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see you next year!

JANUARY 6-8, 2025, IN DALLAS, TX

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Intentionally Practical. Intentionally Theological.

Perkins School of Youth Ministry, under the direction of The Office of External Programs at Perkins School of Theology at SMU, coordinates training programs exclusively designed to resource those in the church whose ministries focus on youth and young adults. PSYM has been engaging and equipping youth workers since 1987.

What is different about PSYM?
We’re not merely a conference. We’re a school for faith formation ministries. It’s right there in the name. We enable a robust community of learning where every participant is empowered to share their experiences, contexts, successes and failures. Spanning four decades of youth ministry training, we’re a trusted partner for congregations and leaders investing in young people.

Every January, you’ll find pastors, age-ministry veterans, freshly-installed program ministry leaders, college interns, ministry volunteers, seminarians, respected authors and academic researchers all gathered together in our shared spaces to learn and grow. Join us!


SHIFT

In photography, a shift effect is a displacement of the lens parallel to the plane. This allows for a tight focus on a subject without changing the camera angle. It’s an intentional move by the artist to capture something—or someone—in the fullness of their unique environment.

We don’t need more training dependent on portraiture—mere monoliths of youth culture that relegate ministry to prescribed formulas, numbers reports and boxes to check. We seek a different type of perspective that values context, narrative and mission.

How can we help the church understand, embrace and empower young people? What new approaches can we discover, share and learn for our work?


Need a justification letter for your manager or organization for why you should attend? Download a template here.

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TRACKS

FOUNDATIONS TRACK

The Most Practical Choice | Recommended 1-2 Years Experience or First Formal Training in Youth Ministry | 1.35 CEUs

Foundations offers youth workers and volunteers an extensive course on primary material for ministry including: Professionalism, Program Management, Volunteers, Safety, Relationships, Trips and Events, Leadership, Adolescent Development, Budgeting, Teaching, Communication, Self-Care and more. Students receive a Certificate of Completion for Perkins Foundations in Youth Ministry Training. Foundations is a preset cohort of modules, separate from the “Workshops” track.


WORKSHOPS TRACK

Youth Ministry Practice and Philosophy | Recommended 2+ Years Experience | Up to 1.35 CEUs

Our Workshops are the heartbeat of our learning community and exist at the intersection of practice and theory. Along with an annual plenary, select workshops to sharpen an area of your ministry. Our ministry workshops are designed to provide key conversations around practical skills and implementation opportunities in four different comprehensive ministry tracks:
+ Practice of Youth Ministry
+ Theology of Youth Ministry
+ Care in Youth Ministry
+ Congregational Youth Ministry


PERKINS CertificatE IN PRACTICAL MINISTRY: YOUTH MINISTRY

Theology and Critical Thinking for Youth Ministry | Recommended 3-50 Years Experience and Prior Formal Training | 2 CEUs per course

The Perkins Certificate in Practical Ministry is designed to provide graduate-level theological training for contextualized church ministry.. This Certificate does not carry academic credit. The Certificate may be transferred for a Certification in the Youth Ministry in the United Methodist Church through the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the UMC and a student’s Annual Conference.


Contact us to learn more.

Workshops & PLENARIES

Workshop attendance will be limited to the first 24 registrants for each workshop.

MONDAY PLENARY SESSION

Monday Afternoon, 2:30 to 5 p.m.

Building a Church Culture Where Young People Thrive
With Andy Jung

All churches grow old. Strategic churches grow young. Across the United States, churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on the groundbreaking Growing Young research, this workshop will provide strategies any church can use to help young people grow spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically. We will focus on how our churches can engage younger generations in a way that breathes vitality, life, and energy into the whole church. Participants will:

  • Understand the six core commitments of churches that are engaging and retaining young people

  • Develop 1-2 strategies that can help every church to better connect with young people 

A Block Workshop Selections

Tuesday Morning, 9 a.m. to Noon

  • With Lisa Gill

    Whether you’ve been working with young people for two months or two decades, you’ve most likely witnessed one thing: our teens face difficult circumstances each and every day. We can’t solve every problem, but as youth workers, we can pass on practical skills so that our teenagers learn to adapt and withstand adversity. Learners will discuss:

