A room will be filled with crafting supplies, guided activities, and other materials that you can use at your own pace and creativity level. Enjoy renewing your spirit and energy! This space will be available throughout the gathering.

Bio-James Potts is an Associate Pastor, DEdMin candidate, and quilter who believes creativity is a sacred practice. Serving at First Presbyterian Church of Monterey, he helps people of all ages encounter God through making, storytelling, and shared experiences. His work weaves together theology, fabric, and imagination, grounded in the conviction that the Spirit often shows up at tables covered in thread, color, and curiosity.

Bio-Rev. Erika Funk currently serves as the Director of CROSS Missions in Charlotte, NC. She preaches here and there and is a faculty member for the CREDO program of the PCUSA. With many years of ordained ministry behind her she enjoys encouraging other pastors in their work. She enjoys doing that in her additional role as Co-Director of the Catawba Clergy Network. In her spare time, she sips coffee, stares at her phone, and dreams of creating all kinds of things.

In this time of Soul Care, we will take a gentle hike through the grounds at Montreat. Comfortable shoes and a gentle spirit is all that is required. The hike will not be strenuous; it will be a time to walk near Flat Creek and breathe fresh air.

Bio-Kara is a pastor in the Chicagoland area. She and her family love to backpack and spent 4 months on the Appalachian Trail.

This class will offer a balanced blend of strengthening sequences, lengthening stretches, and moments of stillness, all designed to leave you feeling grounded, and restored. With a focus on mindfulness, we will move with the breath, allowing you to fully settle into your body and release tension. Modifications will be given to support different experience levels.

Bio-Heather Wallace, RYT, is a certified yoga teacher, and has been teaching yoga since 2013. Her classes emphasize breath and body awareness and encourage students to slow down and honor their bodies through mindful movement.

A soul care workshop for youth directors who are tired, inspired, and maybe slightly over-caffeinated. Based on John Fox’s book Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making, come explore how poetry can sneak past your defenses, tell the truth, and gently call you out all at once. Come write a few lines, accidentally process a feeling or two, and leave knowing a little more about your soul than you planned.

Bio-Miriam has completed 2 Units of CPE where Poetic Medicine is a modality used at the Children’s Hospital they used. It’s a great way to express feelings, thoughts, and emotions using words of poetry, Psalms, or other scripture. Miriam is also a graduate of Union Presbyterian Seminary receiving her MDiv and M.A.C.E degrees.

What if play isn’t the opposite of faithful ministry, but an essential part of it? This workshop explores the theology and practice of play as a pathway to connection, creativity, resilience, and spiritual growth. Participants will leave with practical ideas for incorporating meaningful play into ministry and their own lives.

Bio-Rev. Elizabeth Cahoon serves as Associate Pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in McKinney, Texas. Before coming to Trinity, she spent a decade in youth ministry and now enjoys helping people of all ages discover how faith is formed through relationships, play, and authentic community. Elizabeth is passionate about creating spaces where church leaders can grow healthier, lead with greater self-awareness, and remember that ministry is meant to be life-giving, not life-draining.

Join us as we engage with A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth (Updated Edition) and explore how we can create spaces where all young people feel welcomed, valued, and supported—especially those who are navigating questions around their gender and sexual identity. Together, we’ll reflect on how to foster belonging, understanding, and care in our ministries. A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth, Updated Edition.

Bio-Kate serves on the PYWA Executive Team as the board’s secretary and is the Director of Youth and Children’s Ministries at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. A graduate of Purdue University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is passionate about creating spaces where children, youth, and people of all ages can experience God’s love and know they belong. Outside of ministry, Kate enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles, and exploring new places. Fun fact: if she could be an animal, she would be an octopus!

Explore creative ways to involve youth in worship leadership year-round—not just on Youth Sunday. Share ideas for empowering students to share their voices, gifts, and faith with the wider church.

Bio-Chloe serves at a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Indianapolis, where she ministers to children and youth from infancy through high school. Chloe is passionate about creating spaces where young people feel known, valued, and invited to grow in their faith.

Enjoy an extended conversation with Kenda Creasy Dean by diving deeper into what she has shared!

