Now is the Time to Register for PYWA Spring Cohorts!

by | Mar 22, 2023 | Featured News, News | 0 comments

Now is the time to register for one of our Spring 2023 youth ministry virtual cohorts!

We are offering three excellent cohort options this semester. Each (free!) cohort will meet six times beginning the week of April 16th, last 90 minutes per session, and each will be lead by a trained coach.

A few important notes before you make your cohort selection:

  • The deadline to register for a cohort is April 5th. Registration is first come, first served.
  • All times listed are in EASTERN (EST) time.
  • Each cohort will have between 5 to 8 people so your presence matters. Please make sure you can can commit to attend the dates indicated in the cohort description for the duration your cohort will meet.
  • These cohorts are open to both PYWA members and non-members. A big thank you to our members whose support helps us continue to offer cohorts like these year after year.
  • Registered participants will receive their virtual cohort link in a welcome email the week following the April 5th deadline. In the event the registration for one of our cohorts exceeds our 8 participant cap, we will create a wait list.
  • These cohorts are a collaboration between PYWA and the PC(USA) Office of Christian Formation.
 

The three cohorts are: 

New to Youth Ministry with Kim Ness (Thursdays at 1pm EST)

Is this your first call or position that includes youth ministry? Whether you are a pastor, staff youth worker or volunteer this cohort will be a place of support and ideas for beginning your ministry. There will be valuable resources, networking ideas and time for coach-facilitated support and discussion in each session. Because youth ministry is rarely “one size fits all”, this cohort will be less instruction-based and more a dialogue about the specific contexts and questions shared by the participants.

Enhance & Innovate: Programming for Today’s Youth Ministry with Shannon Guse (Thursdays at 4pm EST)

Church programming can often determined how we do youth ministry. Emphasis for this cohort will be on brainstorming specific Fall and Spring programming ideas, as well as how best to structure your context’s weekly/monthly/yearly programming. Questions we will consider include –  should we still have Sunday school on Sunday mornings? Is a lock-in once a month the best way to create energy in our program? What day of the week should we have youth group? What mission trip opportunities are there in our denomination? Bring your calendars and get ready to save the dates for your context!

Enhance & Innovate: Beyond Programming for Youth Ministry with Michelle Thomas Bush (Mondays at 11am EST)

This cohort will explore ways to think outside the box of what you’ve always done, sharing what does/doesn’t work, new ways to connect with youth, and how to update paperwork, communication, and safety with ease. Because youth ministry is rarely “one size fits all”, this cohort will be less instruction-based and more a dialogue about the specific contexts, questions, and ideas shared by the participants.

 
Any questions? Reach out to Maggie Johnson.