About

We’d love to see you at the 2026 Children’s and Youth Ministry Training Day on 14 March! It’s shaping up to be a wonderful day of learning, encouragement, and connection with others who share your heart for children’s and youth ministry.

The day will be packed with practical training and biblical encouragement to energise and equip anyone serving in children’s and youth ministry. Bring your team and invite others who share this passion!

Please see below for more detail regarding the program and electives.

PROGRAM

9 - 11:15am  Bible Focus: PSALM 8 - Dave Chiswell 

+ Seminar 1 Electives :

Building a Positive Culture in Your Youth Ministry (and Bible Study groups) - Danny Mitchell

Intergenerational Ministry - Brendan Petty

Grab Their Attention With Stories & Puppets - Stephen Urmston

11:15am - 12pm  Morning Tea

12 - 1pm    Seminar 2 Electives :

Youth Evangelism: Two Parallel Paths - Ben Staunton

Running an Inclusive Ministry for Young People with Disability & Neurodivergence - Bec Baines

Building a Positive Culture in Your Youth Ministry (and Bible Study groups) - Danny Mitchell

1 - 2pm Lunch

2 - 3pm Seminar 3 Electives

Reaching Kids and Families: Creative ways to reach and connect families - Bettrys Lowe

Running an Inclusive Ministry for Young People with Disability & Neurodivergence - Bec Baines

Youth Evangelism: Two Parallel Paths - Ben Staunton

Group Dynamics & Small Group Bible Discussion - Corey Horner

3:10 - 4:30pm   Panel: Children & Youth Ministry Amid Shifting Technology (AI, Social Media Ban, and the rest)

ELECTIVES 

RUNNING AN INCLUSIVE MINISTRY for Young People with Disability & Neurodivergence - Bec Baines
Ministry to young people can and should include people with disability – it’s what makes our church diverse and wonderful! Though, sometimes we might wonder if we’ve effectively taught the gospel or  we might think they look uninterested and uninvolved. This seminar will look at biblical principles for including people with disability in our programs, share a bit about disability and what that looks like in Australia, and then think about some practical strategies for inclusion. 

Bec is the Accessibility Ministry Advisor for Youthworks. She has worked as a kids and youth minister and is passionate about helping people of all ages and stages know Jesus as their friend forever. Bec loves to bake and bring her creations to the local police station where she serves as a volunteer police chaplain… and sometimes her colleagues! 

REACHING KIDS AND FAMILIES: Creative ways to reach and connect families - Bettrys Lowe 
Who are the families in your circle of influence and how do you currently connect with them? This workshop will take a look at the four different categories of reach and connection and will give participants a chance to review how effective their current parish ministry opportunities are at reaching and connecting these groups. Some practical resources and different initiatives will also be highlighted throughout. 

Bettrys is the Director of Children, Youth, and Families at St Bart’s Anglican Church in Toowoomba, QLD. She is a qualified teacher and loves finding creative ways that might help children know and love Jesus. Bettrys enjoys gardening, music, cooking, Zumba, and being mum to three beautiful kids. 

INTERGENERATIONAL MINISTRY - Brendan Petty
In a culture that often fragments by age, the Gospel calls us to a deeper unity. This seminar will help you develop ministries that bring people of all ages together in mutual serving, sharing, and learning.  

Brendan is a Church and Families Specialist with Scripture Union Australia

Grab Their Attention With STORIES & PUPPETS  - Stephen Urmston
You have probably seen a boring puppet show. We all have. But imagine if the puppet was truly relatable and asked the tricky question that not only the kids, but also the adults were thinking. The smile that comes across their face ‘oh yeah, what’s he going to say about that?’  What if the story that was shared, helped people not only relax, but laugh, and embedded the idea of your talk in people’s minds, ready to be taught and wrestle with it. Puppets and stories are powerful when used thoughtfully and intentionally for the benefit of all.

Stephen is the Children’s and Families Pastor at Trinity Church Adelaide. Stephen thoroughly enjoys teaching others the power of story to teach and introduce big ideas, whilst also sharing with people that arguing with puppets for the sake of the gospel is a really good thing. He has continued to buy custom made puppets and probably should have stopped buying them by now (Yeah, he hasn’t done that).

BUILDING A POSITIVE CULTURE in Your Youth Ministry (and Bible Study groups) - Danny Mitchell
This workshop helps leaders to think beyond the programs, activities and teaching plans that make up their ministries, and consider the culture of our youth ministries. We’ll talk about: the impact of group culture on the discipleship of youth; how the gospel could reshape the culture of a youth group; and strategies to promote and grow a gospel-shaped culture in your ministry. This workshop is good for people who are leading a ministry or team, but it’s also useful for small group leaders. 

Danny is the Assistant Minister at Ann Street Presbyterian Church, Brisbane. 

YOUTH EVANGELISM: Two Parallel Paths  - Ben Staunton
There are many people in our churches that want to see young people reached with the good news of the gospel. Often churches take different approaches to this part of the great commission. Rather than an either/or approach, youth ministries can think through how to use these approaches together to create or encourage a youth ministry that is aiming to share the gospel through a variety of opportunities. This seminar looks at both peer to peer and adult to youth gospel sharing, with some strengths and weaknesses of each as well as some thinking through how both can influence a youth ministry helpfully. 

Ben is freed up by ConnectNT to share the love of Jesus with all sorts of people in Darwin and the wider Northern Territory. He can’t handle anything spicy, hates both coriander and small water glasses at cafes. He loves talking about Jesus, wearing singlets and living somewhere like Darwin. 

GROUP DYNAMICS & SMALL GROUP BIBLE DISCUSSION - Corey Horner

Leading a group discussion is tricky: there's one person in the group that is disrupting others; or we seem to go off track alot; or my group are shy and no one talks. This workshop will help us understand how groups learn together and how to adapt your facilitation skills so that your whole small group might better connect with the message of Jesus. This workshop is an in-person elective particularly aimed at Grace Youth bible study discussions, but it would also be applicable for any bible study group discussion. If you are a leader at Grace Youth, please select this elective.

Corey is a pastor at Grace Church Bega Valley. He's involved in running Bible studies for adults, youth and people investigating Christianity. 

Date

Location

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Grace Church Bega Valley
14 Church St, Bega NSW 2550

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