2024 National Conference Workshops
One of the key objectives of CCDA is to strengthen CCD practitioners for community transformation and flourish. Our annual National Conference is a prime venue for training, and it is largely through workshops that attendees learn best practices of Christian Community Development (CCD) and gain a deeper understanding of the theology that undergirds it. We believe that one of the best ways to equip our attendees is by utilizing the skills and expertise of our member practitioners to train other practitioners.
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Workshops by Track
Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbie’s Village: A story of hope, overcoming challenges and victory | Chenoa Landry, Jennifer Pirtle | In this workshop, the creation of Barbie’s Village will be shared. Barbie’s Village is the campus of the Future Generations Collaborative, a local Native non-profit that serves the Native community in the Portland and surrounding areas by addressing pubic health issues including early childhood services. Barbie’s Village will soon be home to a tiny home village for Native parents with small children. The FGC worked with the Presbytery of the Cascades and a local land and housing coalition for over three years that finally resulted in Land Back. Come learn more and see how you can be a part of the Land Back movement. Learn more and support at https://fgcpdx.org/. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Accessing Change: Gun Violence Response and Prevention for Everyone | Dr. Jer Swigart, Rev. Dr. Gilford T. Monrose, Rev. Hope A.J. Christensen, Michael Martin | Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States. What can Jesus followers do to create a future free from gun violence? In this workshop, we’ll introduce a comprehensive approach to formation, practice, and influence for leaders and their congregations to start participating in meaningful gun violence prevention. We will offer a pathway toward becoming a prophetic and pastoral witness in the movement to end gun violence. Our partnership invites CCDA members to take steps toward being peacemakers working to end gun violence in their communities. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Bringing Order to Chaos: Biblical Justice and Civil Engagement Through Crisis Response | Jeremy Lamour, Matt DeMateo, Ken Alvarado, Tyson Quibell | Crisis has become a defining theme for cities across the United States. How might Christians concerned with biblical justice, love of neighbor, care for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized, and the flourishing of the city respond? Using the creation narrative, Matt DeMateo and New Life Centers will provide a theological and practical framework for how biblical justice can inform and create a movement of crisis response. Using real-life examples and stories, Matt will outline how New Life Centers has responded to crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and through serving over 20,000 new arrivals to Chicago in 2024. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Difficult Conversations for Change & Growth: The Death Penalty | Sam Heath, Dr. Tom O’Connor, Bruce Stock | Join presenters from Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) to learn the tortured and winding history of the death penalty nationally and in Oregon. Leading up to a public referendum to abolish the death penalty, OADP will have at least one million conversations with Oregonians to help them explore their own thoughts and feelings about the death penalty. Within this hands-on workshop, receive coaching in the evidence-based, conversational method OADP has developed for its Million Conversations Project. Learn and practice how to have conversations that lead to cultural change and growth within the issue of the death penalty. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Exploring Disenfranchised Grief and Resilience in Justice-involved Individuals | Rev. Dr. Lori E. Banfield, MTS, DMFT | Have you ever considered how people experience the reality of relational ruptures (grief) and, more specifically, the impact disenfranchised grief has on the capacity of justice-involved individuals and their families in preparation for re-entry? As an attachment-narrative clinician and clergyperson, I have heightened awareness of the rippling impact ruptures and strained relationships have on people and their stories. In America, aggressive incarceration of persons, young and old, has disrupted family systems, debilitated communities, strained relationships (subjective and transcendent), and distorted views of self (real and ideal). The workshop aims to help stakeholders apply intentional sacred neighboring practices that can enhance resilience qualities critical to addressing the realities of persons experiencing the journey of reintegration. | Friday 1:30pm |
| How Can We Help Immigrants Protect Their Legal Rights? | Erick Widman | Become empowered with knowledge and strategies to support immigrants in protecting their legal rights. Learn more about addressing the crucial issue of justice for immigrants within a biblical and civic framework. Explore the intersection of faith, law, and advocacy, highlighting what types of service providers are best suited to help immigrants, depending on the type of immigration issue they have. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Practicing Nonviolent Communication in an Election Year | John Mark Bowers, Tannia Lascano | We’re not alone. We follow the way of César Chávez, MLK, Oscar Romero, Fanny Lou Hamer, and Jesus Christ himself, who spoke piercing truth in love, but without violence. Today’s border crisis begs a like response, as immigrant brothers and sisters have become targets of violent rhetoric. Join this conversation to learn how to engage contempt with non-violent love. We’ll build practical skills together on how to respond to immigration—and other tough election-year issues—using non-violent communication. Leave with tools to take these non-violent techniques back to your community. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Restorative Justice in Portland & Beyond: What It Is and How to Engage It | Jami Hodge, Stephen Fowler, Erica Washington | Jami Hodge, CEO of EJUSA, will share her brief testimony as someone impacted by harm and the criminal legal system, along with how this moved her from being a prosecutor to her work of healing today. EJUSA’s Restorative Justice Project will show their approach to supporting Restorative Justice programs in localities through their work of deep accompaniment. Portland’s Restorative Roots Project will demonstrate what restorative justice programs and presence looks like in Portland, OR. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Restorative Justice: Repairing Harm and Rebuilding Relationships | Dr. Bryson Davis, Marie Moy, MAT | Join us for an introduction to restorative justice, some of its practices, and its Christian implications. Restorative justice is a proven alternative to our current criminal legal system and has broad applications across many sectors of society. Gain information and tools needed to begin to apply it in the spaces you care about, preventing and repairing harm, and fostering beloved community. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Setting a Bigger Table: Fighting for Justice Without Pushing People Around | Ron Ruthruff, DMin | The way we treat the person we love the least is the way we love God the most. How do we extend hospitality and do justice in a world of privilege, power, and religious refuge? Participants will engage with the gospel of Luke’s model of table fellowship as a map toward symbiotic hospitality, learning to live in an open space of justice, mercy, and humility. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| The Lazarus Blueprint: A Guide for Churches to Embrace Reentry | Rev. Dexter Kearny, Candice Baughman, Antonio Gomez | When everyone else in Lazarus’ life had given up hope, Jesus called his friend back to life. But that was not the end of the story. Jesus called the community to remove the stone that blocked Lazarus from life and then told them to get even closer in order to take off the graveclothes covering his face and restricting his body. People leaving prison face this reality every day. By connecting people exiting incarceration to churches and building communities of care, we begin to practice this resurrection in our lives, our churches, and our world. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Understanding the World of Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System | Amy Williams | In this workshop, participants will learn common risk factors that contribute to delinquency, discuss the brains of teenagers and how trauma impacts brain development, and learn mentoring strategies with incarcerated and gang-involved youth. | Friday 3:15pm |
| What’s Next? Understanding the Immigrant’s Journey After Arriving to the U.S. | Rosa Bello | Gain practical tools and insights to a comprehensive understanding of the immigrant experience after their arrival to the U.S. By drawing upon the biblical theological principles of compassion and hospitality, we will delve into tangible methods for extending love and support to those frequently overlooked and marginalized. Through interactive discussions and participatory activities, attendees will develop a deeper insight into the challenges faced by immigrants upon their arrival in the U.S. and depart with actionable strategies aimed at cultivating an inclusive and supportive community for immigrants. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Winning: Civic Engagement Rooted in Biblical Principles | Jovan Agee | Do you want to improve the conditions in your community, but don’t know how or where to start? Or are you involved in civic engagement efforts that you feel just aren’t producing desired outcomes? Well, this workshop is for you! This workshop will demystify civic engagement and provide principles and strategies on how it can be done without compromising Christian values. We will apply biblical principles and civic engagement strategies used by facilitator Jovan Agee throughout his 20-year career to help grassroots and grasstops leaders reach their goals. No prior civic engagement experience is needed to attend. | Friday 3:15pm |
CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| An Effective Tool for City-Wide Impact: The ABCD Community Organizing Cycle (With an Interactive Digital Tool) | Ivan Paz, Christian Gonzalez, Andrew Feil | Want to create a movement of resident leaders who have the capacity to make concrete and measurable changes in their neighborhoods and across their city? This workshop will present the ABCD Community Organizing Cycle with specific techniques and practical tactics through an innovative digital tool produced by Every Neighborhood Partnership. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| CCD in Higher Ed: North Park University Center for Civic Engagement: Moving from Reciprocity to Redistribution | Dr. Rich Kohng, DMin, Dr. Amy Governale, PhD | Often Civic Engagement Centers endorse goals to improve communities through community-based research, experiential learning opportunities, or investing in neighborhood revitalization. The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at North Park University was developed as a response to traditional community outreach or shared values frameworks (Ehlenz, 2017). The CCE adopts a purposeful goal of redistribution and promotion of community partners, particularly those led by local leaders of color. This workshop will create discussion around models of Civic Engagement Centers while proposing a novel model grounded in biblical justice. Practical tips based on the successful implementation of a Community Assets Cohort will be highlighted. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Centering Discipleship: Connecting the Church to Community Development | Rev. Dr. Eun K. Strawser, Melissa Cabagbag, Kelci Schedler | Discipleship without mission is discipleship without Christ. Spiritual confidence must run alongside social competence for the flourishing of our neighborhoods and communities. Centering discipleship in the church raises disciples who not only imitate Jesus in their spiritual formation, but incarnate Jesus in their locally rooted neighborhoods. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Community Spiritual Metrics | Dr. Diana Kimani, Peter Mwangi | Historically, Christian Community Development agencies have been known for their crucial role in the global socio-political, economic, and spiritual transformation through humanitarian and emergency response, community development, and advocacy. Different methodologies are applied to measure the impact of community development interventions. Though much research has been done on measuring physical transformation, a lot needs to be done to find the appropriate measurement tools and indicators for spiritual well-being. In the workshop, the presenters will take the participants through a set of well-researched spiritual metrics or indicators for assessing the spiritual impact of Christian humanitarian and development organizations. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Conflict Transformation: Mining Conflict as Catalysts for Community Building | Rev. Christine Youn Hung, Ray Kim, Almarie Navarro, Rebecca Cataldi | Conflicts, when handled properly, can be transformative for a church community. They can lead to greater openness, strengthen trust, and foster a spirit of collaboration, ultimately contributing to a more vibrant and unified church body. Join us to learn more about conflict transformation and the opportunity it provides to foster flourishing congregations. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Curious Neighbors: Listening as Hospitality in an Age of Distrust | Ruben Alvarado | In an age of distrust, we pull away from each other, judge each other, and ignore each other. As a result, we all lose. Biblical hospitality invites us to host the stranger in the places where we belong, and how to be good guests in the places we don’t yet belong, skills we’ve all but lost in a political and cultural environment of distrust. How do we pursue flourishing in communities steeped in this reality? We begin by imagining together… What would it look like for the Church to become a vital component of their community’s collective imagination? Join us to discuss how to engage your community through curious, humble, and creative listening. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| From the Margins: Perspectives from Asian American Women in Ministry | Pastor Jane Lam, MA, MDiv, Pastor Cris Otonari, Pastor Mia Shin, M.Div | What does it look like to serve God and our beloved communities when the ministers themselves are in the margins? Join three Asian American women in ministry (3rd/4th gen Japanese American, 2nd gen Korean American, and 1st gen immigrant HongKonger) as they share their experiences of serving in various contexts: a multi-ethnic church, a BIPOC-celebrating church plant in a white context, a predominantly Asian American church, and immigrant churches. Let’s explore creative ways to center our diverse voices in white normative spaces. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Mapping Your Neighborhood | Christian Gonzalez, Andrew Feil, Ivan Paz | To love a neighborhood, practitioners need to know their neighborhood. Learn how to use tools and maps to discover what is going on in your neighborhood and how to make place-based decisions based on real-world data as well as asset mapping to inform the pursuit of individual and collective flourishing. This will be a practical and interactive session, so you’re encouraged to bring a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Leave with resources to understand your community as well as practical ways to use data to tell the story of your neighborhood. | Friday 3:15pm |
