thrive in the places God has called us to serve God’s people? This course will look at youth ministry in local settings and help participants find a way to build a foundation, based on Christ’s love, that honors ones gifts and ministry context. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all youth ministry or youth leader. Find a way to be authentically you in the youth ministry world you serve.

4.  Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships (Cassie Meyer)
Around the world, people of different faith traditions are interacting with increasing frequency. As faith leaders, the importance of shaping positive interactions and forming our communities for interfaith interaction is crucial. If conflict is the common paradigm, what alternatives can we offer? This session posits the possibility of religious pluralism, going beyond mere tolerance for diversity and requiring that we build positive relationships across difference and work with one another. Taught by staff of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit, this course highlights a theory of interfaith leadership in a religiously diverse world with skill-building training translatable to multiple vocational contexts. Students will walk away with a new conception of interfaith interaction as well as a concrete understanding of how to incorporate these ideas into the work they are preparing to do.

5.  The Perks of Being a Magical Snogger: Reading with Young People (Blair Bertrand)
Bella, Charlie, Georgia, and Harry - four fictional young people who have something to say to us about how young people read. As the digital age takes over, the church needs to reconsider how young people encounter God through the printed word. Based on recent research into adolescent reading patterns, this seminar will give theoretical and practical strategies that anyone who cares about young people and the Bible can use.

6.  Missional Youth Ministry & The School of Rock (Drew Dyson)
Lesslie Newbigin, David Bosch, and... Jack Black? What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? This workshop examines the core theological commitments of the missional church and their import for faith forming youth ministry through the lens of "The School of Rock."

Elective E

1.  Sexuality, Teens, and Faith: Starting a Conversation in Youth Group  (Kate Ott)
In this course, we will review the research on what does and does not work in sexuality education offered by faith communities, taking into consideration assessments provided by teens. With this foundation, we will develop plans for how to more effectively teach sexuality education or just simply begin conversation in our own faith contexts about sexuality issues. This is a practical workshop where we will learn a variety of sexuality education techniques and adapt them to fit our various contexts.

2.  The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church, Ministry, and Life
(Jason Santos)
This seminar takes a closer look at how spiritual habits are formed in faith communities through the concept of habitus (a developed set of "tastes" or "dispositions" through which we take on the identity of our cultural surroundings). It will specifically explore how intentional engagement in specific spiritual practices can foster a greater sense of hope in the lives of young people.

3.  From Voices to Vision: Full-Sensory Reflections on Vocational Discernment
(Greg Ellison)
In "The Sound of the Genuine," Howard Thurman speaks of traffic within our minds impeding us from hearing our own voice of inner genius. From this (divine) inner voice spring forth our passions, dreams, and vocational goals. To hear this genuine sound, distracting voices must be quieted. This elective will employ music, video, role-play, and the insights of diverse theological and psychological theorists to assist participants in hearing their voice of inner genius and envisioning generative vocational futures.

4.  Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships
(Cassie Meyer
Around the world, people of different faith traditions are interacting with increasing frequency. As faith leaders, the importance of shaping positive interactions and forming our communities for interfaith interaction is crucial. If conflict is the common paradigm, what alternatives can we offer? This session posits the possibility of religious pluralism, going beyond mere tolerance for diversity and requiring that we build positive relationships across difference and work with one another. Taught by staff of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit, this course highlights a theory of interfaith leadership in a religiously diverse world with skill-building training translatable to multiple vocational contexts. Students will walk away with a new conception of interfaith interaction as well as a concrete understanding of how to incorporate these ideas into the work they are preparing to do.

5.  Sneaking Past Sleeping Dragons: Awakening Your Sanctified Imagination in Youth Ministry
(Amanda Drury)
Youth workers often scratch their heads wondering how to share the gospel with teenagers who live in a skeptical, materialistic, and secular society. How can we present the gospel as relevant and life changing without compromising our theological integrity? C.S. Lewis described dragons of skepticism that must be lulled to sleep in order to hear and accept the gospel narrative. This elective is designed to explore ways to awaken youth workers' sanctified imaginations in order to sneak past these dragons. By the end of this elective, the youth worker will have practical ideas on how to awaken his or her sanctified imagination in his or her preaching, praying, and activity planning.

