Simply Youth Ministry Conference

Let's be honest about this: it's not every adult who wakes up thinking, "How can I spend some time with 13 year-olds today, and influence them for Jesus?" That calling, that wiring, is extremely unique and wonderful. And our wise and wonderful God, who cares so passionately about the young teens in your church, chose YOU! You are truly one of the few, one of the unique; and you are God's plan for showing love to middle schoolers.

But this ministry is difficult, and sometimes lonely. You need to be surrounded by others who understand you, who share your calling. That's why we created the Middle School Ministry Campference.

We've blended the best of a conference with the experience of a camp for youth workers who care about young teens. Whether veteran or rookie, known or unknown, we'll all be on this adventure together.

This is not a traditional conference, but a tribal gathering and growth event, with an opt-in mix of learning, worship, community, dialogue and play. Bring a team if you can; but even if you come alone, you won't be alone for long!

Dates

October 14-16, 2011

Speakers

Since we're trying to scale this event to be amazing however many people join us, we'll be adding more speakers as more sign up. But for starters, here's the line-up!

Main sessions

Michael Flaherty (CEO of Walden Media)
Soapbox* (Kurt Johnston, Heather Flies (via video), one TBD, Marko, and one attendee-submitted rant)
Marko
1 more TBD

*: A word about the Soapbox session: each of the 5 speakers will be given 6 minutes to challenge us with one soapbox message, something provocative that they wish we would consider. One of these slots will be given to an attendee. If you'd like to be considered for this Soapbox slot, please send in a one-paragraph description of what you'd want to rant about. We'll be choosing three finalists, which we'll ask to shoot a 1-minute summary video of themselves and their topic. These three videos will be made available to all registered attendees, via a linked survey, for a vote! Bring it on — send your paragraph to Marko at mark.oestreicher@gmail.com.

Seminars/Dialogues/Experiences

Mark Oestreicher
Scott Rubin
Brooklyn Lindsey
Kurt Johnston
Johnny Scott
More to come, as registration grows!

We've tried to price the Middle School Ministry Campference so that it's significantly cheaper than other events (particularly when you add in food and lodging). Thanks to our event partners, we're able to offer 5 different registration levels, all of which include accommodations and all meals. REGISTRATION INCLUDES Conference attendence, food, and lodging. Starting at just $270 per person. Click on the registration link above to see detailed pricing information.

We also have a very limited amount of special accommodations available (multi-bedroom condos) for groups that want to stay together and are willing to pay a small premium. Contact Matt Hildebrand at SpringHill Camps ( mhildebrand@springhillcamps.com or 231.734.2616) for more information.