| More Than a Grocery Store: A Wholistic Approach to Community Health | Sara Hawk, Brandi Jones, Rachel Newman | In the summer of 2019, the only full-service grocery store in RestoreOKC’s community closed, creating food apartheid for their neighbors. Dreaming with neighbors about what a community-operated and led grocery store could look like, RestoreOKC quickly opened a small micro store. In April 2021, opened the Market at Eastpoint, a convenient location that provides access to fresh produce, employment, health programming, and access to local resource providers. Through innovative programming, focused on Social Determinants of Health outcomes, it is a space where families are empowered to provide wholistic care and support for themselves and their families. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Our Entangled Existence: Reimagining The 8 CCDA Principles Through An Ecological Lens | Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt, LCSW-A, MA, Wes Vander Lugt, Kate Lingbeek | Historically, community development initiatives have centered humans, concerned primarily with the flourishing of humans and their human communities. As a result, the natural world has been an afterthought or outsourced to particular vocations like farming or gardening. However, Scripture gives us a vibrant ecological imagination that leads to the mutual, interdependent thriving of all members, human and non-human alike. How could we embrace the land and all its inhabitants as fellow members in justice-oriented work for everyone, not only land-oriented projects? Through teaching and participatory activities, this workshop will enliven an imagination for holistic CCD work that embraces other-than-human kin as part of the vision of the Kingdom of God by re-framing the 8 principles of CCDA through an ecological lens. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Overview of CCD Philosophy, Theology, and Practice | Sandra María Van Opstal, Dr. Mary Nelson, Dr. Jonathan Brooks & Dr. Eun Strawser | Join seasoned CCD leaders to learn the 8 Key Components of the Christian Community Development philosophy. Together, attendees and facilitators will discover how this approach to ministry can restore and transform lives, communities, and systems. | Thursday 1:30pm |
Contemporary Social Contexts
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decolonizing Faith | Mark Charles | The Christian Church has long faced problems with being colonial. My book, Unsettling Truths examined how this colonialism was rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery. But is that answer too simple? In this seminar I will take content from Decolonizing Faith (the book I am currently writing) to look deeper. If we want to rid our churches and our communities of colonial practices then we not only need to understand how the Scriptures were misused to justify them, but we also need to acknowledge the many instances where the Scriptures themselves are (or at least appear to be) colonial. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Creating Space for Community-owned Public Safety and Wellbeing | Teresa Long, Pastor Neil Kring | Muncie’s Youth Alliance in Muncie, Indiana, has been forming over the last several years to address public safety concerns and connect resources to some of the most vulnerable young people in Muncie. Community disinvestment, war on drugs policies, systemic racism, and loss of economic opportunities have created challenges for many of Muncie’s youth who are engaging with the criminal justice system at high levels. Muncie has created a new approach to involve formerly incarcerated individuals in community work and youth mentoring. They will explain and explore the collaboration and challenges with law enforcement and the community, with those involved in creating community challenges and those who are seeking to solve them. Neil and Theresa are pastors and social workers, respectively; they are finding redemptive, restorative approaches to creating an alliance among stakeholders amidst racial and systemic challenges. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Eradicating Food Apartheid: Community-Based Strategies for Food Justice | Rev. Andre Towner, Shondelyn Towner | Explore the roles of church and communities in shifting from food apartheid to food equity, especially within African American communities. Utilizing biblical justice and stewardship, learn practical strategies for creating sustainable food systems via community gardens, food cooperatives, partnerships with food producers, and community-centric business and government policies. Examine a case study from a Community-Based Food Justice Organization in the Washington, DC Metro Area that demonstrates successful faith-driven food justice initiatives. Become equipped with tools and strategies for engaging diverse community stakeholders in sustainable food practices, reflecting CCDA’s mission for community transformation and holistic development. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Fishbowl Dialogue on Sexual, Gender & Theological Diversity | Kristyn Komarnicki | Christians disagree on what constitutes a faithful living out of our sexuality and gender, but unity is still possible — a unity that is deeper than agreement. Let’s learn together what kinds of questions generate the best dialogue, what it looks like to listen with love, and how we can connect across deep differences without leaving our convictions at the door. Join us for a moderated fishbowl conversation that demonstrates this beautiful possibility. We’ll take time for questions so the whole group gets a chance to enter into the conversation, as well as offer an opportunity for brief processing in small groups for anyone who wants to linger a few extra minutes. | Friday 1:30pm-3pm *this workshop is 1.5 hours long |
| Flourishing Futures: How Investing in Babies Can Transform Our Communities | Sandra Ovalle, Rev. Moya Harris, Lauren Morrissey | The first 1,000 days of a child’s life set the building blocks for a healthy life, from strong relationships to economic growth and conscious civic participation, this period is characterized by rapid growth unlike any other time. Churches have an important opportunity to protect this precious time in the lives of babies and families and invest in the longterm health of their communities. Learn more about Sojourners’ recent participatory action research project that sheds light on the theological frameworks, direct ministries and other supports churches are providing to babies and their families and come to dream about how your church can embrace the littlest ones among us too! | Friday 3:15pm |
| Healthcare is a Human Rights Issue | Charles E. Battle, Sharon Battle | Healthcare is not ONLY a health issue; it’s a human rights issue! Gain exposure to failures of healthcare delivery systems in providing appropriate care for all citizens, using other “developing” countries as a baseline. Learn about existing healthcare models and political impediments and how increased knowledge and advocacy can generate better outcomes for your community. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Intergenerational Trauma and the Perpetuation of Racial Hierarchy | Dr. Gigi Khanyezi | Intergenerational trauma in the dominant community (i.e. – white Americans) has not been properly recognized and identified; therefore leading to the further perpetration of trauma on all communities (particularly communities of color). In this workshop, we will offer an analysis of the reality of intergenerational trauma and walk through practical ways that communities can move towards healing that trauma. We will pay particular attention to the unresolved trauma of white America and the negative consequences of this trauma. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Our Trespasses: Repairing the Breaches of Urban Renewal | Rev. Greg Jarrell | A map is a theological document: using his unique research into the history of the federal Urban Renewal programs of the 1950s and 60s, CCD practitioner Greg Jarrell will present a story from his own city (Charlotte, NC) that shows the fusion of bad policy and bad theology written into the cityscape. Where once was a thriving Black neighborhood, is now a government quarter with a church at its center. Participants will consider how unearthing theological and political histories can shape CCD ministry today, and how local groups might organize together to redress historic harms and build a different future. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Peacekeeper or Peacemaker: Moving Beyond Avoidance into Redemptive Connection | Elizabeth Cronlund, Chuck Mingo | Politics have become a tense dividing line in churches, communities, and even around family dinner tables. Justice-minded believers want to engage in conversations about these issues, which are important to them, but they fear the relational toll and retaliation that may occur with those they care about who do not feel the same. How does one navigate these conversations when disagreements feel powerful enough to destroy relationships? Join the UNDIVIDED team to explore how engaging our curiosity well can forge connections when it seems impossible. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Public Education and the Church: Beyond Battles and Backpacks | Donna Barber | Join Donna Barber to examine some of the pressing needs in public education today. Together, let’s discuss how the local church and non-profits can get involved to address them in a more positive, impactful way. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Singing a New Song: The Church in Right Partnership with Child Welfare | Kafi Mashariki Carrasco, Maia Anderson, Jillana Goble | What does love for our local child welfare system look like? Every Child began as a collaborative ministry between a few churches in the Portland Metro area. The churches came together to provide “welcome” boxes for children sitting in a state office awaiting foster placement for the night (or longer). This led to asking a deeper and more important question: “Why are children waiting in a local child welfare office to begin with and where is the church in this?” Historic injustices, underfunded poverty programs, and over-policing have caused disproportionality of poor children and families of color in the child welfare system. Even with these known realities, children will still enter this flawed system and will experience it with or without support from the church. How does the church begin to engage appropriately with a large bureaucracy and model Jesus’ radical servanthood to a secular institution? Hear Every Child’s story and impact in Portland as an example of collective action and seeking the peace and shalom of the city. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Unleashing Transformative Justice: Exploring Collective Impact to Combat Human Trafficking | Rachel VerWys, MSW | Join this engaging workshop to embark on a transformative journey through a strategic and compassionate approach to combating human trafficking. Guided by the powerful tools of storytelling research and the collective impact theory of change, attendees delve into the art of biblical narratives, understanding how a community in Grand Rapids, MI used data to uncover systemic vulnerabilities and inspire a collective movement for just solutions. Interactive tools will be used to demonstrate the collective impact theory of change, an innovative framework that emphasizes collaborative, cross-sectoral efforts to address complex social issues. Explore the key principles of collective impact, examining how diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, communities, and survivors themselves, can forge a unified front against human trafficking in a community, city, and region. | Thursday 1:30pm |
Embodied Practice
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embodied Practices of Rest for the Tired Advocate | Joi McGowan, LPC | Embodied Practices of Rest for the Tired Advocate was created for the advocate in all of us who is tired and longing for a place to rest. This session will allow the participant to practice meditation, learn about God’s desire that we enter into his rest, and help the participant identify tangible ways to make more room for rest when they return home. In all of our work for justice, we rest because we hope in a God who sits high but stoops low. We hope in a God who leads us continually to streams of living water. We hope in a God who never sleeps nor slumbers, so that we can rest. When we rest, we know that it is then that he restores us to continue the work he sets before us. Brothers and sisters, come and rest as our facilitator Joi McGowan, LPC gives us tangible tools for how to to rest as tired advocates for justice. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Embodiment: Prophetic Exchange of Beauty for Ashes | Sylvia Kamande | In this workshop participants can expect to interact through gentle movement and creativity with the Holy Spirit. They may be able to recognize parts of themselves that have disintegrated or have been lost due to the constant demands of day-to-day life. This practice will help them listen to the story that their body is trying to tell, intentionally celebrate their resilience and perseverance, and prophetically imagine what their story of redemption and restoration could be as they actively participate in this prophetic exchange. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Fitness for Christian Community Development | Abbie Person, and Maraya Smith,Alicia Haskins | Under-resourced communities often lack access to resources that keep their residents strong and healthy. Poor health is often a primary factor that keeps people stuck in cycles of poverty. This workshop stems from over 15 years of experience providing access to a fitness center in a diverse context. The gym is a program of a nonprofit founded on CCD principles dedicated to breaking cycles of poverty. Learn how to incorporate fitness as a key component of holistic wellness ministry in your community. Note: this workshop includes a brief 10-minute workout. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Healing With Creation: A Nature-informed Embodied Practice Space | Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt, LCSW-A, MA | All are welcome to this nature-informed, embodied practice space. Participants will be guided through seven simple nature-based practices designed to resource, energize, and nourish body, mind, and spirit. If you need a place to process in an embodied way, restore your soul, and breathe deeply, come receive the ministry of God’s creation. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Our Body Home: Somatic Meditative Prayer | Roslyn Hernández | Experience a prayer practice that connects you to your body, fosters gratitude, and provides a moment of rest. Take a moment to reflect on your experience, create a collaborative reflection piece, and receive resources to continue this and other meditative prayer practices for yourself or with others. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Praisercise: Using our Bodies to Connect with God | Dr. Courtnye Lloyd | Come get inspired and learn how to use your body to connect with God! Dr. Courtnye Lloyd will share her own story of how dance and movement came to play a role in her worship, intercession, and healing. Learn about theological ideas that have hindered and supported Christian communities to embrace their bodies. Engage in dancing and movement, and process the experience. Consider how these ideas and practices of movement connect to your own individual faith practices, and work in your ministries and communities. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Processing Circles | Diane Elson Miller | We are forming response circles relating to the plenary messages. This is a space for receiving and processing each others’ faith and life stories as they relate to a plenary message. These circles will be sacred, confidential spaces where every person’s spoken truth will be received without criticism, advice, or response. Our intent is to “hear and sit with” each other’s lived experiences. We will close out our circles with a processing discussion around what we heard from each other. | Thursday 5pm; Friday 12pm |
Emerging Leaders
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empowering Youth Through Multigenerational Leadership: Embracing Trauma-Informed Perspectives | Will Cumby, Jeff Chupp, Erica Flores | The best voice to advocate for change is the individual who needs it the most. This workshop is designed to provide tips and strategies for empowering urban youth to be a voice in their communities and the ministries or programs they attend. This session uses practical topics such as trauma-informed discipleship to unpack multiple approaches to shared suffering. Just as Jesus had a variety of disciples, it is imperative that effective ministries and programs not only advocate for their communities’ pain points but also include voices of various generations at the table. Workshop attendees will gain a strong theological foundation to develop programs and nurture discipleship relationships that prioritize trust and authenticity. Learn how to intervene effectively and walk alongside youth, fostering healing and resilience in challenging circumstances. Join us to explore compassionate approaches to discipleship that make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people. | Friday 3:15pm |
