Are your creative meetings as stale as that Halloween candy you stashed under the sofa cushions? Is it hard to breathe when you try to figure out what goes, what stays and what needs tweaked? Leadership Network invites you to share in the newest process of innovation and creativity developed to help you examine, engage, explore, establish and evaluate all your realms of possibility. We'll walk you through the Think!Pack - a tool to help infuse new into your old and get a jump start where "new" doesn't even exist yet. Come on, give your brain that jolt it's been asking for.

Speakers: Sherry Surratt

Fast pace, fast food, fast driving, fast life, hurry up, faster, quicker, now, pressing, immediate, A.S.A.P.! Yes, I like these words too. There is something about moving fast in life and ministry that gets the adrenaline flowing and blood pumping. Making a difference in the lives of others doesn't come easy and it doesn't come without cost. We work extended hours to make deadlines, we rushing to finalize notes, we hurry to organize the weekend program or quickly move to the next great event while all the time picking up speed. Eventually you become a vortex of energy spinning more and accomplishing less, or worse, spinning more and accomplishing more which only makes you want to spin faster. In this session we will authentically address the personalities, events and work cultures that tend to not only attract but allow us to flourish with speed and look at why this culture of speed and spin is hurting personal lives and families. If your world is spinning, we want to give some practical advice that will help you not slow down but stop the spin cycle in your life.

Caution: Attention first born and only children. This is a required session for you based on the sole fact that your are a first born or only child and feel the need to spin even when you are at rest, that one time of year, when you decide to "slow down."

Speakers: Craig Jutila

Michael and Andrew tell real stories in a way that kids remember and parents have something to follow up with at home. Telling Bible stories is the easy part. Creating illustrations, props, tools and contraptions that make stories stick in kids' hearts - that's the hard part. Join these guys to hear about a no-holds-barred approach to storytelling, building, scrounging, designing your program, or even finding something else to do for a living. Trust us, you don't want to miss this.
For more information, check out www.TheBigDeal.com or www.Storyrealing.com.

Speakers: Michael Haun, Andrew Weiler

Leading worship is just as much about your leadership ability as it is your musical ability. You have to lead and engage the kids for them to follow and participate. In this preconference workshop, you'll learn practical tips to help you lead any age kid in worship.

Speakers: Yancy Richmond

TBD

Speakers: Hannah Joiner, Rebecca Joiner

We all know we can do more together then we could ever do alone. Inspiring everyone that steps foot on your stage to be a leader and an example to others is key. This session will give you insight on how to lead, manage and communicate with those musician types that can sometimes be a bit hard to lead.

Speakers: Yancy Richmond

Attracting, recruiting and growing a "sticky" team that adds value to ministry to kids and family can be challenging. What attracts a volunteer? What are some best recruiting practices? How to create a team environment where people of all ages "stick" around and create a vibrant ministry? Together we'll wrestle with some practical ideas. (P.S. This will be fun!) THIS MESSAGE WILL BE REPEATED DURING BREAKOUT D.

Speakers: Misty Phillips

When we focus on what makes us strong, what we were created to do, we increase our odds of success. Learn to lead from your strengths with a strategic vision for your ministry. This breakout will examine the strengths movement and how it can help you to lead in your ministry. Additionally, we will discuss the maneuver warfare strategy of the United States Marine Corps and how adapting it to your planning process will help you to lead through any adversity or challenge. A plan to succeed is a plan for success.

Speakers: Michael Chanley

We all need more volunteers, but how do we get them up to speed quickly while maintaining quality, security and excitement? In this workshop, we'll explore a plan for systematically helping a new team member come up to the speed of Orange. Resources will include best practices from Orange Leaders, sample Moodle courses, and bibliography.

Speakers: Darren Kizer

Student pastors, we all know what it's like as communicators to look
out and see glazed over eyes and busy cell phones. Have you ever
wondered if you're really getting their attention? Have you ever
wondered if what they hear at church is really making a difference in
what they do the rest of the week? This is one of the greatest
challenges of student ministry: captivating the minds and hearts of
students who are lectured all week by teachers, coaches or parents and entertained all weekend by Lil' Wayne, Twilight, or Modern Warfare 2. In this breakout, we want to explore how we can maximize our
effectiveness as student communicators.

Speakers: Jamey Dickens

So...you've asked every friend you know to help you with your ministry, and now you have to ask strangers to help. Do you know what to ask? Do you know what you are looking for? Can you tell who will make a good leader in one conversation? You can get pretty close. Join us for his breakout as we discuss a strategy to find who you're looking for and what to ask as you interview potential leaders for students.

Speakers: Tom Shefchunas

Ever done anything stupid? At Seacoast Church, we have - and we're willing to give you a glimpse into our vault of shame where snap decisions and lack of wisdom ran a muck. Come and hear about the messy stuff one church has learned from while growing into a thriving Children's Ministry, where parents smile and kids are proud to bring their friends.

Speakers: Sherry Surratt

Organization and time management are learned behaviors. None of us where born organized. Jim will not only give you his five things you need to be organized, he will also teach you his four steps to effective time management and give away his ten leadership secrets for organizing your life and ministry.

Speakers: Jim Wideman

You'll not only learn the important difference between these two concepts, but Jim will also teach you to do both. We know we need others to represent us but who, how, where, and when does that happen? Come learn the ins and out of building your dream team and always having a supply of quality workers around you.

Speakers: Jim Wideman

An effective leader not only leads at their current level, but he or she must also develop the ability to forecast where their ministry needs to go. Leadership guru Jim Wideman will give you twelve steps to become a leader capable of looking ahead and pointing the way that God wants you to go.

