Urban Ministries Convention Seminars
| Track | Title | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| Adventist Community Services | Cultural Intelligence: Managing Unconscious Bias // Handout | Sung Kwon |
| Understand the differences between explicit, conscious bias, and unconscious implicit bias; learn how to increase motivation for reducing the impact of unconscious bias and build skill in applying cultural intelligence as a strategy for managing bias. | ||
| Adventist Community Services | Volunteer Appreciation in a Virtual Climate | David Lopez |
| COVID-19 has changed the face of volunteering, opening more possibilities for the use of technology and virtual volunteering, but also making human connection more difficult. With many volunteers needing to step back and serve in less hands-on ways, it is imperative for organizations to convey to volunteers how valued and appreciated they are; and continue to connect them with the mission and impact of the services they provide. It is essential, now more than ever, to strengthen our approach, and implement a strategy designed to care for and affirm our volunteers. | ||
| Adventist Community Services | Ministry Jumpstart: Beginning and Building the Ministry God is Calling You to Do Handout | Colette Newer |
| Do you have a burden to begin an ACS ministry? God has called many to service, yet sometimes, beginning can be the most difficult part! This seminar will walk you through some of the simple steps upon which successful ministries are built. These are ministries that uplift and empower those you serve, are sustainable, and most of all, glorify God. The only prerequisite for this class is a desire to serve! | ||
| Children’s Ministry | S.T.E.A.M. AHEAD – Creative Ministries On A Budget | Patty Marsh, Gayle Haeger |
| Discover how a sheriff’s plea, a newly purchased little house, and visionary leaders created an outreach for children in a low-income neighborhood. And see a presentation with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) in action! Learn simple principles for developing great ACS outreaches on a budget! | ||
| Children’s Ministry | Part 1: How Can Your Church Assess Community Needs? | Patty Marsh |
| Part 2: How Can Your Church Assess Community Needs? | Jackee Duvall Mark Witas, Jonathan Russell, Diann Glovatsky, Shirley Allen | |
| Part 1: Sometimes we may think we have a great idea and plan for an outreach ministry, but how can we know for certain? A foundational principle in reaching our communities involves performing an effective assessment! Learn simple techniques of community assessment and acquire valuable tools for garnering accurate information – as a first step in efficient outreach to your community! | ||
| Part 2: About 10 years ago, an opportunity arose for the Sunnyside Church to connect with Cherry Park Elementary. Prior to this, they were strangers to one another. | ||
| Children’s Ministry | Special Stars: Leaders Who Want to Empower Special Needs Community | Nitza Salazar |
| Make a huge impact, not only at your local churches, but your larger community as well. This seminar will inspire you to touch lives by making children with disabilities shine on stage. You will be moved, encouraged, and motivated, to reach out to an often-overlooked group, that will benefit enormously from your ministry efforts. | ||
| Children’s Ministry | How Church and School can Partner Serve the Urban Community | Polly Johnson & Katelyn Weakley |
| For over 30 years, Mt. Tabor Seventh-day Adventist Church in Portland, Oregon, has been serving young families in the community through Discoveryland, its onsite early childhood education center. Since its inception, thousands of children have found a warm, loving environment at Discoveryland, where they can learn about Jesus – many for the first time! The partnership between the church and this unique ministry has been an ongoing journey through the years. In this seminar, we will explore the steps taken to create and maintain this partnership over three decades: identifying local community needs, developing intentional mission, and allowing emotional space for change. This partnership is a key example of what can happen when a church simply asks, “How can we serve?” | ||
| Disaster Response | CERT: Community Emergency Response Training | W. Derrick Lea |
| The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area, and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as: fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization, that professional responders may rely on during disaster situations, enabling them to focus on more complex tasks. | ||
| Disaster Response | Donations Management in the PNW Part 1 of 2 | Gabriele Laub, Larry Mays, Doug Venn, Sr. |
| Disaster Response | Donations Management in the PNW Part 2 of 2 | Gabriele Laub, Larry Mays, Doug Venn, Sr. |
| Learn how Adventist Community Services Disaster Response serves local communities during crises. Gain an understanding of Donations Management; how to process donated goods; and how an emergency distribution center operates. Know what to expect when called to volunteer. | ||
