Why Half-Tracks?
Half-Tracks allow for depth and breadth—a mix between the exploration of Deeper Learning Tracks and the broader scope of workshops. Some Half-tracks are designed in beginner and advanced segments—they’ll go at the pace you need. There are so many great topics to choose from, this gives you the chance to dig deep into 2 different subject areas on Saturday and Sunday!

How is it set up?
Half-Tracks offer 2 two-hour sessions for a toal of 4 hours focused on that topic in learning, discussion and application. Seating may be arranged in round tables for small-group discussion format, or classroom style, but you’ll still have an interactive relationship-based learning experience with depth and practical take-away. Half-Tracks begin in the morning and conclude with the afternoon session the same day.

Do I have to go to both sessions?
No—pick and choose what you want—but we strongly recommend you go to both sessions of a Half-Track to wrap up the material for easy application. If you really want it shorter—explore the 2 hour workshops instead!

2010 SYMC Half-Tracks

The Starting Line for Student Leadership Development
Doug Franklin

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): Three Foundations of Leadership
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): Launching a Student Leadership Team

In the first session of this highly interactive Half-Track, Doug Franklin will lay out the three foundational principles that every youth worker must teach students for them to grow as healthy leaders. You will experience these principles through fun activities, leadership assessments, and learning exercises. You will leave equipped and confident to teach your students leadership. In the second session you will learn the process of starting a student leadership team. We’ll talk about the best practices and available resources to help you get off to the best start possible.

Blueprint: Building an Urban Youth Ministry from Start to Finish

Jeffrey Wallace & Maina Mwaura 

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): Add Flavor to Your Ministry: How to Engage Urban Students and Keep Them Coming Back
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): Assembling Your Volunteer Dream Team: How to Move Volunteers From Pews To Plugged In

This Half-Track will provide great insight and awareness of the changing realities and the rapidly growing trends in metropolitan America. It will focus on specific strategies and tactics that are relevant to engaging this growing culture.

Intercultural Youth Ministry: A Relevant Conversation
Jason Ostrander and others

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): The Current Debate: Diversity of Cultures & Youth Ministry Strategy
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): The Current Process: Bridging the Gap for 2nd and 3rd Generation Students

As our country continues to grow in its diversity and ethnic belief structures, it seems like a good time to take stock of our current youth ministry strategy and find out how “in tune” we are to the current intercultural debate. How would a shift in thinking open up your ministry to a whole new world of global-effectiveness? In this Half-Track, you’ll hear perspectives from a diverse panel, and learn how intercultural awareness and the Great Commission go hand in hand.

How to Make “Authentic Leadership” More Than Just a Cool Phrase
Dan Webster

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): Leading From the Pages of My Life
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): What Sinks and Sidetracks Leaders

Leadership is not just something you do from the front, it is an intimate expression of who you are…it is your being in action. Because of this, getting your arms around the two life-long works of leadership is critical. Great youth workers both lead themselves and their students. To be an authentic leader you must do both well. Together we will discuss this challenge and move more towards living authentic lives of great impact.

KidUnique: Helping Kids Discover Who They Really Are
Dan Webster

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Understanding Myself as I Help Kids Find Their Way
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Solving the Mystery of a Kid

Parents, youth workers, and teachers are all concerned for the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual development of the young. This Half-Track equips those entrusted with the development of the next generation to go one step further and help kids solve the mystery of “me,” helping students enter adulthood with clarity as to who they are and what they are impassioned to do is priceless for a young person.

Igniting the Fire: Fuel for Evangelism
Derwin Gray & Jason Lamb

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): Igniting Your Passion for Christ & His Cause
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): How to Keep the Fire Burning

Find your passion for Christ and His Cause as you discover from Derwin what drives and sustains the heart of an evangelist. Learn how to personally share your faith clearly and confidently as Jason walks you through a practical way to reach unbelievers in your world. Leave the track ready to fuel a movement in your youth ministry that is ignited through teenagers reaching their friends for Christ.

Unleashing THE Cause
Derwin Gray, Greg Stier & Jason Lamb

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Unleashing THE Cause, Part I
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Unleashing THE Cause, Part II

THE Cause is a new way of describing the last and lasting mandate of Jesus Christ, to make disciples who disciple (Matthew 28:18-20). What consumed Jesus is the ultimate cause and it must consume us and our teenagers as well. Derwin, Jason, and Greg will equip you to mobilize your teenagers to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ.

Youth Group Kids Gone Wild: Shaping Students’ Faith Journey for Life
Kara Powell

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): The Relationships Students Need Today for Deep Faith Tomorrow
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): Programs and Teaching That Launch Students Toward Lifelong Faith

When the “Pomp and Circumstance” fades, what happens to your teenagers? If you’re like most youth ministries, about one-third to one-half of your graduating seniors pick up their diplomas and ditch their faith. Why is that? For those graduates who remain connected to Jesus, what makes the difference? And how can we become more aware of the ways we may be subtly sabotaging our teens’ faith despite our best intentions? These sessions take a deep look at ongoing research conducted by the Fuller Youth Institute on seniors—as well as youth group graduates—just like yours.