Theologians in Residence

Dori Baker
Dori joined the Fund for Theological Education as a Calling Congregations program partner and consultant in April of 2008 after a decade of teaching youth ministry and religious education at various seminaries. Dori is an ordained United Methodist elder who received her Ph.D. in religious and theological studies from Northwestern University and her Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Her most recent research focuses on practices of faith lived out by congregations where new generations of youthful leaders are nurtured. Dori is the co-author of Lives to Offer: Accompanying Youth on the Quest for Vocation (Pilgrim Press, 2007) and author of Doing Girlfriend Theology: God-Talk with Young Women (Pilgrim Press, 2005). She lives in Altavista, Virginia, where she continues to teach, write, and provide leadership for retreats and conferences.

Dori is teaching:
A. Greenhouses of Hope: Growing Young Leaders for the Church-that-is-Becoming
B.6. epoH! That's hope backwards

Rev. Drew A. Dyson
Drew is completing his Ph.D. in Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and has been named to the James C. Logan Chair in Evangelism at Wesley Theological Seminary. An ordained United Methodist pastor, Drew has served in youth and pastoral ministry in local churches as well as serving as the Executive Director of a denominational initiative in youth ministry for the United Methodist Church. His publications include, Faith Forming Junior High Ministry: Beyond Pizza 101 and Soul Tending: Life-Forming Practices for Older Youth and Young Adults.

Drew is teaching:
F. Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry
D.6. Missional Youth Ministry and The School of Rock

Gregory C. Ellison II
Gregory is a native of Atlanta, and alumnus of Emory College. In 2009, he returned to his alma mater to join the faculty of Emory University’s Candler School of Theology as assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling. Gregory is author of the forthcoming book, Cut Dead But Still Alive: African American Young Men in Today’s Culture. He is a Baptist minister, and has served on the ministerial staffs at Methodist and Presbyterian churches.

Gregory is teaching:
D. The Courage to Hope: Caring for Marginalized Youth
E.3. From Voices to Vision: Full-Sensory Reflections on Vocational Discernment

Rolf Jacobson
Rolf is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. His works include Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuff Dictionary of Biblical Terms, along with a bunch of rather more stuffy articles, Bible studies, video curricula, and books. He is an in-demand speaker, known for his humor and passion.

Rolf is teaching:
C. How Can I Keep from Screaming, Crying, and Laughing? Theological Reflections on Everyday Emotions
B.4. Christian Daily Life in a Daily Show World

Kate Ott
Kate is Associate Director of the Religious Institute. Dr. Ott is author of Sex and the Seminary: Preparing Ministers for Sexual Health and Justice in addition to a number of guidebooks for clergy and religious professionals on issues such as sexuality education, HIV/AIDS, and assisted reproductive technologies. She is co-editor of Dr. Letty Russell’s posthumous work, Just Hospitality: God’s Welcome in a World of Difference. She teaches ethics and sexuality related courses in university and seminary settings, and offers workshops for sexual and reproductive health organizations as well as congregations on sexuality education in faith-based contexts.

Kate is teaching:
B. Should we do "IT"? Adolescent Moral Development and Sexual Decision Making
E.1. Sexuality, Teens, and Faith: Starting a Conversation in Youth Group

Yolanda Pierce
Yolanda is an associate professor of African American Religion and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she teaches courses in African American Religious History, Feminist Theology, and American Literature. In her teaching and scholarship, Yolanda Pierce attempts to bridge the gaps between the pulpit, the pew, and the academy. Her earlier book (Hell Without Fires) and forthcoming book (With Fear and Trembling) focus on the historical and contemporary significance of the African American religious tradition. Her critical essays and numerous publications in academic journals consider the relationship between religious faith, civil rights, and race in the American context. In addition to her teaching and research, Yolanda Pierce is a community activist and Christian minister. She maintains a public intellectual presence through her blogs, frequent appearances on television and radio, and writings for magazines and newspapers.

Yolanda is teaching:
E. Hope in the Story: A Narrative Theology (Extended Seminar)
D.2. Spiritual Autobiography (Elective)

Faculty

Amy Valdez Barker
Rev. Amy Valdez Barker is the Minister of Families with Youth at Athens First United Methodist Church in Georgia. Amy also serves on the board of the Center for Youth Ministry Excellence and is a steering committee member of the Youth worker Movement. As a youth and young adult, Amy was very involved in the local, national and global church. She graduated from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary with a Master of Theological Studies in Religion, Personality and Culture with an emphasis on Adolescent Faith Development. Her heart and passion is to share the love of Jesus Christ with all the youth whom God allows her to encounter.