| From Promise to Power: Empowering Youth & Emerging Leaders | Dionté Grey | From Promise to Power: Empowering Youth & Emerging Leaders is a dynamic and immersive workshop that champions the extraordinary potential of urban youth, positioning them as pivotal assets within our communities. Through a blend of interactive sessions, real-life case studies, and proven methodologies, participants will delve into a comprehensive exploration of youth empowerment. Guided by experienced facilitators, attendees will uncover effective strategies for nurturing leadership skills, fostering personal growth, and navigating the path to success in both academia and professional spheres. Engaging discussions and practical examples will enrich the learning experience, culminating in insightful reflections on how to apply newfound knowledge in real-world contexts. Join us for an inspiring journey of empowerment, where promise transforms into tangible power, shaping the next generation of community leaders. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Gen Z’s Guide to Changemaking: Civic and Allyship Engagement 101 | Roslyn Hernández | Gen Z, get prepared and empowered to understand your unique perspectives, bridge knowledge gaps, and take meaningful first steps towards creating positive change in your communities. Through activities, personal reflections, and interactive discussions, gain practical insights and tools to embark on your journey of civic engagement and allyship. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Growing the Leaders Around You | Rev. Dr. Jason Leininger, Florence Annang | Every organization has leaders who can grow and become better leaders. Growing leaders takes prayer, intentionality, and perseverance. Learn various approaches to leadership development and identify and brainstorm ways to grow leaders at your own organizations. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Moving Beyond Fidgets: Deepening Trauma-Informed Practices for Youth | Kylee Lillis, Lori Haskell | We often receive advice on trauma-informed training aimed at meeting youth where they are. However, this advice often translates to providing bean bags, fidgets, and worksheets, which only address surface-level wounds. This workshop aims to go beyond superficial solutions by integrating trauma-informed practices into spaces while also addressing the necessary mindset required to foster environments that welcome youth from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, it offers resources to reimagine youth programs and classrooms through holistic goal setting and student leadership development. By incorporating trauma-informed approaches into different youth-focused initiatives, we can establish supportive environments where young people can truly flourish. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Refocusing Youth Ministry | Chuck Hunt | Discipleship doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Anxiety, relational ruptures, violence, job pressure, school dances, and even the time of day all influence our faith formation. Refocusing Youth Ministry is designed to help you train your volunteers to recognize what young people are experiencing with tools to help them navigate those experiences in community so that they live out Jesus’ goodness every day by loving God and neighbors. This workshop will increase your impact and help your students go deeper in their discipleship/faith formation. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Teaching For Transformation: Creating Gatherings that Inspire Teens to Act | Garret Shelsta | Gain tangible tools to help identify the spoken and unspoken needs teenagers have and help unite teens around felt experiences. You’ll learn to identify and develop a single learning objective or big idea, and create interactive ways to give adolescents ways they can implement the learning objective in their context. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Youth Workers + Trauma-Informed Care for Youth = Healthy Communities | Benita Dean Hopkins, M. S. Ed, Venus D Noble, MA, LMFT, Damon Owens | We believe trained urban pastors and leaders lead to healthy urban churches and flourishing neighborhoods. Come collaborate and discuss with other urban faith leaders the knowledge and skills necessary to build successful and meaningful youth-adult partnerships that are pursuing peace and justice in communities. | Thursday 1:30pm |
Flourishing Congregations
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Churches Building Community: Connecting Your Community Through Missional Ministries | Camelia Joseph | Learn about changing mindsets within church growth, discipleship, and evangelism. Explore churches as community assets and best practices for serving neighborhoods through church-based ministries. Learn to use town hall meetings, surveys, and demographics to discern how best to connect with their community and meet community needs through missional ministries operated through your church. Gain innovative ways to equip and send your members out as marketplace ministers engaged in employment, social justice, and civic and social organizations to deepen their relationships with their community and grow their church spiritually and numerically. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Food and Faith: Justice Rooted Food Ministry | Jodi Koeman, MSW | Many congregations and faith-based organizations have established ministries to address food insecurity in their neighborhoods and communities, but have we considered things like the local food system, climate change, growing practices, and food waste? Are we prioritizing food justice while we practice asset-based community development? This workshop is geared towards congregational and faith-based non-profit staff who are implementing or planning to implement food “ministries” or programs. It addresses the questions: – “How does our faith inform our decisions about food – growing, consuming, purchasing, and sharing it?” – “What is my food system, and who is or is not benefitting?” – “What are best practices of addressing the root causes of food inequity?” The workshop combines areas of food security, food justice, climate change, food sovereignty, asset-based community development, and theological reflection as we learn how to change our individual and congregational practices, shift our ministries, and partner with the broader food system. | Friday 3:15pm |
| From Going to Church To Being the Church | Rev. Eddie Han | Join Rev. Eddie Han on a journey of deconstructing and decolonizing faith in search of one’s own expression of faith in a local context. Learn how the personal faith, neighborhood and congregational experiences coincided with the way of relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution. Learn the specific shalom values that emerged and the lessons we learned from this journey. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| From Multiethnic Churches to Multiethnic Lives | Rev. Dr. Nathan Walton | Throughout much of the modern racial reconciliation movement, there has been a consistent emphasis on congregational diversity. Yet far too frequently, the church has failed to address the essential role that a multiethnic lifestyle “between Sundays” plays in fostering a credible Christian witness in a segregated world. Too often diverse Sunday gatherings are an exception to the rest of our lives rather than the norm. In response, the first half of this workshop focuses on congregational best practices that promote multiethnic churches, whereas the latter half examines everyday practices and tools that can equip believers for multiethnic lives throughout the week. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Measuring the Gap Between Neighborhood and Church | David Park, Bekah Klein | What does it mean for a church to be engaged with its neighborhood? And what are the outcomes we would like to see from that? Listen and engage around personal experiences from church staff, wherein they discovered the limitations of the church to understand and engage the neighborhood. Discuss what it means for a church to be rooted in place, and learn from the survey findings from our Congregational Health Assessment. Comparative data and recommendations for how to move forward will be shared along with an opportunity for Q&A. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| The Grace of Babel: Becoming an Integrated Multilingual Congregation | Emanuel (Ricky) Padilla, Dr. Itzel Meduri-Soto | Over the past four decades, the population of non-English speakers at home has tripled, mirroring the growth of monolingual English speakers. Faced with the challenge of a multi- and mono-lingual community, congregational language choices have theological, cultural, and practical implications. Churches often adopt a singular language identity, create language-specific ministries, or use live translation. In either case, the congregation remains fragmented. This workshop addresses the disadvantages of a fragmented multilingual congregation and proposes an integrated multilingual framework that transforms language relationships and bears witness to a wholistic gospel. Attendees will be equipped with practical tools that can be immediately implemented in their congregation. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Voces Inmigrantes – Creando juntos senderos de esperanza | Ruth Latzke, Raquel Leal | Voces Inmigrantes: Creando juntos senderos de esperanza (Immigrant Voices: Creating Paths of Hope Together) is a workshop conducted in Spanish, addressing the vital role of immigrants within church communities. Ruth Latzke and Raquel Leal, both experienced in immigrant support, share their journeys and insights. Participants will engage with tools like the Immigrant Needs Assessment Tool, identifying community needs and church responses. The session emphasizes the integration of immigrants into church missions, fostering empathy, and offering practical resources. Through interactive discussions and resource-sharing, participants gain a deeper understanding of immigrant experiences, promoting inclusive church environments. | Friday 1:30pm |
Reimagining Economy
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antiracist Wealth Redistribution for Housing Justice | Charlie Collier, Allison Brinkhorst | Learn the history and community work of the PDX Housing Solidarity Project and our particular roles in building bridges with local faith communities. Become inspired to join the work of redistribution in your community. Discuss aligned and creative works of redistribution from all of our experiences and contexts. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Building a Start-up Ecosystem for LMI Communities | Bryan Feil | Unlocking creativity within an underserved community can be challenging, and providing the tools necessary for them to prosper can be even more elusive. In this workshop the Center for Community Transformation in Fresno, CA, will share its methodology and practical tools that have helped to unlock traditional businesses and spurred social enterprises to get off the ground and start impacting their local community. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Community Design + Build Partnerships | Brian Barker, AIA | Imagine a community that leverages its local resources and institutions for the cause of rebuilding and beautifying its neighborhood fabric and helping to secure a just future for generations to come. Community Design + Build Partnerships can help write a unique and innovative chapter within a neighborhood’s renewal and rebirth. This workshop explores ways to re-imagine and renew the local economy as it pertains to affordable and sustainable housing and home ownership in under-resourced urban neighborhoods. This workshop explores how to leverage community partnerships to redevelop neighborhoods through local land banking, community design programs, schools of architecture, and housing development corporations. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Fishing Differently for Social Impact | Dr. Leroy Barber, Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, Dr. Reggie Blount, Hanna Broome | This foundational workshop explores the principles of F.I.S.H. (Faith, Intellectual, Social, and Human Capital), as outlined in our book, Fishing Differently: Ministry Formation in the Marketplace. Participants explore how and why addressing varied perceptions of shared circumstances assists congregations to pivot from a maintenance mindset toward harnessing the power of their assets as catalysts for communal transformation and economic renewal. Workshop participants actively explore how recognizing and employing the collective gifts, talents, and missional intentions within their congregation expands their capacity for social impact. Participants explore the benefits of how broadening their social networks, and gaining support from non-traditional allies, exponentially expands the scope and depth of a congregation’s missional vision, social impact, and the transformational influence they have in the lives of individuals within their community. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Holistic, Hopeful Financial Education | Jerilyn Sanders, Robert M. Turner | Many financial literacy approaches just aren’t built for the realities, needs, and experiences of our communities. Is it possible to teach money-management skills to people who feel like they don’t have enough money to manage? Let’s think together about how to make financial education positive, practical, holistic, and hopeful to better serve our neighbors. Practitioners will discuss best practices, simulate activities, and leave with tools to help them consider ways to establish a financial literacy education program that works in their own contexts. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Opportunities, Pitfalls, and Blessings of Affordable Housing on Congregational Land | Jill Shook, Rev. Julia ‘Jules’ Nielsen, Drew Peterson, Pastor Camelia Joseph | Some estimate that 100,000 congregations across the U.S. are likely to close in the 2020s, and more will downsize their campuses. As a result, billions of dollars of real estate will change hands. Support congregational flourishing and further their mission to serve under-resourced populations in your community by providing affordable housing on increasingly underutilized property assets. With an emerging national movement and increased interest in undertaking affordable housing development on congregational land, this workshop will consider several organizations’ approaches to advising churches down this path. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Economic Injustice | David Swanson | In this workshop we will explore the common roots of racial and environmental injustice and discover how local communities in any context can prioritize a relationship with their place which nurtures holistic justice. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Racial Healing and Reparations | Lowell Taylor, Dustin McGowan | Dustin and Lowell will introduce themselves and The Zacchaeus Foundation – a non-profit working for racial healing in Northwest Arkansas by repairing truth, wealth, and power. Dustin and Lowell will explain how the Foundation is organized, how it educates white people about reparations, and how it invests in Black-led non-profits, with case studies that inform their work. Presenters will guide participants as they explore how they can work for racial healing in their contexts. | Friday 1:30pm |
| The Sacred Economy | Elizabeth Grady Harper, Ivy Long | Our Christian faith offers a robust theology and radical praxis around economic justice, ethical business practices, moral leadership, and the economy. Yet the church and faith-based organizations can often seem silent on issues of economics beyond Stewardship Sunday or fundraising campaigns. In the Sacred Economy workshop we will consider what a biblical and Christ-centered understanding of money and economic relationships looks like and share practical ways to disciple our communities to cultivate a desire for and resource them in the pursuit of a more sacred economy where everyone can thrive. | Friday 3:15pm |
Rural Christian Community Development