Junior High Ministry 101—The Basics for Beginners
Kurt Johnston, Scott Rubin, Katie Edwards & Johnny Scott

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): A Look Inside the Mind of a Young Teen
  
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): We’ve Got a Room Full of Them, Now What Do We Do?

Ever look at a junior higher and wonder, “What’s going on in that head?!” Get a crash course into the brain of a junior higher as we look at some of the key developmental areas and how they inform your ministry to this fantastic age group! In this Half-Track, we will take a look at several strategies to building a healthy junior high ministry. Believe it or not, knowing WHY you do something is just as important as knowing WHAT you want to do!

Advanced Junior High Ministry Leadership
Kurt Johnston, Scott Rubin & Johnny Scott

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Leadership Lab: Programming & Planning Your Calendar
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Leadership Lab: Creative Teaching & Discipleship

Communicating to junior highers is a fantastic opportunity as well as an overwhelming challenge! In this Half-Track for junior high ministry veterans, we will look at some “best practices” of teaching young teens and explore ways to take the conversation a little deeper. We’ll have a lot of discussion and learning from each others’ ideas.

College & Young Adult Ministry 101
Chuck Bomar

• Session 1 (Sat. 10:30-12:30): Understanding the Focus of the Ministry
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): Understanding the Hearts and Minds of the People

Many youth workers want to do something for college ministry but either don’t have the time to invest or the understanding of what’s truly needed. Is being effective in college ministry really about having another church service or having an older, youth-ministry-on- steroids approach? Or is it much, much deeper? This Half-Track articulates the things churches are embracing that truly engage and connect with the minds and hearts of college-age people.

Mastering the Core Competencies in Youth Ministry and Other Basic Stuff
Steve Schneeberger

• Session 1 Session 1 (Sat.10:30-12:30): Recognizing the Call to Leadership
• Session 2 (Sat. 2:30-4:30): Choosing to Work on the Important
  

Whether you are in your first two years of your career or you are in your first two years at any one church, they can be critical, taxing, exhausting, disheartening, and believe it or not, exciting. God moves through all sorts of experiences as we grow into what God has called us to be. Discover new methods of understanding your calling and yourself more completely. Leadership, self care, and spiritual growth will help lay a great foundation so that you might experience the richness of longevity in this profession.

Family-Based Youth Ministry
Jim Burns

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Strategies for Engaging Parents in Youth Ministry
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Helping Parents Succeed in Passing Faith to the Next Generation

Family-Based Youth Ministry is not a method, but rather a mindset. These sessions will explore the biblical mandate (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) to help families succeed. You will discover the importance of getting parents involved in the faith development of their kids as well as be provided with practical ideas on how to encourage, involve, assist, inform, and make parents your allies in the church. You can expect to receive basic theory on family-based youth ministry, curriculum, and over 50 practical ideas to help families succeed.

Girls Ministry From Start to Finish
Amy Nappa, Katie Edwards & Connie Witt

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Helping Girls Find Their Worth: Getting Started
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Helping Girls Find Their Worth: Going Deeper

Why should I have a girls ministry? How do I get started? Get the answers to these questions and be equipped with easy steps to get your own girls ministry started! In this two-part track we’ll learn how to take the next steps in making a difference in the lives of girls. Discover the difference that lifestyle mentoring can make. Learn what to do (and what not to do) when girls come to you with troubling issues.

Thriving Youth Ministry in Smaller Churches
Stephanie Caro

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Helping Your People Thrive (youth, parents, leaders, and members)
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Helping Your Program Thrive (environment, calendar, events, outreach, discipleship)

If you can count your youth kids on fingers and toes, then you might be a smaller church youth ministry. This Half-Track will focus on what works in smaller size youth ministry and how to maximize that from good to great! We’ll wrestle with the struggles and how to overcome those roadblocks. You’ll walk away with practical “use right away” ideas, plus our own “smaller church youth ministries” network! Bring your own “best of” ideas for a Brainstorm Blitz!

How to Save a Life: Navigating the Epidemic of Teen Suicide
Rich Van Pelt

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30): Prevention: Understanding the Myths and Complexities of Suicidal Behavior
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30): Intervention and Postvention: Practical Tools for Identifying and Helping Suicidal Youth

Thousands of teenagers contemplate, hundreds attempt, and far too many complete the act of suicide every day. A horrifyingly large number of these young people worship in our churches every Sunday, attend youth group activities regularly, serve on leadership teams, and participate in mission experiences and outreach events. This Half-Track will help you understand the psycho/social dynamics of suicidal behavior and equip you to identify and help suicidal youth and their families and friends.

Bridging The Urban/Suburban Gap
Chris Brooks

• Session 1 (Sun. 10:30-12:30):
• Session 2 (Sun. 2:30-4:30):

Urban America’s influence can be felt in almost every corner of our nation. This workshop will help you better understand urban culture and how to leverage it to reach the urbanized students in you local context. Our time together will both challenge your assumptions and help you rethink your youth ministry methodology.