Sarah Allred - “Introduction to Intergenerational Worship"

 

Workshop description:

While many churches offer services where people of different generations are in worship together, churches practicing intergenerational worship aim to better incorporate all the generations into the entire worship service through intentional practices.

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BIO: Sarah Bentley Allred is Editor of Building Faith and Associate for Christian Formation & Discipleship in Lifelong Learning at Virginia Seminary. Sarah has eight years of ministry experience.

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                          Jessica Stollings-Holder - “Better Together: How Intergenerational                                     Teams Can Strengthen Your Ministry"

 

Workshop description:

With the fast pace of change in American society, each generation has grown up in a vastly different world, resulting in social and cultural differences that shape mindsets and expectations. This workshop shares how to understand, honor and include the diverse generational perspectives on your staff, committees and volunteer groups to improve your ministry today and into the future.

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BIO: Jessica Stollings-Holder is a national speaker, author and researcher who helps organizations bridge generational gaps to fuel success. Her work been featured in publications across the country and her experiential training using an escape game in a box has won international awards. Jessica’s passion is seeing different generations better understand and appreciate one another, sharing knowledge and wisdom that benefits everyone. To learn more, visit jessicastollingsholder.com.

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                            Liz Purraud - “Rebuilding Community through                                                      Intergenerational Retreats"

 

Workshop description:

Participants will consider the benefits of multiple generations “retreating” together to form intergenerational relationships, will explore practical ideas, and will begin a retreat outline to take back to their church. Whether the retreat is a full weekend off-site, an afternoon at the church/church grounds, or anything in between, we’ll dream of options that work for your congregation and that help re-form intergenerational Christ-centered relationships to start to re-build community in the post-Covid world.

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BIO: Liz Perraud has more than 30 years of experience in the field of Christian faith formation. She is frequently called upon to speak and lead training events and workshops in the US and Canada (or wherever she can go virtually) as Executive Director of GenOn Ministries. Most recently she served as a contributor to the 2018 book “InterGenerate” (“The Art of Christian Relationships” chapter) and “Engage All Generations” (“Intergenerational Community Around the Table” chapter). In her spare time Liz enjoys volunteering in her church, hiking with her husband, and spending time with her granddaughters.

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                           Valerie Grissom - “Facilitating a Church Story Scrapbook in                                  30 Minutes"

 

Workshop description:Learn how to facilitate meaningful, intergenerational story-sharing in less than thirty minutes that can ignite cross-generational dialogue and faith formation, while also providing enough stories to fill a whole church story scrapbook.

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BIO: Valerie M. Grissom, DWS, is Minister of Music at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Shoreline, Washington, where she is under care for ordination (PC-USA). As a worship leader and pastor, Valerie’s research focuses on intergenerational and intercultural worship. Valerie and her husband Ben, along with their four children, enjoy playing outdoors in the Pacific Northwest, camping, hiking, and going to the beach.

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                           Karen DeBoer - “Faith Practices: In Community and at Home"

 

Workshop description:

During this workshop we’ll explore interactive, intergenerational ideas for engaging people in faith practices (spiritual disciplines) both in community and at home, doing so in ways which participants will be able to replicate in their own contexts as they invite all ages to experience faith practices not as a program, but as an intentional way of living and being.

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BIO: Karen De Boer is the Creative Resource Developer for Faith Formation Ministries. The author of Home Grown Handbook for Christian Parenting, and the contributing editor of You’re Invited: A Week of Devotions for Families on the Lord’s Supper and God’s Big Story Cards, Karen has been involved with children since she was a kid herself and says some of her favorite people are 4 years old. Karen and her husband Ron have four daughters and live in Kitchener, Ontario.

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                            Wilson McCoy - “Becoming an Intergenerational Church:                                    Steps, Struggles, and Strategies"

 

Workshop description:In this workshop we will explore lessons learned from one church's journey to become a more intergenerational community of faith.