    -Why honing resiliency skills is crucial to the lives of our teenagers

    -Resources you can use to design learning opportunities in your ministry context

    -How to apply the resources and ideas discussed in the workshop to the ministry that you’re already doing

  • With Cassidy Wohlfarth

    Ever wonder how to foster deeper spiritual connection for children and youth? Join Pediatric Chaplain and youth ministry veteran Cassidy Wohlfarth for an experiential session exploring spiritual play and the theories behind it. We will engage in spiritual play activities and learn how to craft creative and unique activities for your group. *Spiritual play is not synonymous with Godly Play. Godly Play is a form of spiritual play. Participants in this course will be able to:

    -Describe the role of play and wonder in spirituality and spiritual growth

    -Implement a variety of spiritual play activities in their local context in individual and group settings

    -Be able to design context-specific spiritual play interventions

  • With Kylie Campbell

    We all have youth in our churches who have amazing leadership skills in front of and behind the scenes. As Youth Leaders, it is part of our calling to pour into these youth and help them identify their gifts and share them with others! During this workshop, participants will:

    -Learn the basics of creating a leadership team

    -Design a plan that works with your specific and often quirky, talented group of youth

    -Empower them to lead other youth even when you aren’t around

  • With Marianne Brown-Trigg

    Strategize long-range plans for your teaching or preaching schedule to help you meet your ministry goals. Learn to expect and embrace the chaos of ministry to discern your final plan week-to-week. Participants will:

    -Identify goals and guiding principles for educational ministry in the participants’ context

    -Develop a system for long-range planning and short-term flexibility in selecting teaching topics

  • With Dawn Spragg

    Current research has brought to light the impact trauma has on youth development. Understanding the challenges of trauma for teens and families, helps people who work with youth guide effective spiritual development and help teens build resiliency. Participants will:

    -Understand teen brain development and how trauma impacts behavior and spiritual development

    -Develop effective communication skills with teens and families

    -Assess teen’s mental health needs and offer support

B Block Workshop Selections

Tuesday Afternoon, 2 to 5 p.m.

  • With Lisa Gill

    Whether you’ve been working with young people for two months or two decades, you’ve most likely witnessed one thing: our teens face difficult circumstances each and every day. We can’t solve every problem, but as youth workers, we can pass on practical skills so that our teenagers learn to adapt and withstand adversity. Learners will discuss:

    -Why honing resiliency skills is crucial to the lives of our teenagers

    -Resources you can use to design learning opportunities in your ministry context

    -How to apply the resources and ideas discussed in the workshop to the ministry that you’re already doing

  • With Cassidy Wohlfarth

    Ever wonder how to foster deeper spiritual connection for children and youth? Join Pediatric Chaplain and youth ministry veteran Cassidy Wohlfarth for an experiential session exploring spiritual play and the theories behind it. We will engage in spiritual play activities and learn how to craft creative and unique activities for your group. *Spiritual play is not synonymous with Godly Play. Godly Play is a form of spiritual play. Participants in this course will be able to:

    -Describe the role of play and wonder in spirituality and spiritual growth

    -Implement a variety of spiritual play activities in their local context in individual and group settings

    -Be able to design context-specific spiritual play interventions

  • With Kylie Campbell

    We all have youth in our churches who have amazing leadership skills in front of and behind the scenes. As Youth Leaders, it is part of our calling to pour into these youth and help them identify their gifts and share them with others! During this workshop, participants will:

    -Learn the basics of creating a leadership team

    -Design a plan that works with your specific and often quirky, talented group of youth

    -Empower them to lead other youth even when you aren’t around

  • With Marianne Brown-Trigg

    Strategize long-range plans for your teaching or preaching schedule to help you meet your ministry goals. Learn to expect and embrace the chaos of ministry to discern your final plan week-to-week. Participants will:

    -Identify goals and guiding principles for educational ministry in the participants’ context

    -Develop a system for long-range planning and short-term flexibility in selecting teaching topics

  • This workshop examines spiritual formation for youth and children via teaching principles and age-appropriate practices. Learning by doing, participants will sample contemplative disciplines including mindfulness exercises, “sidewalk chalk” labyrinths, and iterative nature walks. Each exercise is designed to maintain engagement of younger students, while simultaneously introducing them to spiritual practices and helping them encounter God in creation.