Rev. Amy Valdez Barker is teaching:
A.3. Loving Youth to Christ: The tough job of building relationships in everyday Youth Ministry
D.3. Loving Youth to Christ: The tough job of building relationships in everyday Youth Ministry

Rev. Rebecca (Becky) Hart
Becky is co-pastor with her husband John of the Liberty Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio. She also serves on the board of the Center for Religion at Princeton University. Prior to this call, she was co-pastor of a growing church in Montclair, New Jersey, and also was active in ministry in Oxford, England. Becky graduated from Princeton University, and received her Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary with a shared focus in Theology and in Marriage and Family Ministry. Having met her husband helping to start Young Life in New Jersey, Becky has a passion for youth ministry, and is active in leading Confirmation, missions and mentoring youth directors & seminarians. She is also active in leadership development and retreat ministries with all ages.

Becky is teaching:
B.1. Soul-Tending part I
D.1. Soul-Tending part II

Mark Devries
Mark is the founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a hands-on coaching service for churches. For the past twenty years, he has served as the associate pastor for youth and their families at the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he continues to oversee the youth ministry on a part-time basis. DeVries is the author of Family Based Youth Ministry and Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do about It.

Mark is teaching:
A.5. Sustainable Youth Ministry
B.3. Sustainable Youth Ministry

Jason Brian Santos
Jason is a Ph.D. candidate and a Teaching Fellow in Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He also holds a M.A. in Systematic Theology from Wheaton College Graduate School and a M.Div. from Princeton. He is the author of A Community Called Taizé: A Story of Prayer, Worship and Reconciliation (InterVarsity Press, 2008, forward by Archbishop Desmond Tutu). He speaks both in the US and internationally on topics ranging from youth ministry and popular culture to contemplative spirituality and alternative worship. He currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey with his wife, Shannon, his eight-year-old son, Judah and two exotic hybrid cats.

Jason is teaching:
C.1. The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church
E.2. The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church

Matthew Schultz
Matthew graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2005, with the Dual Degree (M.Div. and M.A. in Youth Ministry). After serving a church in northern New York, he returned to Princeton to take a youth ministry call with his wife, Elizabeth Schultz. They currently serve at Nassau Presbyterian Church. They have led dozens of short-term mission trips, and have been involved in ministry to youth for around 15 years. They think they are starting to get the hang of it.
Matthew is teaching:
B.5. Embodying Hope: Short-Term Mission Trips as an Incarnation of the Word
C.5. Embodying Hope: Short-Term Mission Trips as an Incarnation of the Word

Stephen Cady
Stephen is a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology (Christian Education) at Princeton Theological Seminary and has been named a Timothy Scholar by the United Methodist Foundation for Evangelism. He has served as a youth and young adult minister in the Chicago area and currently serves as the minister of Kingston United Methodist Church in Kingston, NJ. Cady is a recipient of the Wesley Fellowship and the Dempster Scholarship for United Methodist scholars.

Stephen is teaching:
A.1. Worship 1.0: Why We Might Not Need an Upgrade
C.3. Worship 1.0: Why We Might Not Need an Upgrade

Rev. Blair Bertrand
Blair currently attends Princeton Theological Seminary as a Ph.D. candidate in Youth Ministry. (His real mission in NJ however is to restore his Men's League hockey team to its former glory. Don't tell the border people.) Before moving to the US, Blair served St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Brampton, ON) and lectured at Tyndale University College and Seminary (Toronto, ON).
Blair is teaching:
A.2. The Perks of Being a Magical Snogger: Reading with Young People
D.5. The Perks of Being a Magical Snogger: Reading with Young People

Rev. Charles Atkins, Jr.
Charles currently works as a full-time Chaplain with the N.J. Department of Corrections stationed at Garden State Youth Correctional Facility. Rev. Atkins is also currently serving as the host and narrator of the nationally distributed American Public Television series called “Beyond Theology” (www.beyondtheology.tv)—an investigation of interfaith dialogue and the intersection of faith and public life. In recognition of his work as program host, Charles was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award by the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He also serves as the moderator of the New Name Alliance, Inc., a non-profit association of artists, educators, motivational speakers and mentors, who produce seminars, sermons and speeches; inspirational art; and mentoring programs (“The New Name Project”), seeking to help disadvantaged youth and young adults to find a “new name” according to their life purpose. With the Alliance Charles was able to produce a song that was showcased at the 2009 Holy HipHop Awards in Atlanta, GA and released the CD “Get Brand New” in Summer 2009 (www.NewNameX.ning.com; www.sonicbids.com/xrossover; Facebook; Twitter).