| Fundraising | Ready, Set, Go! | Michael Brown |
| Your ministry requires money to effectively function, but have you prepared yourself to fundraise? Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your organization that make fundraising successful or not. Learn the practical steps that will make your efforts muchmore effective. | ||
| Fundraising | Telling Your Story for Results Handout |
Carrie Purkeypile |
| Storytelling is an essential tool for sharing your mission and inspiring donors to give. Learn how to identify a great story, gain tips on telling your stories effectively, and ideas for how to share them! | ||
| Fundraising | Meet the Funders | Derek Lane |
| Are you and your church interested in positioning for greater impact in the community you serve? Are you interested in practical steps and tools to strengthen relationships and secure resources ‘beyond the pew’ to engage the community with greater effectiveness? If so, this workshop is for you. Explore the initial steps, and receive simple, yet valuable tools, to positively influence your community for the kingdom, from experts in the field! This session is specifically designed for those excited about, and committed to, engaging with their communities in meaningful ways. You will gain useful tips and tools to help you get started.” | ||
| Fundraising | Pathway to a Successful Major Gifts Program | LuAnn Davis |
| Create a successful major gifts program for your organization by learning how major gifts can best be structured to enhance your ministry. Identify what you can do to launch, or strengthen, a major gifts initiative, that can increase philanthropic income to your ministry, for the benefit of those you serve. | ||
| Health Ministry | Comprehensive Health Ministry on a Budget Handout |
Cindy Williams |
| This seminar will focus on how to start a sustainable, church-based Comprehensive Health Ministry program in your community. Learn how to make a large impact on the physical, mental, and spiritual health of individuals in your community, with very little money, while minimizing volunteer burnout. | ||
| Health Ministry | Mental Health & Best Practice Toolkit | Lander Mitchell |
| Pastors and many church volunteers often don’t know how to comfortably converse with those suffering with mental health concerns. This seminar will supply some basic tools and resources for those individuals suffering with mental health challenges, and provide guidelines, for those who wish to support them. The session will focus on Mental Health Issues, Behavioral Health Disorders, and the core principles of Mental Health Interventions and Resources. | ||
| Health Ministry | Benefits of Health Resources Facebook Group | Elida Jerez |
| Learn about the benefits of a Health Resource Facebook Group to connect, network, and share programs that help increase awareness, prevention, and other useful resources for programs available in your area. | ||
| Health Ministry | Blessed Are Those Who Mourn // Presentation Slides | Pamela Keele Cress |
| This grief seminar will be of interest to anyone who has, or is currently, suffering from loss because of the death of a loved one, divorce, estrangement from family or friends, lack of a job or income, changes in physical health, COVID-19 pandemic, abuse, etc. Discussion will include various grief and loss theories; definitions of grief; common reactions to grief; factors that influence the grief response; COVID-19 impact on normal grief patterns; indications that professional help is needed in coping with grief, and practical ways to support others in their grief. | ||
| Prison Ministry | Prison Re-entry: From Custody To Community | Cleveland Houser |
| A brief introduction to demographics regarding correctional residents returning to society, as well as personal issues that compound and complicate reintegration and adaptation to re-entry challenges. Reference will be made to the NAD Custody to Community document, which is designed as a resource to Adventist Churches and Transitional Houses, wishing to serve men and women returning to the community after incarceration. It covers a broad range of interventions and challenges that many incarcerated people have in common. | ||
| Prison Ministry | Coping with Trauma in Prison | Floyd Marshall |
| Studies show an alarming rate of trauma experiences and trauma-related symptoms among incarcerated individuals. Incarceration has a detrimental psychological impact on everyone who has ever been locked up. In this workshop we will unearth tools and information to help you effectively work with those who are detained. You will learn: Common trauma-related behaviors and attitudes; simple ways to encourage healing; and how you can become a Healing Group Facilitator. | ||
| Prison Ministry | Claiming Your Second Wind – There Is Hope | Juleun Johnson |