    The workshop aims at several learning outcomes:

    -Understanding contemplative practice as a form of prayer

    -Adapting age-old spiritual disciplines for younger practitioners

    -Learning the theological bases for the revelation of God through creation

    -Engaging in the practice!

C Block Workshop Selections

Wednesday Morning, 9 a.m. to Noon

  • With David Magallanes

    This is a workshop designed to empower youth ministry leaders with practical tools to learn about different models of youth ministry. Leaders will learn to implement a model of that best fits one’s leadership style and ministry context. Leaders will discover proven strategies for building a holistic youth ministry enabling them to use a ministry model connected to their values and mission statement. Participants will:

    -Evaluate different models of youth ministry

    -Identify a ministry model that works for your context

    -Implement and workshop a ministry model

  • With Shanterra McBride

    I’m a good person. How can I be racist? Why don’t people of color trust me? What’s the harm in being curious?

    These are all well-intentioned questions. But those well-intentioned questions aren’t being asked loudly enough by young people and certainly not answered for young people. As youth pastors, directors, and church leaders we often teach our young people to love thy neighbor, which is the right thing to teach. After all, it is a commandment. However, young people may have other questions that if we’re not comfortably addressing as adults, we’ll get left behind and young people will continue to look at us and shake their heads in disbelief, and frankly disappointment, as they long for realness, peace, and love. In this conversation, we will:

    -Define what an advocate really is

    -Examine how to hold space for someone when you can't relate to their experience, or you have little to no education on having these conversations

    -Describe how to participate in antiracist work authentically when the media stops talking about it

    -Design ways we can meet our young people where they are and follow their lead

  • With Trisha Manns

    This workshop will give participants the opportunity to increase their impact with their community and transition from transactional ministry to transformational ministry. Learn why local community outreach is essential and the benefits of ministry with your neighbor. Participants will:

    -Understand the importance and benefits of local community outreach

    -Plan a specific and measurable outreach task

  • With Beth Johnson

    Since the pandemic, a number of youth ministry leaders will talk about an increased struggle with finding or developing volunteer ministry teams. In addition to discussing how to assemble teams, this course will guide us in understanding principles of collaboration, leading teams, and continuing momentum for the long haul of youth ministry. We will focus on practically developing a youth ministry team that offers a powerful and life-giving culture of people development and spiritual formation.

  • With Dawn Spragg

    Current research has brought to light the impact trauma has on youth development. Understanding the challenges of trauma for teens and families, helps people who work with youth guide effective spiritual development and help teens build resiliency. Participants will:

    -Understand teen brain development and how trauma impacts behavior and spiritual development

    -Develop effective communication skills with teens and families

    -Assess teen’s mental health needs and offer support

  • With Sam Halverson

    What unique qualities does an adolescent bring to your church membership? Does your congregation see adolescence as a curse to endure or a wonder to behold? Youth have particular characteristics and tendencies many find difficult to use in "big church" decisions and ministries, but if they are to truly be full members of the congregation - of the Body of Christ - then certainly they have something more to offer than adding to our numbers or bringing their parents along. This session will help you recognize adolescent traits and how they can be helpful in the growth and effectiveness of all ministries in your congregation (not just the youth ministry). Find out ways youth can impact worship, missions, hospitality, and outreach.

WEDNESDAY PLENARY SESSION

Wednesday Afternoon, 2 to 4 p.m.

Bridging the Islands: Connecting Generations with Story and Wonder
With Trevecca Okholm

We begin this workshop by using the analogy of bridge building inspired by Jerome Berryman’s story of working with a palliative team to provide care for families encountering teen suicide, Berryman wrote, “the families had become like islands without any bridges to connect them. They had forgotten to tell their family stories.” With this analogy, we set the stage for meaningful story-forming opportunities between generations.

Our primary focus for this workshop will be exploring practical ideas of how both the church and the family can engage in meaningful wondering and create story forming opportunities from which bridge building between generations happens organically rather than programmatically. 

Additionally, we will briefly discuss the natural potential for bridging between those of Boomer generation (born between 1946-1964 and most likely to be grandparents — biological as well as "faith" grandparents) and Generation Alpha kids (born between 2010-2025 and most likely to have Boomer grandparents). We will draw on research that explains by the early 2030s the human population is expected to be just under nine billion and the world will have the highest ever proportion of people aged 60, thus even more reason to help establish connected relationships between Boomer and Alpha generations.