Bio-Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained United Methodist pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry and the Farminary. She currently serves as the senior strategist and principle investigator for three major PTS initiatives: the Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network (to support and connect young Christian leaders), the Ministry Collaboratory (to support congregations working with young adults), and the Teaching Spiritual Entrepreneurship Initiative (a 9-seminary initiative to create more entrepreneurial/creative faith leaders). Kenda is the author of numerous books, including Innovating for Love: Joining God’s Expedition through Christian Social Innovation, Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church, and The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul-Tending in Youth Ministry with Ron Foster and Megan DeWald (the 25th anniversary edition was updated and released in 2023). Recently named the 2024 Distinguished Leader in Innovation by Wesleyan Impact Partners, she co-founded Ministry Incubators in 2014 with fellow PTS alumnus Mark DeVries to support theologically-responsible innovation and sustainability in ministry. A graduate of Miami University (Ohio), Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC), and Princeton Theological Seminary (New Jersey), Kenda has pastored churches in Arlington, VA, College Park, MD, and Kingston, NJ. She and her husband Kevin love hanging out with their hilarious grown kids and digging their toes in the sand on the Jersey shore.

Enjoy an extended conversation with Neema Cyrus-Franklin by diving deeper into what she has shared!

Bio-Rev. Neema Cyrus-Franklin is a dedicated spiritual leader, ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and a passionate advocate for holistic soul care. With over 25 years of experience serving at the local, regional, and national levels of the PC(USA), she has equipped and trained faith leaders in intergenerational Christian formation, camp and conference ministry, and mission—developing leaders who now serve across the globe.

Volunteers: we know them, we love them, we might be one. Volunteers make our ministries possible, especially in youth ministry where relationships, stability, and care matter most. This workshop will equip and encourage volunteers, and those who direct them, to lead with purpose, connect authentically with young people, and serve with confidence and joy.

Bio-Jess Foy is a Program Coordinator for Faith Formation with Children, Youth, and Young Adults in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. When not serving the church, Jess can be found in the garden, with a good book, crafting or spending time with family or friends.

How can youth workers and UKirks provide a natural transition from the senior year of high school to the next stage? Whether a graduate is joining the workforce or heading off to college, making choices about faith and life is adulting at its finest and all congregations can play a role in equipping these emerging adults! Bring your ideas and experiences to share with others.

Bio-Shannon serves as the Church Administrator at Christ Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, FL and previously served as a Youth Director at FPC Ocala, Faith PC Tallahassee, and Preston Hollow PC Dallas. Shannon has served on the PYWA board and currently serves on the UKirk and re:create board.

Discover how collaboration can transform your youth ministry from isolated effort into shared impact. “Better Together-Collaborative Youth Ministry” explores practical ways to partner with leaders and other ministries to create stronger, more meaningful experiences for young people. Come away with fresh ideas, real world strategies and examples, and a renewed vision for doing ministry as a collaborative community.

Bio-Robert is the Program Director at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Al. Along with a stellar team of leaders he coordinates and leads Birmingham Youth Group (BYG), a combined ministry of 5 PCUSA churches. In his spare time Robert enjoys cooking, trying new restaurants and cheering on the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Let’s talk calendars, rhythms, and curriculum. Share strategies and templates for planning a sustainable and Spirit-led year of ministry with youth.

Bio-Eileen is a native of the San Diego area. She grew up at Point Loma Community Church and is a graduate of the University of Southern California and Fuller Theological Seminary. Eileen has a wealth of experience working with youth and young adults including seven years as high school director at La Jolla Presbyterian Church; youth director at Point Loma Community Church; and site director, Children, Youth and Family Collaborative of Los Angeles. She served as hospice chaplain at Kaiser Hospice, San Diego, before beginning as Pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in La Costa in February 2017. She had a blast serving as co-moderator of PYWA 2024-2025.

Bio-Rev. Kiersten Hill (she/her) is an Associate Pastor at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO, and has previously served as Co-Moderator of PYWA’s Board of Directors. Kiersten believes that young people are the now and future of the Church, and she is passionate about supporting youth workers so that young people are, in turn, invested in. When Kiersten is not working, you can probably find her singing karaoke or hanging with her two children, partner, and dog.