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BIO: Wilson McCoy, MDiv, DMin, lives in Lebanon, Tennessee where he serves as Associate Minister at the College Hills Church of Christ. Over the last decade he has served in young adult, small group, adult education, and preaching ministry. His doctoral work focuses on intergenerational spiritual formation. In his free time he likes to experiment in the kitchen, listen to Wilco, and take family walks with his wife and daughter.

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                           Jim Merhaut - “Reinventing Church with Intergenerational                                 Connections: A Case Study."

 

Workshop description:

This workshop will present the story of a church that designed a process and a model that connects older adults who are affiliated with a church with younger adults who have no affiliation with a church. This blend of generations and church perspectives created a powerful new church experience that changed the lives of everyone involved.

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BIO: Jim Merhaut, MSEd, PCC, is the Founder and Director of Coaching to Connect, a leadership training and coaching service offered to churches and other organizations. Jim has over three decades of experience working with churches throughout the world. He is an author, workshop presenter, retreat leader, consultant, certified reinvention practitioner and ICF-certified coach. Jim and his wife, Debbie, live in Youngstown, Ohio.

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                           Linda Staats - “Intergenerational Ministry 101: Foundations                                  and Fundamentals. "

 

Workshop description:For those new to intergenerational ministry or wanting a refresher: Why intergenerational ministry? Who are the generations? What defines each? How scripture and research informs us. Celebrating each cohorts unique gifts. Plus Linda’s “Top Ten Intergenerational Facilitation Tips!”

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BIO: Linda Staats is a passionate and seasoned IG facilitator, sharing a womb-to-tomb IG approach to ministry with congregations and judicatories across the USA and Puerto Rico. She is a Boomer married to a Traditionalist, who have two GenX sons. Her 102-year-old mother proudly represents the Greatest Generation. Linda is  “GrandMum" to three Millennials and two Alpha generation children in Kenya. Learn more about her work here:  https://homegrownfaith.net/about/linda-staats/

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                           Lesli Van Milligen - “Creating a Mentoring Culture that is                                     Lifelong and Lifegiving."

 

Workshop description:Join us as we explore strategies for creating an intergenerational mentoring culture that goes beyond program to create organic congregational communities of practice where coaching and mentoring engagement becomes a way of being and a blessing for all ages. This workshop will be collaborative, interactive, and applicable to a variety of congregational contexts.

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BIO: Lesli van Milligen is Faith Formation Ministries CRC Regional Catalyzer for Eastern Canada—Winnipeg to Halifax. She is ordained in the CRC and has co-pastored in both Canada and the U.S. with her husband, Tom. Along with supporting local congregations in strengthening their cradle-to-grave faith formation practices, Lesli is passionate about building into the next generation of leaders through leadership workshops for youth, young adults, and church councils.

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                            Cory Seibel - “Pastoral Leadership for Intergenerational                                       Ministry."

 

Workshop description:

This workshop will explore key practical insights that can aid church leaders and their faith communities in navigating the challenges of intergenerational ministry today.

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BIO: Cory Seibel, PhD, MTh, is a pastor at Central Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta, and a research fellow for the Department of Practical and Missional Theology at the University of the Free State in South Africa. He earned his MTh degree through Spurgeon’s College, London, and a PhD in Practical Theology from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Cory contributed chapters to InterGenerate (ACU Press, 2018) and edited The Generative Church (Wipf & Stock, 2019) and the forthcoming volume, Engage All Generations(ACU Press, 2021). He is a frequent guest presenter and currently serves as the vice chair of the InterGenerate Conference planning team. 

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                            Elizabeth Tamez-Mendez - “Intergenerational Inclusion and                                Young People."

 

Workshop description:

As our future becomes more multicultural and multigenerational, we can learn from other cultures' values, mindsets, and practices. In this interactive session, we will explore: 1) intergenerational relationship values in different cultural traditions that can help strengthen faith formation; 2) research findings to understand the importance of nurturing intergenerational relationships; 3) theological foundations that instruct us, and 4) case-studies which illustrate how others honor and cultivate elder-youth interconnectedness. Together we will harvest knowledge and practical ideas to integrate into our unique experiences, motivations, and contexts.