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About | Rev. Carey Morford, Gabrielle Gunn, Peyton Beattie | Participants in this workshop will learn a practical strategy to engage neighbors in a deliberative dialogue that can build consensus and lead to an action plan for change. You’ll hear the story of how Mission of the Dirt Road, a community center and church, used this process in their community to create an initiative approved by their local government. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Loving the “Unlovable”: A Faith-Based Approach to Case Management | Trishonda Roberson, Kielana Ham | Serving people is God’s work, but it is not always easy. He didn’t promise it would be. Although some clients are grateful for the services received, some make the process painful. These are the clients that, more than likely, need us to go the “extra mile” and show them the faith-based part of our non-profit. Participants will be given the opportunity to share the clients they’ve had difficulty serving and the ways they overcame obstacles and barriers to serving how Jesus served. We will come up with ways together to protect our testimony while serving and loving the “unlovable” clients. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Trailer Park Community Center: Addressing Rural Poverty Through Missional Presence | Marlene Webster | Trailer parks are unique communities, often isolated from broader community engagement and resources with housing that is sub-standard. Learn how one small church has developed a faithful neighborhood presence that has created opportunities for access to education, employment, and other community assets. Increase your cultural competencies for working with people in poverty and gain tools for developing networks of support for families in trailer park neighborhoods. | Thursday 1:30pm |
Strengthening Your Organization
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Becoming a Pro-Black Organization: A Healing-Centered Framework for Equity | Jeremy Moore, Ph.D., Monique Thomas | Beyond symbolic representation (DEI), comparative analysis (racial equity), and even righting the wrongs of racism (racial justice) is a commitment to honor, exalt, and celebrate Black folks by unabashedly positioning Black people to thrive: being pro-Black. Cornerstone CDC is a place-based, faith-led organization that has embarked on the journey of becoming a pro-Black organization by learning what it means to honor, celebrate, and believe in the richness of Black spaces while supporting community development in the West End/Visitation Park neighborhoods. Practitioners will share early lessons on becoming a pro-Black organization committed to healing-centered community development in a faith-inspired context. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Creating Effective Proposals and Strategies with Data | Cherilyn Horning, MPA | Join Cherilyn Horning, MPA for an opportunity to engage with real data about your community and consider how you can use this information to write strong grant proposals and create programs and strategic plans for your organizations. Walk through the process of creating a “community profile” for your designated area. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Cultivating A Culture of Operations | Sonja Schappert Howden | Does this sound familiar? “I don’t really like admin but somebody has to do it.” What about, “I have my ministry time and then my admin time?” Operations is often viewed as a means to an end. But what if it’s a mission in its own right? Strengthen your organization by cultivating a culture of operations that is pastoral, prophetic, and just as integrated with your missions as your programs! With applications for both emerging and seasoned leaders, discover new ideas for leading and implementing administrative tasks. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Data Grounded Discernment for Community Development | Rev. Ken Howard, MDiv, MEd | Explore how online, interactive, data-grounded tools can be integrated into prayerful community-based missional planning. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Fundamentals to Writing Competitive Grant Applications | Adrienne Livingston | Within this grant writing workshop we will blend SMART Goals with the 5W’s and H, enabling you to effectively communicate about your project, program, and services in a manner that is clear, concise, detailed, and heartfelt. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Intentional Leadership: Investing in Organizational Culture, Equity, and Leadership Development | Medard Ngueita, Luke Williams | The success and strength of an organization is strongly correlated to leadership. This workshop will focus on “Intentional Leadership” as a framework to strengthen your organization. Drawing from over 30 years of combined experience in a growing multicultural organization, the presenters will share lessons learned and practical tools for a leadership style that is just, equitable, and sustainable. Through stories and interactive activities, attendees will be challenged to assess and reflect on their organization’s or ministry’s practices and potential for growth. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Is Your Nonprofit in Good Standing? Best Practices for Compliance, Finance, and Board Governance | Dana Staley, Chrissy Weeks | This workshop is a high-level overview of best practices for nonprofits to remain in compliance with state and federal law, including board governance and finance. Nonprofit business management can be time-consuming and confusing, especially for organizations that may have a smaller staff or lack administrative resources. This workshop aims to mitigate some of that. While board governance, compliance, and finance can each be a workshop of their own, the hope is that this workshop will highlight the most important aspects of each, especially how each arena (compliance, finance, and board governance) relates to one another. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Motivating Beyond the Paycheck | Mindy Muller, MS, CFRE | Ministries often struggle with balancing stewardship of funds raised with paying people well. This interactive workshop is designed to explore how to pay equitably and fairly while motivating and rewarding employees beyond the paycheck. This topic is essential for ministries in today’s climate. Session participants will be introduced to eight key ways to motivate staff toward personal and collective mission while reducing turnover and stimulating productivity. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Overcoming Dependency in Communities: A Process for Changing Mindsets | Elaine Tymchak | Dependency hinders an organization’s impact and the community’s ownership of its development. Addressing deeply seated dependency and victimization caused by oppression starts with changing beliefs and values. Come learn a practical method for fostering mindset shifts within programs, which can help individuals and groups overcome dependency and move towards greater empowerment. Grounded in biblical principles, psychology, and social science, this approach utilizes participatory coaching and guided self-analysis to motivate people to overcome resistance to change and mobilize them toward development. Learn ways to guide your community through the process regardless of experience in facilitation. Walk away with a digital packet summarizing the workshop concepts and suggested practices for implementation, suggestions for further learning, an organizational self-assessment tool for dependency, and a strategic plan framework. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Seeds for Transformational Giving: Five Tips to Grow Planned Giving | Leonard Dow, Randy Nyce | Planned gifts are the mustard seed of fundraising. They begin small but can create transformational gifts. This workshop will give tips to get your planned giving efforts started or revitalized. Development professionals will understand why planned giving needs to be a priority and how to identify planned giving prospects. Organizational leaders and board members will understand the need to prioritize and protect resources for planned giving in your organization. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Sustaining Movements: Paul’s Fivefold Leadership Model | Jonathan Haskell, Madjoel Douglass | New movements are exciting. Someone has a vision for something new that addresses an unmet need. Over time, though, more structure becomes necessary as staff is hired, buildings are acquired, and policies are drafted. If we’re not careful, movements can easily become institutions. In Ephesians 4, Paul gives us a polycentric leadership model designed to sustain movements. This study of the APEST model will help participants discern their own personal vocation, and understand the importance of each and how they work together in a team setting. Taking the $10 assessment ahead of time would be very helpful, but not required. Link to the assessment: https://5qcentral.com/product/apest-vocational-assessment/ | Thursday 3:15pm |
Wholistic Wellbeing
| Title | Presenters | Description | Day/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Persevering Power for Sustaining Healthy You, Family, and Ministry | Bruce Strom, Helen Strom | Do you struggle with balancing the demands of family, ministry, and a healthy you? Do you sometimes grow weary and overwhelmed by competing needs? Then Selah. Join Helen and Bruce as they share helpful guidelines and tools from over three decades of challenging ministry together. Drawn on practices set out in Bruce’s new book, Persevering Power, with IVP and CCDA, these practices and practical tools can help reestablish balance for the long work of justice in community. You will leave refreshed with new focus, practices, tips, and tools for the work ahead. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Going the Distance | Donna & Leroy Barber, Ken & Tamara Wytsma, Jonathan & Micheál Brooks, David & Joy Bailey, Mayra & Chris Nolan | This workshop will creatively explore some key components of sustaining healthy marital partnerships over time through the challenges of life, child-rearing, and ministry. We will consider and discuss the unique role community can play in maintaining the vitality and longevity of the marital relationship. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| Healing is Resistance: Healing Racial Trauma in Communities of Color | Dr. Gigi Khanyezi | Historically marginalized communities have the capacity to heal! When we gain understanding of how trauma is passed down in the physical body through generations, how it expresses itself, and how we already have the capacity to heal, we move closer to the collective flourishing we were made for. This workshop is a unique integration of theological reflection, neuroscience, collective healing, and Beloved Community to inspire and equip us toward cultivating spaces of healing in communities of color. The workshop culminates in very practical skills to make this a reality. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Healing Trauma through Elevating Stories | Lionel Latouche, LCSW | So much of an individual’s healing journey revolves around one’s ability to share their story. It is in the response to one’s story that individuals can feel seen, validated, and understood OR judged, minimized, and cast aside. As practitioners, it is important for us to be mindful of the power of story and how it can lead individuals and communities towards healing. This workshop seeks to elevate the realness of trauma, helping practitioners to learn the basic fundamentals of trauma. It also provides participants with practical tools that they can use in their respective communities when working with those who’ve been harmed to help elevate stories while reducing the risk of re-traumatization. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Practicing Wellbeing Through Play | Donna Perkins Whitman, M.S. | Did you know that having fun and playing is actually the way God designed us to learn, grow and connect? The most authentic example of this is watching children at play. As God’s children, he has given us our senses to fully experience relationships and the world around us. Our bodies tell us what we need in situations, even before we have words to explain them to ourselves and others. During this workshop we will explore how to connect with our bodies through our senses, identify our emotions, and learn practical ways to communicate our needs with others. You will leave with resources that translate these practices into age-appropriate activities for use with youth 7-18 years old. | Friday 1:30pm |
| Rekindling the Fire: Empowering Your Journey Towards Racial Healing & Collective Restoration | Velynn Brown | Are you feeling the weight of the racial justice journey? You’re not alone. The path to healing and reconciliation is challenging, often leaving us burnt out, disillusioned, and fatigued. Your destiny and divine calling are too precious to surrender to these obstacles. The purpose awaiting you on the other side of this challenge is far too important to let setbacks prevail. There will be roadblocks – the insidious effects of white supremacy, the frustration of carefully laid plans being destroyed, and the sting of rejection. Discouragement may feel inevitable. This workshop is your opportunity to reignite your passion and reclaim your power. Together, we’ll explore transformative strategies for renewal, resistance, and recovery. We’ll dive into: – Surrendered Calling: Remembering who God called you to be and how he wanted to use your calling in the world – Sacred Self-care: Discover techniques to nourish your spirit, regulate your emotional well-being, and sustain your energy – Safe Circles: Learn how to create and nurture protected spaces of vocation, community, and understanding This isn’t just a workshop – it’s a revival of spirit, a rekindling of hope, and a recommitment to the sacred work of racial healing. You’ll leave armed with practical tools, renewed inspiration, and a supportive collective to uplift you on your journey. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Respecting the Line: Practices for Church Mental Health and Boundaries | Lyndal Bedford, LCSW | Boundaries are a key component for individuals to be successful in any setting. Come learn about what it means to set successful boundaries and interactions within your faith communities. Gain tools and knowledge on walking with those in your community through setting healthy boundaries. Interactive elements are used for understanding an individual’s inner world. For practitioners, this helps connect them to their communities and create balance within their lives. Some of these activities will include a sand tray, guided relaxation, and discussion questions. Come for a wholistic approach to greater God-centered healing. | Thursday 1:30pm |
| The Power of Recovery Storytelling to Bring Collective Healing | Kenny & Yolanda House | This workshop will equip those at any level of experience in community development work in three primary areas: 1 – to update their understanding of current trends in mental health, drug use and addiction, and treatment and recovery – especially in under-resourced communities; 2 – to understand the power of recovery storytelling and how it moves the needle on decreasing stigma and increasing hope at both individual and community levels; 3 – to promote the process of recovery storytelling as a collective healing tool for communities. | Friday 3:15pm |
| Transformative Leadership: Empowering Change Through Trauma-Informed Practices | Dieula M. Previlon | Learn and develop skills to create a supportive and empowering environment. Delve into the principles of trauma-informed care, learning how to recognize and respond constructively to those affected by trauma. Through an interactive presentation and practical exercises, explore the impact of trauma on individuals and communities, gaining insights into fostering resilience and healing. By embracing trauma-informed practices, leaders can cultivate a compassionate and inclusive environment, empowering them to effect positive change within their organizations and beyond. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| Turn Up the Funny: Restorative Parenting in Our Wicked & Wonderful World | Sam Heath | If someone asked you to describe your parenting method or philosophy, what would you say? How would you describe your own parent’s goals as parents? Or even just how it felt being there as a kid? These are hard but key questions as we figure out what to do with raising kids. What if God called us to so much more than controlling and tolerating our kids? What if our goal is to delight in our children and to shape their desires, not control their behavior? If parenting feels impossible, it’s because it is. But there’s hope and help and a new way forward – new to us and old to God. Consider also how this intersects with our view of crime, punishment, and the criminal legal system overall. We’ll see parallels between grounding and prison; spanking and tasing; and how our response to crime in the civic sphere can be just as restorative as our response to disobedience and defiance in the household. | Thursday 3:15pm |
