Most of us come to NYWC to learn. At least, that is one of the reasons. 

There are areas in our lives and ministries we want to explore deeper. Some who attend NYWC are just beginning while others have been in youth ministry for a while. In addition to that, we know that we all learn in different ways. 

Some just want great content. They say, "Come bring it, give me all you got, I am taking notes and want it all!"

Other folks learn through talking stuff over. They need to discuss something before they truly understand it. 

Others want to hear from an expert to sharpen their thinking. 

Still others want to hear a bunch of different views to help them sort things out. 

And most of us fall into the camp of liking a little bit of all of that. 

Clearly, we don't all learn the same way or need the same thing. So this year at NYWC we changed our seminar series up a bit. As always we still have all the topics you need with every base covered from middle school ministry to getting help with our teaching, counseling, programing and a whole lot more. There are still seminars on discipleship, culture, training volunteers as well as sessions that speak into our personal and spiritual development. 

But to make it easier to chose a seminar that fits you best we made some changes to our seminar series. We have sorted them by learning style and presentation type so now you can easily  go to something that fits you by what you want to learn AND how you want to lean. As you look over the schedule you will see that we have learning lectures, workshops, panels, and fish bowl guided discussions. 

What are they? We're glad you asked:

Learning lectures: In these seminars the speaker is going to bring the content full blast. You will get a full load of information from experienced presenters. We have brought in great people and this is your chance to get as much as you can from them. You don't have to listen to other people give their views and can take notes like crazy and leave with the goods.

Workshops: During these seminars at least 1/3 of your time will be spent interacting with others, having discussions, doing projects and figuring out how to apply what you are learning. You get to dig in right and get started. You can share ideas on applications and explore implications with some fellow youth workers right there in real time.

Panel Discussions: Here you get insight, direction, and knowledge from at least 3 seasoned leaders and experts, which will give you a broader perspective on the topics they are discussing. As part of the session they each will make presentations and field questions. You can weigh their perspectives, ask clarifying questions and walk away with new insight and direction.

Fishbowl Guided Discussions: These are fun, lively, guided discussions. They are not a free-for-all but a structured approach that fosters dialog. This is where the wisdom and experience of the youth ministry community comes into play and contributes to the topic. Lets face it there is a lot of great wisdom in any gathering of experienced youth workers and the fishbowls bring that to the surface. It's your chance to hear and learn from those who are as passionate about youth ministry as you are.