| Have you felt you’ve been ceaselessly running, without a mental, physical, or emotional break? The pandemic has been challenging for so many. In this presentation you will learn the top 5 necessary skills every leader requires to thrive today, and, in the days to come. You will leave encouraged, motivated, and equipped to lead yourself and others for the road ahead. | ||
| Refugee & Immigration | Refugee & Immigration Ministry | Scott & Julie Griswold |
| If you had fled your home because it had become too dangerous a place to stay, and had lived in a refugee camp for 15 years, before finally arriving in America, what would you wish people to do for you and your children? Explore practical, tangible, actions to take, to make a strategic difference in the lives of others, until we are all, no longer strangers. | ||
| Social Justice | Social Justice as Repair | Jaime Kowlessar |
| While some media references to “social justice” are negatively connoted, it may surprise some Christians that Biblical references to “social justice” are of a decidedly positive nature. Considering God’s purpose and power to redeem that which has been lost to sin, this seminar properly frames social justice in the context of repairing that which has been broken. | ||
| Thrift Store | Introduction to Thrifting with Social Media | Annette Emery & Daniel Howard |
| Does using social media in your Thrift Store intimidate you? Do you want to build your online community, but don’t quite know how? Have you struggled to move donated items that have a niche market? Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS) depends on the $50,000+ we make from our thrift store each month to power our large food pantry and community outreach. 2020 forced us to adapt and modernize our approach to selling online, and now we want to show you what we learned. Come see how we improved our social media reach, began selling items online, and started tracking metrics, all without breaking the bank or using up all our time. | ||
| Thrift Store | Dollars and Cents of Thrift Store Ministry | Tim Zollbrecht |
| Learn the financial benefits and challenges of Thrift Store Ministry and how to effectively manage them. This seminar will answer: Why consider a Thrift Store Ministry? Can a Thrift Store make money? Will it cost money to run a Thrift Store Ministry? How can a team decide if the money pencils out for starting a Thrift Store Ministry? The basics of keeping track of revenue and cash handling procedures, will also be shared. | ||
| Thrift Store | When a Plate is Donated, What Happens? | Tim Zollbrecht |
| Follow the journey of a donated item through a Thrift Store. This seminar will include examples of items that are typically donated and explain what happens along the journey from the donor to the buyer, including some basic management pieces of operating a Thrift Store Ministry. | ||
| Thrift Store | Church & the ACS Thrift Store | Collette Pekar & Fran Carey |
| Thrift stores offer an opportunity to gather and mingle with many different people from the community. How can a Thrift Store ministry connect customers to the life changing power of Christ? Learn some of the useful techniques the Better Living Center uses to encourage customers and clients to become involved with our church. | ||
| Urban Ministries | Urban Demographics: Access & Interpretation | Derek Lane |
| Is there a Biblical example of how demographics can aid our understanding of the communities we serve? What are the three components needed for successful Urban Ministry? What online tools are available to assist us? LISTEN IN as we share powerful tools and have a conversation about how churches today can experience ACTS-like church growth! | ||
| Urban Ministries | Understanding Urban Institutions: Government, Business, Religion, Cultural and Philanthropic | Byron Dulan |
| Understanding how city institutions work can greatly aid your ministry by equipping you to understand critical community needs and identify available resources and potential collaborations, that can lead to greater impact and sustainability of your endeavors. Don’t Be Afraid of City Hall! City leaders, both desire, and need your help, to address the overwhelming challenges people in your community presently face. | ||
| Urban Ministries | ABCD: The Alphabet of Asset-based Community Development | David Lopez |
| Asset-Based Community Development presents another modelfor how to view, assess, and harness potential resources within a community to generate change and transformation. It is often thought that disadvantaged communities cannot change and make progress without outside help. While additional external support may at times be required, ABCD helps community leaders discover and value the abundant resources contained within every community. | ||
| Urban Ministries | The Christian Response to the Poor | Byron Dulan |
| Why does poverty persist? How does the western view of life, which separates the spiritual realm from the material realm, affect the thinking and actions of Christians toward the poor – and with what results? What is the Biblical perspective, and how can, and should it, inform our ministries toward the poor? | ||