| From Zero to Community: Building and Maintaining Authentic Friendships | Grace Thomas | Every human longs to be known fully and loved unconditionally in safe friendships. Tragically, the skills we often develop to stay safe in our homes, churches, or communities work against us when it comes to building life-giving friendships, especially if we also identify as LGBTQ+. This session will help each of us understand our relational strategies and how they help or hinder us when it comes to friendship. We’ll also discover that most people like us far more than we think and would be willing to try a friendship with us. And finally, we’ll look at practical strategies available to all of us that both open the door to friendship and can cement it over time. Anyone longing for deeper connection with others, or wanting to foster that connection between others, including LGBTQ+ congregants, will find helpful, hopeful ways to encourage that connection. | Thursday 1:30pm |
Workshops by Day/Time
Thursday 10/3, 1:30-2:45pm
| Title | Presenters | Description | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decolonizing Faith | Mark Charles | The Christian Church has long faced problems with being colonial. My book, Unsettling Truths examined how this colonialism was rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery. But is that answer too simple? In this seminar I will take content from Decolonizing Faith (the book I am currently writing) to look deeper. If we want to rid our churches and our communities of colonial practices then we not only need to understand how the Scriptures were misused to justify them, but we also need to acknowledge the many instances where the Scriptures themselves are (or at least appear to be) colonial. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Becoming a Pro-Black Organization: A Healing-Centered Framework for Equity | Jeremy Moore, Ph.D., Monique Thomas | Beyond symbolic representation (DEI), comparative analysis (racial equity), and even righting the wrongs of racism (racial justice) is a commitment to honor, exalt, and celebrate Black folks by unabashedly positioning Black people to thrive: being pro-Black. Cornerstone CDC is a place-based, faith-led organization that has embarked on the journey of becoming a pro-Black organization by learning what it means to honor, celebrate, and believe in the richness of Black spaces while supporting community development in the West End/Visitation Park neighborhoods. Practitioners will share early lessons on becoming a pro-Black organization committed to healing-centered community development in a faith-inspired context. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| CCD in Higher Ed: North Park University Center for Civic Engagement: Moving from Reciprocity to Redistribution | Dr. Rich Kohng, DMin, Dr. Amy Governale, PhD | Often Civic Engagement Centers endorse goals to improve communities through community-based research, experiential learning opportunities, or investing in neighborhood revitalization. The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at North Park University was developed as a response to traditional community outreach or shared values frameworks (Ehlenz, 2017). The CCE adopts a purposeful goal of redistribution and promotion of community partners, particularly those led by local leaders of color. This workshop will create discussion around models of Civic Engagement Centers while proposing a novel model grounded in biblical justice. Practical tips based on the successful implementation of a Community Assets Cohort will be highlighted. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Community Design + Build Partnerships | Brian Barker, AIA | Imagine a community that leverages its local resources and institutions for the cause of rebuilding and beautifying its neighborhood fabric and helping to secure a just future for generations to come. Community Design + Build Partnerships can help write a unique and innovative chapter within a neighborhood’s renewal and rebirth. This workshop explores ways to re-imagine and renew the local economy as it pertains to affordable and sustainable housing and home ownership in under-resourced urban neighborhoods. This workshop explores how to leverage community partnerships to redevelop neighborhoods through local land banking, community design programs, schools of architecture, and housing development corporations. | Reimagining Economy |
| Creating Effective Proposals and Strategies with Data | Cherilyn Horning, MPA | Join Cherilyn Horning, MPA for an opportunity to engage with real data about your community and consider how you can use this information to write strong grant proposals and create programs and strategic plans for your organizations. Walk through the process of creating a “community profile” for your designated area. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Embodiment: Prophetic Exchange of Beauty for Ashes | Sylvia Kamande | In this workshop participants can expect to interact through gentle movement and creativity with the Holy Spirit. They may be able to recognize parts of themselves that have disintegrated or have been lost due to the constant demands of day-to-day life. This practice will help them listen to the story that their body is trying to tell, intentionally celebrate their resilience and perseverance, and prophetically imagine what their story of redemption and restoration could be as they actively participate in this prophetic exchange. | Embodied Practice |
| From Going to Church To Being the Church | Rev. Eddie Han | Join Rev. Eddie Han on a journey of deconstructing and decolonizing faith in search of one’s own expression of faith in a local context. Learn how the personal faith, neighborhood and congregational experiences coincided with the way of relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution. Learn the specific shalom values that emerged and the lessons we learned from this journey. | Flourishing Congregations |
| Going the Distance | Donna & Leroy Barber, Ken & Tamara Wytsma, Jonathan & Micheál Brooks, David & Joy Bailey, Mayra & Chris Nolan | This workshop will creatively explore some key components of sustaining healthy marital partnerships over time through the challenges of life, child-rearing, and ministry. We will consider and discuss the unique role community can play in maintaining the vitality and longevity of the marital relationship. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Growing the Leaders Around You | Rev. Dr. Jason Leininger, Florence Annang | Every organization has leaders who can grow and become better leaders. Growing leaders takes prayer, intentionality, and perseverance. Learn various approaches to leadership development and identify and brainstorm ways to grow leaders at your own organizations. | Emerging Leaders |
| Healthcare is a Human Rights Issue | Charles E. Battle, Sharon Battle | Healthcare is not ONLY a health issue; it’s a human rights issue! Gain exposure to failures of healthcare delivery systems in providing appropriate care for all citizens, using other “developing” countries as a baseline. Learn about existing healthcare models and political impediments and how increased knowledge and advocacy can generate better outcomes for your community. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Holistic, Hopeful Financial Education | Jerilyn Sanders, Robert M. Turner | Many financial literacy approaches just aren’t built for the realities, needs, and experiences of our communities. Is it possible to teach money-management skills to people who feel like they don’t have enough money to manage? Let’s think together about how to make financial education positive, practical, holistic, and hopeful to better serve our neighbors. Practitioners will discuss best practices, simulate activities, and leave with tools to help them consider ways to establish a financial literacy education program that works in their own contexts. | Reimagining Economy |
| Is Your Nonprofit in Good Standing? Best Practices for Compliance, Finance, and Board Governance | Dana Staley, Chrissy Weeks | This workshop is a high-level overview of best practices for nonprofits to remain in compliance with state and federal law, including board governance and finance. Nonprofit business management can be time-consuming and confusing, especially for organizations that may have a smaller staff or lack administrative resources. This workshop aims to mitigate some of that. While board governance, compliance, and finance can each be a workshop of their own, the hope is that this workshop will highlight the most important aspects of each, especially how each arena (compliance, finance, and board governance) relates to one another. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Overview of CCD Philosophy, Theology, and Practice | Dr. Eun Strawser, CCDA Speakers | Join seasoned CCD leaders to learn the 8 Key Components of the Christian Community Development philosophy. Together, attendees and facilitators will discover how this approach to ministry can restore and transform lives, communities, and systems. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Peacekeeper or Peacemaker: Moving Beyond Avoidance into Redemptive Connection | Elizabeth Cronlund, Chuck Mingo | Politics have become a tense dividing line in churches, communities, and even around family dinner tables. Justice-minded believers want to engage in conversations about these issues, which are important to them, but they fear the relational toll and retaliation that may occur with those they care about who do not feel the same. How does one navigate these conversations when disagreements feel powerful enough to destroy relationships? Join the UNDIVIDED team to explore how engaging our curiosity well can forge connections when it seems impossible. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Practicing Nonviolent Communication in an Election Year | John Mark Bowers, Tannia Lascano | We’re not alone. We follow the way of César Chávez, MLK, Oscar Romero, Fanny Lou Hamer, and Jesus Christ himself, who spoke piercing truth in love, but without violence. Today’s border crisis begs a like response, as immigrant brothers and sisters have become targets of violent rhetoric. Join this conversation to learn how to engage contempt with non-violent love. We’ll build practical skills together on how to respond to immigration—and other tough election-year issues—using non-violent communication. Leave with tools to take these non-violent techniques back to your community. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Praisercise: Using our Bodies to Connect with God | Dr. Courtnye Lloyd | Come get inspired and learn how to use your body to connect with God! Dr. Courtnye Lloyd will share her own story of how dance and movement came to play a role in her worship, intercession, and healing. Learn about theological ideas that have hindered and supported Christian communities to embrace their bodies. Engage in dancing and movement, and process the experience. Consider how these ideas and practices of movement connect to your own individual faith practices, and work in your ministries and communities. | Embodied Practice |
| Respecting the Line: Practices for Church Mental Health and Boundaries | Lyndal Bedford, LCSW | Boundaries are a key component for individuals to be successful in any setting. Come learn about what it means to set successful boundaries and interactions within your faith communities. Gain tools and knowledge on walking with those in your community through setting healthy boundaries. Interactive elements are used for understanding an individual’s inner world. For practitioners, this helps connect them to their communities and create balance within their lives. Some of these activities will include a sand tray, guided relaxation, and discussion questions. Come for a wholistic approach to greater God-centered healing. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Trailer Park Community Center: Addressing Rural Poverty Through Missional Presence | Marlene Webster | Trailer parks are unique communities, often isolated from broader community engagement and resources with housing that is sub-standard. Learn how one small church has developed a faithful neighborhood presence that has created opportunities for access to education, employment, and other community assets. Increase your cultural competencies for working with people in poverty and gain tools for developing networks of support for families in trailer park neighborhoods. | Rural Christian Community Development |
| Unleashing Transformative Justice: Exploring Collective Impact to Combat Human Trafficking | Rachel VerWys, MSW | Join this engaging workshop to embark on a transformative journey through a strategic and compassionate approach to combating human trafficking. Guided by the powerful tools of storytelling research and the collective impact theory of change, attendees delve into the art of biblical narratives, understanding how a community in Grand Rapids, MI used data to uncover systemic vulnerabilities and inspire a collective movement for just solutions. Interactive tools will be used to demonstrate the collective impact theory of change, an innovative framework that emphasizes collaborative, cross-sectoral efforts to address complex social issues. Explore the key principles of collective impact, examining how diverse stakeholders, including government agencies, communities, and survivors themselves, can forge a unified front against human trafficking in a community, city, and region. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| What’s Next? Understanding the Immigrant’s Journey After Arriving to the U.S. | Rosa Bello | Gain practical tools and insights to a comprehensive understanding of the immigrant experience after their arrival to the U.S. By drawing upon the biblical theological principles of compassion and hospitality, we will delve into tangible methods for extending love and support to those frequently overlooked and marginalized. Through interactive discussions and participatory activities, attendees will develop a deeper insight into the challenges faced by immigrants upon their arrival in the U.S. and depart with actionable strategies aimed at cultivating an inclusive and supportive community for immigrants. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Youth Workers + Trauma-Informed Care for Youth = Healthy Communities | Benita Dean Hopkins, M. S. Ed, Venus D Noble, MA, LMFT, Damon Owens | We believe trained urban pastors and leaders lead to healthy urban churches and flourishing neighborhoods. Come collaborate and discuss with other urban faith leaders the knowledge and skills necessary to build successful and meaningful youth-adult partnerships that are pursuing peace and justice in communities. | Emerging Leaders |
| From Zero to Community: Building and Maintaining Authentic Friendships | Grace Thomas | Every human longs to be known fully and loved unconditionally in safe friendships. Tragically, the skills we often develop to stay safe in our homes, churches, or communities work against us when it comes to building life-giving friendships, especially if we also identify as LGBTQ+. This session will help each of us understand our relational strategies and how they help or hinder us when it comes to friendship. We’ll also discover that most people like us far more than we think and would be willing to try a friendship with us. And finally, we’ll look at practical strategies available to all of us that both open the door to friendship and can cement it over time. Anyone longing for deeper connection with others, or wanting to foster that connection between others, including LGBTQ+ congregants, will find helpful, hopeful ways to encourage that connection. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Practicing Wellbeing Through Play | Donna Perkins Whitman, M.S. | Did you know that having fun and playing is actually the way God designed us to learn, grow and connect? The most authentic example of this is watching children at play. As God’s children, he has given us our senses to fully experience relationships and the world around us. Our bodies tell us what we need in situations, even before we have words to explain them to ourselves and others. During this workshop we will explore how to connect with our bodies through our senses, identify our emotions, and learn practical ways to communicate our needs with others. You will leave with resources that translate these practices into age-appropriate activities for use with youth 7-18 years old. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
Thursday 10/3, 3:15-4:30pm