Charles is teaching:
B.2. The New Name Project
C.2. The New Name Project

Rhonda VanDyke Colby
Rhonda is the Dean of Spiritual Life at Shenandoah University where she co-directs the Institute for Church Professions with her husband Rev. Don VanDyke Colby. Following 25 years of pastoring United Methodist congregations, her commitment to "calling, forming, and sending leaders for tomorrow’s church and world" took Rhonda to the university.
As a pastor her commitment to social justice led her to establish unique ministries with young persons. Harvest of Hope involves youth in gleaning food for the hungry and examining hunger’s root causes and systemic solutions. The Elizabeth Project pairs at risk pregnant teens with compassionate mentors for education and support.
In her current role she has founded Calling 21, a summer congregational leadership immersion for college students, and the JustFaith Christian Leadership Program

Rhonda is teaching:
A.6. Eating Our Young: Societal Regression Meets the Millenial Generation
C.4. Eating Our Young: Societal Regression Meets the Millenial Generation

Amanda Drury
The Rev. Amanda Hontz Drury is ordained in The Wesleyan Church and served as a youth pastor before starting the Ph.D. program in practical theology at Princeton Seminary. She has taught graduate courses in youth ministry and postmodern theology at Indiana Wesleyan University, and is a regular participant in Wesleyan studies gatherings. Amanda is a frequent speaker and preacher at churches, youth conferences and denominational youth ministry training events. She finds preaching and teaching equally important paths to reaching young people with the gospel.

Amanda is teaching:
A.4. Sneaking Past Sleeping Dragons: Awakening Your Sanctified Imagination in Youth Ministry
E.5. Sneaking Past Sleeping Dragons: Awakening Your Sanctified Imagination in Youth Ministry

Cassie Meyer
Cassie is the Content Director for the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, Il. She earned her M.A. at the University of Chicago Divinity School where her work focused on social justice movements in American Christianity. She has co-taught multiple courses with Dr. Eboo Patel on interfaith leadership and interfaith action at the University of Chicago Divinity School, Chicago Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary, where she is adjunct faculty. With IFYC since 2005, Cassie regularly gives talks and trainings at seminaries and universities around the world and directed IFY''s 6th Conference on Interfaith Youth Work, which brought together over 600 academics, religious leaders, activists, policy makers and young people. She is the Youth Voices Editor for Interreligious Insight, on the Advisory Board for the Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and has written for The Washington Post's "On Faith," the Journal of College and Character, Religious Education and the US State Department's America.gov blog.

Amanda is teaching:
D.4. Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships
E.4. Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships

Click here to open a PDF of the schedule for the Princeton Event.

Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey

Princeton, NJ
April 26–28, 2010

This forum will take place on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. Located approximately one hour from New York City and one hour from Philadelphia, the Seminary is adjacent to Princeton University. Classes will meet in Stuart Hall, and worship will be held in Miller Chapel. Princeton Seminary’s dining hall in the Mackay Campus Center serves excellent food with a wide variety of selections for every meal, including at least one vegetarian entrée. Forum dinners will be served banquet-style in the main dining room.

On-Campus Lodging

Limited lodging is available in the Erdman Center, nightly rate varies based on room type. Note that the procedure for booking rooms in Erdman is different this year.
To book a room, you must be registered for the forum and will need to contact the Erdman Center directly by telephone at               609-497-7990         609-497-7990, Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 3:00 pm.

Conference Hotels

Hyatt Place Princeton is offering a special conference rate of $135 per room, per night, double occupancy. The Hyatt Regency Hotel is offering a special conference rate of $135 per room, per night (single occupancy) and $145 per room, per night (double occupancy). Daily shuttle service will be provided from the Hyatt-Place and Hyatt Regency Hotels.
If you would like assistance finding a roommate, please contact Pat Heran at pat.heran@ptsem.edu or               609.497.7914         609.497.7914.

Transportation

Princeton is served by Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, (a one-hour drive), and there are a variety of venues for inexpensive ground transportation. The Philadelphia International Airport is also approximately a one-hour drive from Princeton, but any realistic ground travel requires a rental car.

