RICHMOND, Va. — The annual two-day training for Virginia Baptist youth ministers, summer youth workers, youth ministry interns and volunteer youth leaders drew a record 105 participants and faculty to the Virginia Baptist Resource Center in Richmond in May.
“Our previous high was two years ago when we topped 80 participants, so this year was really special,” said Ken Dibble, youth ministry strategist for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and conference coordinator.
Youth specialist and author Mark DeVries speaks at the Youth Ministry Forum.
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This was the first year for the Youth Ministry Forum (formerly the Summer Youth Ministry Conference) to be held under its new name.
“There were youth ministers who had either misunderstood or misinterpreted the focus of the conference thinking it was to help youth ministers plan their summer youth ministry calendar,” said Dibble. “Many said, ‘My summer calendar is already planned, so why do I need to attend this conference?’ So, I felt a name change would help to re-brand the conference with a clearer understanding of its overall content and objective. With the record numbers we had this year, it looks like the new name and identity has made a difference.”
The Youth Ministry Forum this year featured veteran youth minister and author Mark DeVries from Nashville, Tenn.
“Mark was definitely a draw because of the popularity of his recent book, Sustainable Youth Ministry,” said Dibble. “From comments and evaluations received during and after the conference, Mark was a literal ‘home run’ for us this year.”
Youth Ministry Forum participants hear about upcoming events during a lunch sponsored by Bluefield College.
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Additional faculty included Ted Stump from High Impact Ministries in Phoenix, Ariz., and Sherry Spillman, student ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville.
A myriad of conference topics were offered this year including budgeting, staff relationships, developing strong leaders, involving parents in youth ministry, working with interns, and how to develop a long-term, sustainable vision for youth ministry.
Participants received more than nine hours of training over the course of the two-day conference from eight different conference leaders. Faculty included interns, youth ministers and seminary students.
“They offered rich insights into youth ministry from a variety of ministry contexts in order to allow leaders to understand the role of the church, the role of the staff and the volunteers in shaping youth ministry and enriching the calling of youth leaders through their church’s ministry to students,” said Dibble.
Also partnering with Youth Ministry Forum this year were LifeWay and Bluefield College.
“We are grateful for the ongoing support our participants receive from our valued partners who allow participants to purchase resources authored by our guest speakers and to learn more about our Baptist colleges and institutions while they were here,” said Dibble.
“For some of the youth leaders, it was the first time they had ever been in the Virginia Baptist Resource Center and their presence created quite a buzz in our building, so we consider that a win-win. They were also able to meet other state convention staff and learn more about our overall work as a convention both in Virginia and around the world.”
Next year’s conference has been set for May 16-17 at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center and will feature special guest Mark Oestreicher, former present of Youth Specialties and author of Youth Ministry 3.0.
For more information, visit the website at www.vbmb.org/ymf.