| Title | Presenters | Description | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessing Change: Gun Violence Response and Prevention for Everyone | Dr. Jer Swigart, Rev. Dr. Gilford T. Monrose, Rev. Hope A.J. Christensen, Michael Martin | Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States. What can Jesus followers do to create a future free from gun violence? In this workshop, we’ll introduce a comprehensive approach to formation, practice, and influence for leaders and their congregations to start participating in meaningful gun violence prevention. We will offer a pathway toward becoming a prophetic and pastoral witness in the movement to end gun violence. Our partnership invites CCDA members to take steps toward being peacemakers working to end gun violence in their communities. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| An Effective Tool for City-Wide Impact: The ABCD Community Organizing Cycle (With an Interactive Digital Tool) | Ivan Paz, Christian Gonzalez, Andrew Feil | Want to create a movement of resident leaders who have the capacity to make concrete and measurable changes in their neighborhoods and across their city? This workshop will present the ABCD Community Organizing Cycle with specific techniques and practical tactics through an innovative digital tool produced by Every Neighborhood Partnership. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Antiracist Wealth Redistribution for Housing Justice | Charlie Collier, Allison Brinkhorst | Learn the history and community work of the PDX Housing Solidarity Project and our particular roles in building bridges with local faith communities. Become inspired to join the work of redistribution in your community. Discuss aligned and creative works of redistribution from all of our experiences and contexts. | Reimagining Economy |
| Building a Start-up Ecosystem for LMI Communities | Bryan Feil | Unlocking creativity within an underserved community can be challenging, and providing the tools necessary for them to prosper can be even more elusive. In this workshop the Center for Community Transformation in Fresno, CA, will share its methodology and practical tools that have helped to unlock traditional businesses and spurred social enterprises to get off the ground and start impacting their local community. | Reimagining Economy |
| Curious Neighbors: Listening as Hospitality in an Age of Distrust | Ruben Alvarado | In an age of distrust, we pull away from each other, judge each other, and ignore each other. As a result, we all lose. Biblical hospitality invites us to host the stranger in the places where we belong, and how to be good guests in the places we don’t yet belong, skills we’ve all but lost in a political and cultural environment of distrust. How do we pursue flourishing in communities steeped in this reality? We begin by imagining together… What would it look like for the Church to become a vital component of their community’s collective imagination? Join us to discuss how to engage your community through curious, humble, and creative listening. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Eradicating Food Apartheid: Community-Based Strategies for Food Justice | Rev. Andre Towner, Shondelyn Towner | Explore the roles of church and communities in shifting from food apartheid to food equity, especially within African American communities. Utilizing biblical justice and stewardship, learn practical strategies for creating sustainable food systems via community gardens, food cooperatives, partnerships with food producers, and community-centric business and government policies. Examine a case study from a Community-Based Food Justice Organization in the Washington, DC Metro Area that demonstrates successful faith-driven food justice initiatives. Become equipped with tools and strategies for engaging diverse community stakeholders in sustainable food practices, reflecting CCDA’s mission for community transformation and holistic development. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Fitness for Christian Community Development | Abbie Person, and Maraya Smith,Alicia Haskins | Under-resourced communities often lack access to resources that keep their residents strong and healthy. Poor health is often a primary factor that keeps people stuck in cycles of poverty. This workshop stems from over 15 years of experience providing access to a fitness center in a diverse context. The gym is a program of a nonprofit founded on CCD principles dedicated to breaking cycles of poverty. Learn how to incorporate fitness as a key component of holistic wellness ministry in your community. Note: this workshop includes a brief 10-minute workout. | Embodied Practice |
| From Promise to Power: Empowering Youth & Emerging Leaders | Dionté Grey | From Promise to Power: Empowering Youth & Emerging Leaders is a dynamic and immersive workshop that champions the extraordinary potential of urban youth, positioning them as pivotal assets within our communities. Through a blend of interactive sessions, real-life case studies, and proven methodologies, participants will delve into a comprehensive exploration of youth empowerment. Guided by experienced facilitators, attendees will uncover effective strategies for nurturing leadership skills, fostering personal growth, and navigating the path to success in both academia and professional spheres. Engaging discussions and practical examples will enrich the learning experience, culminating in insightful reflections on how to apply newfound knowledge in real-world contexts. Join us for an inspiring journey of empowerment, where promise transforms into tangible power, shaping the next generation of community leaders. | Emerging Leaders |
| Gen Z’s Guide to Changemaking: Civic and Allyship Engagement 101 | Roslyn Hernández | Gen Z, get prepared and empowered to understand your unique perspectives, bridge knowledge gaps, and take meaningful first steps towards creating positive change in your communities. Through activities, personal reflections, and interactive discussions, gain practical insights and tools to embark on your journey of civic engagement and allyship. | Emerging Leaders |
| Healing With Creation: A Nature-informed Embodied Practice Space | Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt, LCSW-A, MA | All are welcome to this nature-informed, embodied practice space. Participants will be guided through seven simple nature-based practices designed to resource, energize, and nourish body, mind, and spirit. If you need a place to process in an embodied way, restore your soul, and breathe deeply, come receive the ministry of God’s creation. | Embodied Practice |
| Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About | Rev. Carey Morford, Gabrielle Gunn, Peyton Beattie | Participants in this workshop will learn a practical strategy to engage neighbors in a deliberative dialogue that can build consensus and lead to an action plan for change. You’ll hear the story of how Mission of the Dirt Road, a community center and church, used this process in their community to create an initiative approved by their local government. | Rural Christian Community Development |
| Measuring the Gap Between Neighborhood and Church | David Park, Bekah Klein | What does it mean for a church to be engaged with its neighborhood? And what are the outcomes we would like to see from that? Listen and engage around personal experiences from church staff, wherein they discovered the limitations of the church to understand and engage the neighborhood. Discuss what it means for a church to be rooted in place, and learn from the survey findings from our Congregational Health Assessment. Comparative data and recommendations for how to move forward will be shared along with an opportunity for Q&A. | Flourishing Congregations |
| Motivating Beyond the Paycheck | Mindy Muller, MS, CFRE | Ministries often struggle with balancing stewardship of funds raised with paying people well. This interactive workshop is designed to explore how to pay equitably and fairly while motivating and rewarding employees beyond the paycheck. This topic is essential for ministries in today’s climate. Session participants will be introduced to eight key ways to motivate staff toward personal and collective mission while reducing turnover and stimulating productivity. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Our Trespasses: Repairing the Breaches of Urban Renewal | Rev. Greg Jarrell | A map is a theological document: using his unique research into the history of the federal Urban Renewal programs of the 1950s and 60s, CCD practitioner Greg Jarrell will present a story from his own city (Charlotte, NC) that shows the fusion of bad policy and bad theology written into the cityscape. Where once was a thriving Black neighborhood, is now a government quarter with a church at its center. Participants will consider how unearthing theological and political histories can shape CCD ministry today, and how local groups might organize together to redress historic harms and build a different future. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Economic Injustice | David Swanson | In this workshop we will explore the common roots of racial and environmental injustice and discover how local communities in any context can prioritize a relationship with their place which nurtures holistic justice. | Reimagining Economy |
| Rekindling the Fire: Empowering Your Journey Towards Racial Healing & Collective Restoration | Velynn Brown | Are you feeling the weight of the racial justice journey? You’re not alone. The path to healing and reconciliation is challenging, often leaving us burnt out, disillusioned, and fatigued. Your destiny and divine calling are too precious to surrender to these obstacles. The purpose awaiting you on the other side of this challenge is far too important to let setbacks prevail. There will be roadblocks – the insidious effects of white supremacy, the frustration of carefully laid plans being destroyed, and the sting of rejection. Discouragement may feel inevitable. This workshop is your opportunity to reignite your passion and reclaim your power. Together, we’ll explore transformative strategies for renewal, resistance, and recovery. We’ll dive into: – Surrendered Calling: Remembering who God called you to be and how he wanted to use your calling in the world – Sacred Self-care: Discover techniques to nourish your spirit, regulate your emotional well-being, and sustain your energy – Safe Circles: Learn how to create and nurture protected spaces of vocation, community, and understanding This isn’t just a workshop – it’s a revival of spirit, a rekindling of hope, and a recommitment to the sacred work of racial healing. You’ll leave armed with practical tools, renewed inspiration, and a supportive collective to uplift you on your journey. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Restorative Justice: Repairing Harm and Rebuilding Relationships | Dr. Bryson Davis, Marie Moy, MAT | Join us for an introduction to restorative justice, some of its practices, and its Christian implications. Restorative justice is a proven alternative to our current criminal legal system and has broad applications across many sectors of society. Gain information and tools needed to begin to apply it in the spaces you care about, preventing and repairing harm, and fostering beloved community. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Seeds for Transformational Giving: Five Tips to Grow Planned Giving | Leonard Dow, Randy Nyce | Planned gifts are the mustard seed of fundraising. They begin small but can create transformational gifts. This workshop will give tips to get your planned giving efforts started or revitalized. Development professionals will understand why planned giving needs to be a priority and how to identify planned giving prospects. Organizational leaders and board members will understand the need to prioritize and protect resources for planned giving in your organization. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Setting a Bigger Table: Fighting for Justice Without Pushing People Around | Ron Ruthruff, DMin | The way we treat the person we love the least is the way we love Gzod the most. How do we extend hospitality and do justice in a world of privilege, power, and religious refuge? Participants will engage with the gospel of Luke’s model of table fellowship as a map toward symbiotic hospitality, learning to live in an open space of justice, mercy, and humility. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Singing a New Song: The Church in Right Partnership with Child Welfare | Kafi Mashariki Carrasco, Maia Anderson, Jillana Goble | What does love for our local child welfare system look like? Every Child began as a collaborative ministry between a few churches in the Portland Metro area. The churches came together to provide “welcome” boxes for children sitting in a state office awaiting foster placement for the night (or longer). This led to asking a deeper and more important question: “Why are children waiting in a local child welfare office to begin with and where is the church in this?” Historic injustices, underfunded poverty programs, and over-policing have caused disproportionality of poor children and families of color in the child welfare system. Even with these known realities, children will still enter this flawed system and will experience it with or without support from the church. How does the church begin to engage appropriately with a large bureaucracy and model Jesus’ radical servanthood to a secular institution? Hear Every Child’s story and impact in Portland as an example of collective action and seeking the peace and shalom of the city. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Sustaining Movements: Paul’s Fivefold Leadership Model | Jonathan Haskell, Madjoel Douglass | New movements are exciting. Someone has a vision for something new that addresses an unmet need. Over time, though, more structure becomes necessary as staff is hired, buildings are acquired, and policies are drafted. If we’re not careful, movements can easily become institutions. In Ephesians 4, Paul gives us a polycentric leadership model designed to sustain movements. This study of the APEST model will help participants discern their own personal vocation, and understand the importance of each and how they work together in a team setting. Taking the $10 assessment ahead of time would be very helpful, but not required. Link to the assessment: https://5qcentral.com/product/apest-vocational-assessment/ | Strengthening Your Organization |
| The Grace of Babel: Becoming an Integrated Multilingual Congregation | Emanuel (Ricky) Padilla, Dr. Itzel Meduri-Soto | Over the past four decades, the population of non-English speakers at home has tripled, mirroring the growth of monolingual English speakers. Faced with the challenge of a multi- and mono-lingual community, congregational language choices have theological, cultural, and practical implications. Churches often adopt a singular language identity, create language-specific ministries, or use live translation. In either case, the congregation remains fragmented. This workshop addresses the disadvantages of a fragmented multilingual congregation and proposes an integrated multilingual framework that transforms language relationships and bears witness to a wholistic gospel. Attendees will be equipped with practical tools that can be immediately implemented in their congregation. | Flourishing Congregations |
| Transformative Leadership: Empowering Change Through Trauma-Informed Practices | Dieula M. Previlon | Learn and develop skills to create a supportive and empowering environment. Delve into the principles of trauma-informed care, learning how to recognize and respond constructively to those affected by trauma. Through an interactive presentation and practical exercises, explore the impact of trauma on individuals and communities, gaining insights into fostering resilience and healing. By embracing trauma-informed practices, leaders can cultivate a compassionate and inclusive environment, empowering them to effect positive change within their organizations and beyond. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Turn Up the Funny: Restorative Parenting in Our Wicked & Wonderful World | Sam Heath | If someone asked you to describe your parenting method or philosophy, what would you say? How would you describe your own parent’s goals as parents? Or even just how it felt being there as a kid? These are hard but key questions as we figure out what to do with raising kids. What if God called us to so much more than controlling and tolerating our kids? What if our goal is to delight in our children and to shape their desires, not control their behavior? If parenting feels impossible, it’s because it is. But there’s hope and help and a new way forward – new to us and old to God. Consider also how this intersects with our view of crime, punishment, and the criminal legal system overall. We’ll see parallels between grounding and prison; spanking and tasing; and how our response to crime in the civic sphere can be just as restorative as our response to disobedience and defiance in the household. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
