The virtual conference will be Live-streamed on August 2-3, 2024

The Virtual conference will be Live-streamed on August 2-3, 2024

 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him who called us to
 his own glory and excellence.”  — 2 Peter 1:3

Where is our focus?

Gaining perspective on our mission to disciple children.

…but you can still participate by listening to the Livestream, Keynotes, and Workshops at your convenience.
(The Conference recordings will be available through January 2025.)

Register Now

by clicking on the box below based on size of your group

Register as an Individual

$75 – participate on your own
device on your own schedule

Register as a Small Group

$300 – gather a group up to 6

Register as a Medium Group

$400 – gather a group of 7 to 14

Register as a Large Group

$500 – gather a group of 15 or more

     Conference Schedule (Eastern Time)

Friday, August 2, 2024

7:00-7:15 pm – Introduction, Giveaways
7:15-7:45 pm – Session 1:

7:45-8:30 pm – Q&A, closing remarks, prayer 

Saturday, August 3, 2024

10:00-10:15 am – Introduction, Giveaways
10:15-10:45 am – Session 2:

10:45-11:00 am – Break, Giveaways
11:00-11:30 am – Session 3: 

Followed by closing remarks and prayer

Friday, August 2, 2024

7-7:15 pm – Intro, Giveaways
7:15-7:45 pm – Session 1:

7:45-8:30 pm – Q&A, closing remarks, prayer 

Saturday, August 3, 2024

10-10:15 am – Intro, Giveaways
10:15-10:45 am – Session 2:
     

10:45-11 am – Break, Giveaways
11-11:30 am – Session 3:
      (followed by closing remarks, prayer)

Plenary Speakers:

Dr. Stephen Estock is Coordinator for the PCA Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM). A former USAF officer, he has been in pastoral ministry for almost 30 years, serving churches in Montgomery, AL and St. Louis, MO. Stephen has also been an adjunct professor at several seminaries, including Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis and Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. His Ph.D. is in education, with an emphasis on competency-based learning and leadership training. He and his wife, Susan, have three children and live in Atlanta, GA.

WORKSHOPS

Coming Soon

SPEAKERS

Complete list of speakers coming soon.

Ashley Belknap serves as the Executive Director of Engaging Disability (the Disability Ministry of the PCA). A gifted communicator with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary, Ashley has the ability to tackle challenging issues with creative and practical ministry applications. She served for four years as Director of Women’s Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson MS, where she led a wide variety of ministry initiatives. As the mother of children with unique needs, Ashley has a personal passion to see families touched by disability discipled and enfolded into their church. Ashley and her husband, John, have three children and reside in Brandon, MS.

Bethany Belue is on staff with CDM serving in various roles within Children’s Ministry. Before coming on staff at CDM, she served as the Children’s Director at Redeemer PCA in New York City and Oak Mountain PCA in Birmingham, AL. She currently lives in Mobile, AL with her husband, Dustin, who is the assistant pastor at Grace Community Church PCA. Bethany and Dustin love investing in the next generation from small children to young adults. Life is full with their 2 young children, Patterson and Neely.

Jimmy Brock has been involved in children’s ministry since he was a child himself, serving churches in Virginia, California, Missouri, and Georgia as a Sunday school teacher, camp counselor, camp director, nursery coordinator, and most recently Pastor of Family Ministry. He is now the Church Planting Pastor for Resurrection Community Church in Virginia Beach, VA.

Katie Flores equips and encourages those who are working to promote discipleship among children in the PCA. She enjoys advocating for children as well as learning from them. Katie and her husband, Bryan, live in Birmingham, AL with their children, Caleb and Grace Anne. They worship at Covenant Presbyterian Church where Katie served in youth, children’s, and disability ministry for a combined 24 years before coming to work at CDM.

In one way or another, children’s ministry has been a part of Laney Stayton’s life–starting as the child of a pastor and missionary, then through volunteering at her local church as a young adult, and now as a mom of three. After taking a quick detour as a certified shorthand reporter in Texas, the Lord called her to serve as the Children’s Ministry Director of her church in Chattanooga, TN. She has always had a love for children and desire to help them grow in their understanding of God through His Word and she is glad she can still do that through her role as a children’s ministry volunteer!