Certificate in Youth and Theology Retreat

April 24-25, 2010
Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton NJ

Leadership: Becky Hart

The Certificate Retreat is intended for those who wish to enroll in the Institute for Youth Ministry’s new Certificate in Youth and Theology program, which is designed for practitioners who want to extend their ministry and their credentials with further education about adolescent culture, Biblical theology, and healthy practices of youth ministry. In order to enroll in the Certificate program, you must register for and participate in both a Certificate Retreat and the immediately following Forum. An annual certificate program continuation fee applies every January until the program is completed. Please see the Certificate in Youth and Theology section for more information on the program.

The Certificate Retreat accompanying the Spring 2010 Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry will be held April 24-25, 2010 at Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Center in Princeton, NJ. Veteran Pastor and Forum leader, Becky Hart, will lead participants in conversations that unite theology and practice, offering a whole person approach to the start of the certificate program. The fee for the retreat is $300.00, which includes tuition, materials, lodging in Erdman Center*, and meals from dinner on Sunday the 1st through lunch on Tuesday the 3rd.

*Please note that enrolling in the Certificate Retreat guarantees housing in Erdman for the Retreat only. If you wish to book a room in Erdman for the Forum as well, you must be registered for the forum and will need to contact the Erdman Center directly by telephone at               609-497-7990         609-497-7990. Housing in Erdman for the Forum is limited.

Click here to register for the Certificate Retreat.

If you have questions, please contact Pat Heran at               609.497.7914         609.497.7914 or pat.heran@ptsem.edu. Enrollment is limited, so please register early!

There are several ways to register

Questions? Need more information?
Contact Pat Heran               609.497.7914         609.497.7914 or email: pat.heran@ptsem.edu

Helpful Hints for Course Selection

Need help choosing courses? We offer the following suggestions to help you select courses most suited to your needs and interests. These are just suggestions. Feel free to substitute wherever your interests vary.

Basics
If you are in your first three years of professional church ministry or are a volunteer leader and hope to build the foundations of a theological approach to youth ministry, the following courses cover the basics.

Extended Seminar
F. Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry (Drew Dyson) OR
A. Greenhouses of Hope: Growing Young Leaders for the Church-that-is-Becoming (Dori Baker)

Electives
A.3. Transforming the Adolescent Mind: Understanding the Teenage Brain, Adolescent Behavior, and Youth Ministry (Fernando Arzola)
B.3. Sustainable Youth Ministry (Mark DeVries)
C.5. Embodying Hope: Short-Term Mission Trips as an Incarnation of the Word (Matthew Schultz)
D. 5. The Perks of Being a Magical Snogger: Reading with Young People (Blair Bertrand)
E.1. Sexuality, Teens, and Faith: Starting a Conversation in Youth Group (Kate Ott)

Spirituality
Combine the courses below for a forum experience that focuses on reflection, balance, and nurturing faith.

Extended Seminar
C. How Can I Keep from Screaming, Crying, and Laughing? Theological Reflections on Everyday Emotions (Rolf Jacobson)

Electives
A.1. Worship 1.0: Why We Might Not Need an Upgrade (Stephen Cady)
B.1. Soul-Tending part I (Becky Hart)
C.1. The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church (Jason Santos)
D.1. Soul-Tending part II (Becky Hart)
E.5. Sneaking Past Sleeping Dragons: Awakening Your Sanctified Imagination in Youth Ministry (Amanda Drury)

Academic/Forum Veterans
If you are looking for a more academically oriented, theologically rigorous selection, or have covered the basics at past forums, consider registering for some of the following courses.

Extended Seminar
E. Hope in the Story: A Narrative Theology (Yolanda Pierce)

Electives
A.6. Eating Our Young: Societal Regression Meets the Millenial Generation (Rhonda VanDyke Colby)
B.4. Christian Daily Life in a Daily Show World (Rolf Jacobson)
C.1. The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church (Jason Santos)
D.4. Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships (Interfaith Youth Core Staff)
E.3. From Voices to Vision: Full-Sensory Reflections on Vocational Discernment (Greg Ellison)

For those in ministry with Marginalized or "At-Risk" Youth

Extended Seminar
D. The Courage to Hope: Caring for Marginalized Youth (Greg Ellison)

Electives
A.3. Transforming the Adolescent Mind: Understanding the Teenage Brain, Adolescent Behavior, and Youth Ministry (Fernando Arzola)
B.2. The New Name Project (Charles Atkins Jr.)
C.1. The Habitus of Hope: Cultivating Patterns of Hopefulness in Your Church. (Jason Santos)
D.2. Hope in the Story: A Narrative Theology (Yolanda Pierce)
E.4. Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Youth Work: Building Positive Relationships (Interfaith Youth Core staff)