Friday 10/4, 1:30-2:45pm
| Title | Presenters | Description | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbie’s Village: A story of hope, overcoming challenges and victory | Chenoa Landry, Jennifer Pirtle | In this workshop, the creation of Barbie’s Village will be shared. Barbie’s Village is the campus of the Future Generations Collaborative, a local Native non-profit that serves the Native community in the Portland and surrounding areas by addressing pubic health issues including early childhood services. Barbie’s Village will soon be home to a tiny home village for Native parents with small children. The FGC worked with the Presbytery of the Cascades and a local land and housing coalition for over three years that finally resulted in Land Back. Come learn more and see how you can be a part of the Land Back movement. Learn more and support at https://fgcpdx.org/. | Biblical Justice and Civic Engagement |
| Churches Building Community: Connecting Your Community Through Missional Ministries | Rev. Camelia Joseph | Learn about changing mindsets within church growth, discipleship, and evangelism. Explore churches as community assets and best practices for serving neighborhoods through church-based ministries. Learn to use town hall meetings, surveys, and demographics to discern how best to connect with their community and meet community needs through missional ministries operated through your church. Gain innovative ways to equip and send your members out as marketplace ministers engaged in employment, social justice, and civic and social organizations to deepen their relationships with their community and grow their church spiritually and numerically. | Flourishing Congregations |
| More Than a Grocery Store: A Wholistic Approach to Community Health | Sara Hawk, Brandi Jones, Rachel Newman | In the summer of 2019, the only full-service grocery store in RestoreOKC’s community closed, creating food apartheid for their neighbors. Dreaming with neighbors about what a community-operated and led grocery store could look like, RestoreOKC quickly opened a small micro store. In April 2021, opened the Market at Eastpoint, a convenient location that provides access to fresh produce, employment, health programming, and access to local resource providers. Through innovative programming, focused on Social Determinants of Health outcomes, it is a space where families are empowered to provide wholistic care and support for themselves and their families. CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice Sara Hawk, Brandi Jones, Rachel Newman | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Community Spiritual Metrics | Dr. Diana Kimani, Peter Mwangi | Historically, Christian Community Development agencies have been known for their crucial role in the global socio-political, economic, and spiritual transformation through humanitarian and emergency response, community development, and advocacy. Different methodologies are applied to measure the impact of community development interventions. Though much research has been done on measuring physical transformation, a lot needs to be done to find the appropriate measurement tools and indicators for spiritual well-being. In the workshop, the presenters will take the participants through a set of well-researched spiritual metrics or indicators for assessing the spiritual impact of Christian humanitarian and development organizations. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Cultivating A Culture of Operations | Sonja Schappert Howden | Does this sound familiar? “I don’t really like admin but somebody has to do it.” What about, “I have my ministry time and then my admin time?” Operations is often viewed as a means to an end. But what if it’s a mission in its own right? Strengthen your organization by cultivating a culture of operations that is pastoral, prophetic, and just as integrated with your missions as your programs! With applications for both emerging and seasoned leaders, discover new ideas for leading and implementing administrative tasks. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Discover Persevering Power for Sustaining Healthy You, Family, and Ministry | Bruce Strom, Helen Strom | Do you struggle with balancing the demands of family, ministry, and a healthy you? Do you sometimes grow weary and overwhelmed by competing needs? Then Selah. Join Helen and Bruce as they share helpful guidelines and tools from over three decades of challenging ministry together. Drawn on practices set out in Bruce’s new book, Persevering Power, with IVP and CCDA, these practices and practical tools can help reestablish balance for the long work of justice in community. You will leave refreshed with new focus, practices, tips, and tools for the work ahead. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Exploring Disenfranchised Grief and Resilience in Justice-involved Individuals | Rev. Dr. Lori E. Banfield, MTS, DMFT | Have you ever considered how people experience the reality of relational ruptures (grief) and, more specifically, the impact disenfranchised grief has on the capacity of justice-involved individuals and their families in preparation for re-entry? As an attachment-narrative clinician and clergyperson, I have heightened awareness of the rippling impact ruptures and strained relationships have on people and their stories. In America, aggressive incarceration of persons, young and old, has disrupted family systems, debilitated communities, strained relationships (subjective and transcendent), and distorted views of self (real and ideal). The workshop aims to help stakeholders apply intentional sacred neighboring practices that can enhance resilience qualities critical to addressing the realities of persons experiencing the journey of reintegration. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Fishbowl Dialogue on Sexual, Gender & Theological Diversity | Kristyn Komarnicki | Christians disagree on what constitutes a faithful living out of our sexuality and gender, but unity is still possible — a unity that is deeper than agreement. Let’s learn together what kinds of questions generate the best dialogue, what it looks like to listen with love, and how we can connect across deep differences without leaving our convictions at the door. Join us for a moderated fishbowl conversation that demonstrates this beautiful possibility. We’ll take time for questions so the whole group gets a chance to enter into the conversation, as well as offer an opportunity for brief processing in small groups for anyone who wants to linger a few extra minutes. Note: This workshop is 1.5 hours long. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Fishing Differently for Social Impact | Leroy Barber, Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, Dr. Reggie Blount | This foundational workshop explores the principles of F.I.S.H. (Faith, Intellectual, Social, and Human Capital), as outlined in our book, Fishing Differently: Ministry Formation in the Marketplace. Participants explore how and why addressing varied perceptions of shared circumstances assists congregations to pivot from a maintenance mindset toward harnessing the power of their assets as catalysts for communal transformation and economic renewal. Workshop participants actively explore how recognizing and employing the collective gifts, talents, and missional intentions within their congregation expands their capacity for social impact. Participants explore the benefits of how broadening their social networks, and gaining support from non-traditional allies, exponentially expands the scope and depth of a congregation’s missional vision, social impact, and the transformational influence they have in the lives of individuals within their community. | Reimagining Economy |
| From Multiethnic Churches to Multiethnic Lives | Rev. Dr. Nathan Walton | Throughout much of the modern racial reconciliation movement, there has been a consistent emphasis on congregational diversity. Yet far too frequently, the church has failed to address the essential role that a multiethnic lifestyle “between Sundays” plays in fostering a credible Christian witness in a segregated world. Too often diverse Sunday gatherings are an exception to the rest of our lives rather than the norm. In response, the first half of this workshop focuses on congregational best practices that promote multiethnic churches, whereas the latter half examines everyday practices and tools that can equip believers for multiethnic lives throughout the week. | Flourishing Congregations |
| Fundamentals to Writing Competitive Grant Applications | Adrienne Livingston | Within this grant writing workshop we will blend SMART Goals with the 5W’s and H, enabling you to effectively communicate about your project, program, and services in a manner that is clear, concise, detailed, and heartfelt. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Healing is Resistance: Healing Racial Trauma in Communities of Color | Dr. Gigi Khanyezi | Historically marginalized communities have the capacity to heal! When we gain understanding of how trauma is passed down in the physical body through generations, how it expresses itself, and how we already have the capacity to heal, we move closer to the collective flourishing we were made for. This workshop is a unique integration of theological reflection, neuroscience, collective healing, and Beloved Community to inspire and equip us toward cultivating spaces of healing in communities of color. The workshop culminates in very practical skills to make this a reality. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| Healing Trauma through Elevating Stories | Lionel Latouche, LCSW | So much of an individual’s healing journey revolves around one’s ability to share their story. It is in the response to one’s story that individuals can feel seen, validated, and understood OR judged, minimized, and cast aside. As practitioners, it is important for us to be mindful of the power of story and how it can lead individuals and communities towards healing. This workshop seeks to elevate the realness of trauma, helping practitioners to learn the basic fundamentals of trauma. It also provides participants with practical tools that they can use in their respective communities when working with those who’ve been harmed to help elevate stories while reducing the risk of re-traumatization. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| How Can We Help Immigrants Protect Their Legal Rights? | Erick Widman | Become empowered with knowledge and strategies to support immigrants in protecting their legal rights. Learn more about addressing the crucial issue of justice for immigrants within a biblical and civic framework. Explore the intersection of faith, law, and advocacy, highlighting what types of service providers are best suited to help immigrants, depending on the type of immigration issue they have. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Our Entangled Existence: Reimagining The 8 CCDA Principles Through An Ecological Lens | Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt, LCSW-A, MA, Wes Vander Lugt, Kate Lingbeek | Historically, community development initiatives have centered humans, concerned primarily with the flourishing of humans and their human communities. As a result, the natural world has been an afterthought or outsourced to particular vocations like farming or gardening. However, Scripture gives us a vibrant ecological imagination that leads to the mutual, interdependent thriving of all members, human and non-human alike. How could we embrace the land and all its inhabitants as fellow members in justice-oriented work for everyone, not only land-oriented projects? Through teaching and participatory activities, this workshop will enliven an imagination for holistic CCD work that embraces other-than-human kin as part of the vision of the Kingdom of God by re-framing the 8 principles of CCDA through an ecological lens. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Embodied Practices of Rest for the Tired Advocate | Joi McGowan, LPC | Embodied Practices of Rest for the Tired Advocate was created for the advocate in all of us who is tired and longing for a place to rest. This session will allow the participant to practice meditation, learn about God’s desire that we enter into his rest, and help the participant identify tangible ways to make more room for rest when they return home. In all of our work for justice, we rest because we hope in a God who sits high but stoops low. We hope in a God who leads us continually to streams of living water. We hope in a God who never sleeps nor slumbers, so that we can rest. When we rest, we know that it is then that he restores us to continue the work he sets before us. Brothers and sisters, come and rest as our facilitator Joi McGowan, LPC gives us tangible tools for how to to rest as tired advocates for justice. | Embodied Practices |
| Public Education and the Church: Beyond Battles and Backpacks | Donna Barber | Join Donna Barber to examine some of the pressing needs in public education today. Together, let’s discuss how the local church and non-profits can get involved to address them in a more positive, impactful way. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Racial Healing and Reparations | Lowell Taylor, Dustin McGowan | Dustin and Lowell will introduce themselves and The Zacchaeus Foundation – a non-profit working for racial healing in Northwest Arkansas by repairing truth, wealth, and power. Dustin and Lowell will explain how the Foundation is organized, how it educates white people about reparations, and how it invests in Black-led non-profits, with case studies that inform their work. Presenters will guide participants as they explore how they can work for racial healing in their contexts. | Reimagining Economy |
| Refocusing Youth Ministry | Chuck Hunt | Discipleship doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Anxiety, relational ruptures, violence, job pressure, school dances, and even the time of day all influence our faith formation. Refocusing Youth Ministry is designed to help you train your volunteers to recognize what young people are experiencing with tools to help them navigate those experiences in community so that they live out Jesus’ goodness every day by loving God and neighbors. This workshop will increase your impact and help your students go deeper in their discipleship/faith formation. | Emerging Leaders |
| Restorative Justice in Portland & Beyond: What It Is and How to Engage It | Jami Hodge, Stephen Fowler, Erica Washington | Jami Hodge, CEO of EJUSA, will share her brief testimony as someone impacted by harm and the criminal legal system, along with how this moved her from being a prosecutor to her work of healing today. EJUSA’s Restorative Justice Project will show their approach to supporting Restorative Justice programs in localities through their work of deep accompaniment. Portland’s Restorative Roots Project will demonstrate what restorative justice programs and presence looks like in Portland, OR. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Teaching For Transformation: Creating Gatherings that Inspire Teens to Act | Garret Shelsta | Gain tangible tools to help identify the spoken and unspoken needs teenagers have and help unite teens around felt experiences. You’ll learn to identify and develop a single learning objective or big idea, and create interactive ways to give adolescents ways they can implement the learning objective in their context. | Emerging Leaders |
| Voces Inmigrantes – Creando juntos senderos de esperanza | Ruth Latzke, Raquel Leal | Voces Inmigrantes: Creando juntos senderos de esperanza (Immigrant Voices: Creating Paths of Hope Together) is a workshop conducted in Spanish, addressing the vital role of immigrants within church communities. Ruth Latzke and Raquel Leal, both experienced in immigrant support, share their journeys and insights. Participants will engage with tools like the Immigrant Needs Assessment Tool, identifying community needs and church responses. The session emphasizes the integration of immigrants into church missions, fostering empathy, and offering practical resources. Through interactive discussions and resource-sharing, participants gain a deeper understanding of immigrant experiences, promoting inclusive church environments. | Flourishing Congregations |
Friday 10/4, 3:15-4:30pm