A workshop for youth directors who know movies are basically modern parables but want help proving it. Learn how to pick films your students actually care about, connect their stories to scripture without forcing it, and turn movie night into something more than popcorn and chaos. You will practice spotting themes, asking better questions, and maybe even convincing your group that theology can show up in places like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or The Hunger Games. Come for the movies, stay for the surprisingly meaningful conversations.

Bio-Josh Sweeney is the Head Pastor of Knox Church. He has a Bachelor’s in Religion and Psychology from Florida Southern College, a Masters in Practical Theology from Columbia Theological Seminary, and Masters of Divinity from United Theological Seminary. In addition to his work at the church, Josh serves on the Presbyterian Youth Workers’ Association Board of Directors. In his free time, Josh loves embarking on adventures with his son, Charlie. An avid movie enthusiast, he also enjoys immersing himself in nature, whether he’s on the disc golf course or relaxing by the water.

Bio-Miriam has over 15 years of youth ministry experience, which includes writing curriculum and editing it. This is what excites her about her call to ministry-helping those find and use amazing things that WORK today in every context!

Are you the most disorganized person on your staff?  It doesn’t have to be like that!  This workshop will cover practical and tangible steps for getting your ministry, your files, or your desk to be ‘decent and in order.’

Bio-Tully is the Youth Pastor at Decatur Presbyterian Church and has been a professional teenager for more than 20 years.  He is also the Treasurer for PYWA and his daughter’s School’s PTO.  Tully likes to make boring things fun like Robert’s rules and PC(USA) Polity.

God is active and at work in every part of our world and in every part of our lives. As ministry leaders, our calling is to help people notice where God is already moving and to join in that work. The Holy Disruption Theological Reflection method equips leaders with practical tools to guide others in recognizing God’s presence, making meaning of their experiences, and faithfully participating in what God is doing in their communities and the world.

Bio-Becca brings 15+ years of experience in children’s, youth, and adult ministry, holding an MA in Youth Ministry from Memphis Theological Seminary and a BMED from Birmingham-Southern College. She has written curriculum and led small groups across small, mid-size, and large UMC churches throughout the Southeast. She’s passionate about equipping youth workers for meaningful ministry.

What if recreation were a more central part of your next Bible study? This workshop will focus on experiential activities that help participants better relate to biblical characters and concepts. Our time together will blur the lines between games and content.

Bio-Joel Winchip is the Executive Director of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association and the Campfire Collective. He also serves on the adjunct faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary (Decatur, GA), where he teaches their camp/conference ministry and recreation courses. Before taking his current position, Joel served on the staff of Presbyterian camps and conference centers in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Confirmation is a core milestone in youth ministry. It provides a foundation for a life-long journey of faith. In today’s world, young people struggle to make space for this faith milestone. What would it look like if you could do Confirmation in ONE WEEK? Explore the structure, process and principles of Confirmation camp.

Bio- Michelle is the Associate pastor for youth and their families at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Creator of Big Ideas in Youth Ministry, ICF Certified coach and Enneagram Coach, Michelle enjoys this work connecting with youth leaders and growing together in our ministry and mission.

Want to get your youth engaged in service, while avoiding the mindset of toxic charity? Join Emily Hall, Director of Asheville Youth Mission, along with other Youth Mission Co staff as we discuss evolving models for mission engagement with youth.

Bio-Emily Hall, originally from a holler in East TN, currently serves as the Program Director of Asheville Youth Mission. She has a BA in Spanish from Berea College, an MDiv from Wake Forest University, and is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA. When not running around with YMCo, you can find Emily on a disc golf course, throwing pottery, or listening to an audiobook.

Youth Ministry can be deeply meaningful—and deeply exhausting. Learn how caring for yourself as a youth worker contributes to the overall health of your church. The Presbyterian Youth Workers Association (PYWA) maintains that Healthy Youth Workers = Healthy Churches. That premise helps us understand that the pursuit of a healthy ministry becomes not only a personal endeavor, but also a communal responsibility. This session offers practical tools for sustainable, holistic ministry.

Bio-Kate serves on the PYWA Executive Team as the board’s secretary and is the Director of Youth and Children’s Ministries at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. A graduate of Purdue University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is passionate about creating spaces where children, youth, and people of all ages can experience God’s love and know they belong. Outside of ministry, Kate enjoys reading, jigsaw puzzles, and exploring new places. Fun fact: if she could be an animal, she would be an octopus!