Speakers: Jim Wideman

There is no doubt about it - ministry is hard work. And to top is off, resistance is lurking around every corner to distract, disappoint, or discourage us. As a leader, you need to be able to identify the primary ways that resistance may sabotage the work of God in your ministry and how you can push through to the other side.

Speakers: Jeanne Stevens

As a leader, you need to be able to communicate a clear and compelling vision so that the people that you lead will be able to know where the ministry is headed. We will look at how to discern the unique vision God has for your ministry, how to communicate with conviction, how to celebrate when it's clear and how to evaluate and change course when it's not effective.

Speakers: Jeanne Stevens

Many churches are stuck in a state of confusion as to what's needed in order to be effective engaging college age people. The outcome is little if any intentional ministry. Some have tried different approaches and have yet to find something sustainable. Being effective in college ministry isn't difficult, it just takes focus on a few key things. This seminar is designed to end the confusion by giving a picture of what's needed and why, what works and what doesn't, and a simple (and inexpensive) path to follow for any church in any context.

Speakers: Chuck Bomar

Are you currently using FIRST LOOK in your preschool environment? Then you are ready for the NEXT step! In this breakout we will discuss putting together a curriculum team, streamlining the editing process, organizing and purchasing supplies, and how to prepare the classroom for Sunday morning.

Speakers: Kendra Fleming

If you are currently using 252 Basics in your children's environment, your NEXT step is to learn how to streamline the preparation and editing process. In this breakout, we will discuss developing curriculum teams, the "how to's" of editing for both large and small groups, organizing and ordering supplies and prepping the environment for Sunday morning.

Speakers: Gina Ragsdale

FOR ANYONE THAT HAS ALREADY LAUNCHED A FAMILY EXPERIENCE. If you've taken the first step and gotten your Family Experience off the ground, then you're probably wondering how in the world you can make the task of producing these events easier and more effective. Join us for "NEXT" to learn some of the systematic improvements you and your team cam implement that will make your planning process more streamlined. How can you effectively evaluate your program each week? What is the best way to plan and run rehearsals? Is there an easy way to collect information and follow up with new families that visit? And what about managing ALL those volunteers? These are some of the questions that have probably popped into your head and we're looking forward to helping you get some answers!

Speakers: Mike Clear

Join Todd Clark, Senior Pastor at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, California, to hear about the nuances, challenges and benefits of leading an Orange church. Since it's inception in 2003, Discovery Church has been Orange. Todd and his team have learned valuable lessons that he looks forward to sharing with other leaders about the synergy and chemistry among staff, influence with parents, and impact with the community. He'll share what can happen when you "squeeze the orange" philosophy into your organization - and answer your questions as well!

Speakers: Todd Clark

THE most important part of a successful Orange strategy in your church is to have a successful Orange strategy in the pastor's house. How can you have a fun, healthy marriage; raise happy, Christian kids; AND lead a growing, Orange church? Join Geoff and Sherry Surratt as they share the mistakes they've made and lessons they've learned in 27 years of marriage, parenting and ministry.
This workshop is a great opportunity for Senior Pastors and their spouses to attend together as long as both participants are paid conference and preconference attendees.




Speakers: Geoff Surratt, Sherry Surratt

In this breakout we'll look at building a leadership development culture, developing a leadership pipeline and providing a stocked toolbox to equip your leaders to mentor new leaders. The ultimate goal of Greenhouse Leadership is to produce an abundant harvest of reproducing leaders; we'll break down the process of how to make this happen in your own organization.

Speakers: Geoff Surratt

Tom Shefchunas, the Director of Middle School at North Point Community Church, has the incredible honor of overseeing a vibrant, growing, and extremely large student ministry. He discovered that this "lab" was an amazing source of inspiration, innovation, experimentation, and exploration and wanted to share that with others. The problem was that he didn't have the right platform. He needed a blog. Join Tom and John Saddington, the Creative Web Director at North Point, for a frank discussion of how they launched Tom's blog from scratch, and hear the best practices and the lessons learned so you can do the same.

Speakers: John Saddington, Tom Shefchunas

Your church and organization have already begun to develop a social media strategy whether you like it or not; the question is whether or not you, as the leadership, are the ones crafting it! We'll walk through four key considerations, questions, and identify the "tension points" to get you not only started but to be successful. Q&A will follow.

Speakers: John Saddington

You have the vision...you get the concept...but now what? How do I continue to move my student environment toward that vision? Join us for a frank and practical discussion about how to begin the process of fulfilling your vision for your ministry. We will be discussing systems, beliefs, and strategies to get your program funded, full of good volunteers, and moving daily toward your amazing vision for your student environment.

Speakers: Tom Shefchunas

The inevitable truth is that passions change, life happens and for various reasons people transition off of our team often leaving a gaping hole. This breakout will help you build a 'replace yourself' mentality within your ministry that will grow your volunteer and leadership base. Explore how to effectively hand off ministry, mobilize your volunteers and empower student leaders creating a healthy ministry environment able to endure change.

Speakers: Brian Vander Ark & Tim Vandlen

Let's focus on reproducing ourselves in the lives of next generation leaders while immediately benefiting from their energy and input. In this workshop, we'll explore multiple internship models including volunteer, experience based, and college credit based. Sample curriculum, rubrics, and site plans will be appraised.

Speakers: Darren Kizer

Come explore the different classroom models for children with disabilities. This workshop will focus on the development of a special classroom to best meet the needs of children with disabilities in your children's programs. Explore when a specialized classroom is appropriate based on a child's needs and level of support.

Speakers: Jackie Mills-Fernald