| Title | Presenters | Description | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bringing Order to Chaos: Biblical Justice and Civil Engagement Through Crisis Response | Jeremy Lamour, Matt DeMateo, Ken Alvarado, Tyson Quibell | Crisis has become a defining theme for cities across the United States. How might Christians concerned with biblical justice, love of neighbor, care for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized, and the flourishing of the city respond? Using the creation narrative, Matt DeMateo and New Life Centers will provide a theological and practical framework for how biblical justice can inform and create a movement of crisis response. Using real-life examples and stories, Matt will outline how New Life Centers has responded to crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and through serving over 20,000 new arrivals to Chicago in 2024. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| From the Margins: Perspectives from Asian American Women in Ministry | Pastor Jane Lam, MA, M.Div; Pastor Cris Otonari; Pastor Mia Shin, M.Div | What does it look like to serve God and our beloved communities when the ministers themselves are in the margins? Join three Asian American women in ministry (3rd/4th gen Japanese American, 2nd gen Korean American, and 1st gen immigrant HongKonger) as they share their experiences of serving in various contexts: a multi-ethnic church, a BIPOC-celebrating church plant in a white context, a predominantly Asian American church, and immigrant churches. Let’s explore creative ways to center our diverse voices in white normative spaces. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Centering Discipleship: Connecting the Church to Community Development | Rev. Dr. Eun K. Strawser, Melissa Cabagbag, Kelci Schedler | Discipleship without mission is discipleship without Christ. Spiritual confidence must run alongside social competence for the flourishing of our neighborhoods and communities. Centering discipleship in the church raises disciples who not only imitate Jesus in their spiritual formation, but incarnate Jesus in their locally rooted neighborhoods. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Conflict Transformation: Mining Conflict as Catalysts for Community Building | Rev. Christine Youn Hung, Ray Kim, Almarie Navarro, Rebecca Cataldi | Conflicts, when handled properly, can be transformative for a church community. They can lead to greater openness, strengthen trust, and foster a spirit of collaboration, ultimately contributing to a more vibrant and unified church body. Join us to learn more about conflict transformation and the opportunity it provides to foster flourishing congregations. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Creating Space for Community-owned Public Safety and Wellbeing | Teresa Long, Pastor Neil Kring | Muncie’s Youth Alliance in Muncie, Indiana, has been forming over the last several years to address public safety concerns and connect resources to some of the most vulnerable young people in Muncie. Community disinvestment, war on drugs policies, systemic racism, and loss of economic opportunities have created challenges for many of Muncie’s youth who are engaging with the criminal justice system at high levels. Muncie has created a new approach to involve formerly incarcerated individuals in community work and youth mentoring. They will explain and explore the collaboration and challenges with law enforcement and the community, with those involved in creating community challenges and those who are seeking to solve them. Neil and Theresa are pastors and social workers, respectively; they are finding redemptive, restorative approaches to creating an alliance among stakeholders amidst racial and systemic challenges. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Data Grounded Discernment for Community Development | Rev. Ken Howard, MDiv, MEd | Explore how online, interactive, data-grounded tools can be integrated into prayerful community-based missional planning. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Difficult Conversations for Change & Growth: The Death Penalty | Sam Heath, Dr. Tom O’Connor, Bruce Stock | Join presenters from Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) to learn the tortured and winding history of the death penalty nationally and in Oregon. Leading up to a public referendum to abolish the death penalty, OADP will have at least one million conversations with Oregonians to help them explore their own thoughts and feelings about the death penalty. Within this hands-on workshop, receive coaching in the evidence-based, conversational method OADP has developed for its Million Conversations Project. Learn and practice how to have conversations that lead to cultural change and growth within the issue of the death penalty. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Our Body Home: Somatic Meditative Prayer | Roslyn Hernández | Experience a prayer practice that connects you to your body, fosters gratitude, and provides a moment of rest. Take a moment to reflect on your experience, create a collaborative reflection piece, and receive resources to continue this and other meditative prayer practices for yourself or with others. | Embodied Practice |
| Empowering Youth Through Multigenerational Leadership: Embracing Trauma-Informed Perspectives | Will Cumby, Jeff Chupp, Erica Flores | The best voice to advocate for change is the individual who needs it the most. This workshop is designed to provide tips and strategies for empowering urban youth to be a voice in their communities and the ministries or programs they attend. This session uses practical topics such as trauma-informed discipleship to unpack multiple approaches to shared suffering. Just as Jesus had a variety of disciples, it is imperative that effective ministries and programs not only advocate for their communities’ pain points but also include voices of various generations at the table. Workshop attendees will gain a strong theological foundation to develop programs and nurture discipleship relationships that prioritize trust and authenticity. Learn how to intervene effectively and walk alongside youth, fostering healing and resilience in challenging circumstances. Join us to explore compassionate approaches to discipleship that make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people. | Embodied Practices |
| Flourishing Futures: How Investing in Babies Can Transform Our Communities | Sandra Ovalle, Rev. Moya Harris, Lauren Morrissey | The first 1,000 days of a child’s life set the building blocks for a healthy life, from strong relationships to economic growth and conscious civic participation, this period is characterized by rapid growth unlike any other time. Churches have an important opportunity to protect this precious time in the lives of babies and families and invest in the longterm health of their communities. Learn more about Sojourners’ recent participatory action research project that sheds light on the theological frameworks, direct ministries and other supports churches are providing to babies and their families and come to dream about how your church can embrace the littlest ones among us too! | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Food and Faith: Justice Rooted Food Ministry | Jodi Koeman, MSW | Many congregations and faith-based organizations have established ministries to address food insecurity in their neighborhoods and communities, but have we considered things like the local food system, climate change, growing practices, and food waste? Are we prioritizing food justice while we practice asset-based community development? This workshop is geared towards congregational and faith-based non-profit staff who are implementing or planning to implement food “ministries” or programs. It addresses the questions: – “How does our faith inform our decisions about food – growing, consuming, purchasing, and sharing it?” – “What is my food system, and who is or is not benefitting?” – “What are best practices of addressing the root causes of food inequity?” The workshop combines areas of food security, food justice, climate change, food sovereignty, asset-based community development, and theological reflection as we learn how to change our individual and congregational practices, shift our ministries, and partner with the broader food system. | Flourishing Congregations |
| Intentional Leadership: Investing in Organizational Culture, Equity, and Leadership Development | Medard Ngueita, Luke Williams | The success and strength of an organization is strongly correlated to leadership. This workshop will focus on “Intentional Leadership” as a framework to strengthen your organization. Drawing from over 30 years of combined experience in a growing multicultural organization, the presenters will share lessons learned and practical tools for a leadership style that is just, equitable, and sustainable. Through stories and interactive activities, attendees will be challenged to assess and reflect on their organization’s or ministry’s practices and potential for growth. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| Intergenerational Trauma and the Perpetuation of Racial Hierarchy | Dr. Gigi Khanyezi | Intergenerational trauma in the dominant community (i.e. – white Americans) has not been properly recognized and identified; therefore leading to the further perpetration of trauma on all communities (particularly communities of color). In this workshop, we will offer an analysis of the reality of intergenerational trauma and walk through practical ways that communities can move towards healing that trauma. We will pay particular attention to the unresolved trauma of white America and the negative consequences of this trauma. | Contemporary Social Contexts |
| Loving the “Unlovable”: A Faith-Based Approach to Case Management | Trishonda Roberson, Kielana Ham | Serving people is God’s work, but it is not always easy. He didn’t promise it would be. Although some clients are grateful for the services received, some make the process painful. These are the clients that, more than likely, need us to go the “extra mile” and show them the faith-based part of our non-profit. Participants will be given the opportunity to share the clients they’ve had difficulty serving and the ways they overcame obstacles and barriers to serving how Jesus served. We will come up with ways together to protect our testimony while serving and loving the “unlovable” clients. | Rural Christian Community Development |
| Mapping Your Neighborhood | Christian Gonzalez, Andrew Feil, Ivan Paz | To love a neighborhood, practitioners need to know their neighborhood. Learn how to use tools and maps to discover what is going on in your neighborhood and how to make place-based decisions based on real-world data as well as asset mapping to inform the pursuit of individual and collective flourishing. This will be a practical and interactive session, so you’re encouraged to bring a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Leave with resources to understand your community as well as practical ways to use data to tell the story of your neighborhood. | CCD Philosophy, Theology and Practice |
| Moving Beyond Fidgets: Deepening Trauma-Informed Practices for Youth | Lori Haskell, Rachel Shipman | We often receive advice on trauma-informed training aimed at meeting youth where they are. However, this advice often translates to providing bean bags, fidgets, and worksheets, which only address surface-level wounds. This workshop aims to go beyond superficial solutions by integrating trauma-informed practices into spaces while also addressing the necessary mindset required to foster environments that welcome youth from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, it offers resources to reimagine youth programs and classrooms through holistic goal setting and student leadership development. By incorporating trauma-informed approaches into different youth-focused initiatives, we can establish supportive environments where young people can truly flourish. | Emerging Leaders |
| Opportunities, Pitfalls, and Blessings of Affordable Housing on Congregational Land | Jill Shook, Rev. Julia ‘Jules’ Nielsen, Pastor Camelia Joseph | Some estimate that 100,000 congregations across the U.S. are likely to close in the 2020s, and more will downsize their campuses. As a result, billions of dollars of real estate will change hands. Support congregational flourishing and further their mission to serve under-resourced populations in your community by providing affordable housing on increasingly underutilized property assets. With an emerging national movement and increased interest in undertaking affordable housing development on congregational land, this workshop will consider several organizations’ approaches to advising churches down this path. | Reimagining Economy |
| Overcoming Dependency in Communities: A Process for Changing Mindsets | Elaine Tymchak | Dependency hinders an organization’s impact and the community’s ownership of its development. Addressing deeply seated dependency and victimization caused by oppression starts with changing beliefs and values. Come learn a practical method for fostering mindset shifts within programs, which can help individuals and groups overcome dependency and move towards greater empowerment. Grounded in biblical principles, psychology, and social science, this approach utilizes participatory coaching and guided self-analysis to motivate people to overcome resistance to change and mobilize them toward development. Learn ways to guide your community through the process regardless of experience in facilitation. Walk away with a digital packet summarizing the workshop concepts and suggested practices for implementation, suggestions for further learning, an organizational self-assessment tool for dependency, and a strategic plan framework. | Strengthening Your Organization |
| The Lazarus Blueprint: A Guide for Churches to Embrace Reentry | Rev. Dexter Kearny, Candice Baughman, Antonio Gomez | When everyone else in Lazarus’ life had given up hope, Jesus called his friend back to life. But that was not the end of the story. Jesus called the community to remove the stone that blocked Lazarus from life and then told them to get even closer in order to take off the graveclothes covering his face and restricting his body. People leaving prison face this reality every day. By connecting people exiting incarceration to churches and building communities of care, we begin to practice this resurrection in our lives, our churches, and our world. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| The Power of Recovery Storytelling to Bring Collective Healing | Kenny & Yolanda House | This workshop will equip those at any level of experience in community development work in three primary areas: 1 – to update their understanding of current trends in mental health, drug use and addiction, and treatment and recovery – especially in under-resourced communities; 2 – to understand the power of recovery storytelling and how it moves the needle on decreasing stigma and increasing hope at both individual and community levels; 3 – to promote the process of recovery storytelling as a collective healing tool for communities. | Wholistic Wellbeing |
| The Sacred Economy | Elizabeth Grady Harper, Ivy Long | Our Christian faith offers a robust theology and radical praxis around economic justice, ethical business practices, moral leadership, and the economy. Yet the church and faith-based organizations can often seem silent on issues of economics beyond Stewardship Sunday or fundraising campaigns. In the Sacred Economy workshop we will consider what a biblical and Christ-centered understanding of money and economic relationships looks like and share practical ways to disciple our communities to cultivate a desire for and resource them in the pursuit of a more sacred economy where everyone can thrive. | Reimagining Economy |
| Understanding the World of Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System | Amy Williams | In this workshop, participants will learn common risk factors that contribute to delinquency, discuss the brains of teenagers and how trauma impacts brain development, and learn mentoring strategies with incarcerated and gang-involved youth. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |
| Winning: Civic Engagement Rooted in Biblical Principles | Jovan Agee | Do you want to improve the conditions in your community, but don’t know how or where to start? Or are you involved in civic engagement efforts that you feel just aren’t producing desired outcomes? Well, this workshop is for you! This workshop will demystify civic engagement and provide principles and strategies on how it can be done without compromising Christian values. We will apply biblical principles and civic engagement strategies used by facilitator Jovan Agee throughout his 20-year career to help grassroots and grasstops leaders reach their goals. No prior civic engagement experience is needed to attend. | Biblical Justice & Civic Engagement |