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BIO: Elizabeth Tamez Méndez is Founder and Executive Director of New Gereration3, an international organization dedicated to training leaders, conducting research, and providing consulting services. She is a specialist in multicultural youth development and strategic planning, has 25 years of diverse ministerial experience, is ordained in the Baptist church, and holds a Ph.D. in Leadership. Her work includes teaching youth development courses at various universities and seminaries, fulfilling speaking commitments, and publishing articles, blogs, and edited books. She is originally from Mexico City, grew up in multicultural contexts, and is passionate about developing young leaders.

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                            Breen Sipes - “Build a Team and Let the Spirit Lead:                                            Adventures in Cross+Generational Faith Formation in Small                                Churches." 

 

Workshop description:

This workshop will explore the foundational principles for leading Cross+Generational Faith Formation in small church contexts.  Using real life examples, Pastor Breen will give participants the tools for planning Cross+Gen faith formation in their own contexts, as well as formulating the action steps to help make that plan a reality.

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BIO: Breen Marie Sipes, MDiv, is usually an ELCA pastor, and currently a full-time homeschooling parent of three elementary-aged children. She lives in North Platte, Nebraska with her husband (also an ELCA pastor), three children, two cats, and one Nebraska farm dog. She loves music, crafting, long-distance rail-to-trail biking, kinetic prayer practices, and bringing generations together to deepen both their faith in God and relationships with one another.

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                           Wes Gallagher - “Intergenerational Ministry for

                            Children's Sake." 

 

Workshop description:

This workshop will provide tools to help you make the case and build a plan for intergenerational ministry in your local church.

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BIO: Wes Gallagher is the Child and Family minister at the Collegeside Church of Christ in Cookeville, TN.  He holds a MDiv from Lipscomb's Hazelip School of Theology and is currently pursuing the D.Min. in Leadership and Spiritual Formation from Portland Seminary at George Fox University. Wes and his wife Stephanie have six children from age seven to nineteen.  

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                           Reginald Smith - “Intergenerational Justice: An Sankofa                                     Experiment." 

 

Workshop description:

Seminars, workshops, and panels are adequate ways to awaken intergenerational justice. But does it spark a change of heart? Two years ago, an interracial and intergenerational group of 40 people loaded a bus and spend several days in the Deep South. There were lessons that could not be learned in a classroom but on the ground, in restaurants, and historical sites in the Civil Rights movement. These lessons were essential for changing the heart and the mind as better advocates.

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BIO: Reginald Smith serves as the Director for Diversity for the Reformed Christian Church of North America. He served as Director of the Offices of Race Relations and Social Justice from 2016 to 2020. Before coming to denominational work, he served as co-pastor of Northside Community CRC in Paterson, NJ for almost two years. He was pastor of Roosevelt Park CRC in Grand Rapids, MI from 1994 to 2015. Reggie served in several capacities throughout the denomination such as adjunct seminary instructor at Calvin Seminary, a columnist for the Banner, and president of the board for Back to God Ministries International. Reggie enjoys meeting new people and traveling to new locations to notice the hand of God at work in the world. Reggie is also an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. 

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                 Roberta Egli & Johanna Myers - "Growing Faith in a Messy                     Church."

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Workshop description:

Discover how the five values of Messy Church provide the foundation for lifelong faith formation.

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BIO: Roberta Egli is the Executive Director of Messy Church USA, an affiliate of the global Messy Church movement based in the UK. Under the guidance of Lucy Moore, founder of Messy Church USA, Roberta assumed primary leadership for creating a team to establish Messy Church USA as a nonprofit organization in 2017. She is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. 

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Johannah Myers is the Associate Director of Messy Church USA. She also works full-time as the Director of Disciple Formation  at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. 

 

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