B.A. Snider has more than 20 years’ experience as a children’s director in churches ranging in size from 200 to 4,000 but finds her passion is the same no matter how many children she’s serving. Show the children Jesus. Teach the kids all of the Bible so they see that the stories from the Old Testament point to Jesus and that the New Testament shows how Jesus fulfilled God’s promises—yesterday, today, and forever. B.A. began her formal ministry as a children’s director and consultant in 1993, but she has taught and led music for children since she was in junior high school. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee and taught college until the Lord called her to seminary and full-time ministry. She graduated with a master’s degree in Christian Education from Columbia International University. Speaking at conferences, consulting with leadership, and training teachers brought her to Great Commission Publications (www.gcp.org) in 2014 as the Children’s Ministry Consultant and Marketing Director.

Laura Tucker is the Children’s Ministry Director at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. Laura grew up in the church and spent many summers there and at camp preparing her for a children’s ministry full of fun activities and time in God’s Word. Laura served as the nursery director before her role over preschool and elementary students. She is married and has three children who keep her involved in volunteer ministry to the youth as well. She enjoys time at the lake, playing tennis and cheering on the Dawgs.

Lisa Updike is the Director of Children’s Ministries at Covenant in Harrisonburg, VA and doesn’t remember a day when she didn’t love Jesus. Her ministry experience includes teaching, special education, leading children’s choirs, and writing. Several of her books and curriculum are available through the PCA bookstore. She and her husband, Kevin, have been married since 1989 and are blessed with 4 adult children, 3 of whom joined their family through adoption. Lisa and Kevin stay busy with church activities, creating art,  and best of all, doting on their two grandsons.

Ways to Use Grow Virtual

  • Invite teachers, parents, volunteers, and possible volunteers to a church-wide training weekend. Serve dinner, breakfast, and lunch (one or more), spend some time with your own church’s policies and procedures training, and then tune in to these three sessions for resources, encouragement, and how to’s for making disciples. Live MC’s will guide everyone through the main sessions and will include resource giveaways.
  • Invite a smaller group into a home for a more intimate setting on Friday evening for dinner and join in the session together for training. Everyone can watch from home on Saturday morning, or you can gather at the church or in home again.
  • Send the link to all church members, encourage Friday evening viewing, come together on Saturday morning to discuss at breakfast, and view the rest together.
  • Schedule live training using these videos throughout the fall as a continuing education program for parents and volunteers.
  • Send links for individuals to watch on their own and have breakfast, lunch or coffee to discuss the topic(s) that have been viewed.
  • Post the links to these videos on the church website or in the bulletin as you train your entire congregation to consider and become involved in the direct discipleship of children.

Includes Access to Workshops from GROW 2023

  • How to Enfold Kids with Unique Needs into Worship – Ashley Belknap
  • Covenant Theology and our Faithful God – Karen Hodge and Katie Flores
  • Lots of Styles! (Teaching to Engage a Variety of Learning Styles) – Lisa Updike and Rebecca Griffin
  • Helping Families Gain a Vision for Family Worship – Dustin and Bethany Belue
  • Creating a Classroom Experience that Invites Children to Draw Near to Jesus – Laura Tucker and Kimper Thomas
  • Letting Our Great God Power the Long View of Discipleship – Jimmy Brock and B.A. Snider
  • Developing a Vision for Visiting Families – Justin Huensch and Lisa Young
  • God Hears the Little Children! – Laney Stayton and Mary Elizabeth Burton

Frequently Asked Questions:

Yes. If you are registered for the livestream weekend, you will have access to the recordings until the end of January 2025.

You may contact Kathy Wargo, kwargo@pcanet.org for presenter contact information if you are not able to access this on our site.

Anybody involved in children’s ministry is invited to attend. Email Katie Flores, kflores@pcanet.org, if you have questions.

In person conferences are so helpful for re-focusing the vision for what we do in children’s ministry. However, it’s expensive. This virtual conference is a great value for gathering people to think together about what is important.

See the media link below for images to use on your website or church bulletin to encourage participation once registered.

Registrations will be accepted through the end of 2024 since access will be available until January 2025.

If you paid as an individual, but now you want to share it with your church, please email Kathy Wargo (kwargo@pcanet.org) and we will credit your $75 individual rate so that you can register your group.

SHERRY KENDRICK 

I used the virtual conference as my fall teacher training with the three keynote speakers.  I invited all of our children’s ministry volunteers – teachers and helpers – to a nice catered dinner on Friday evening with decorated tables.  After dinner we watched the introduction of the virtual conference live and then watched the first keynote address.  As we watched, I formulated questions for discussion based on our context with the content of the first keynote.  We spent about fifteen minutes talking and applying what we had heard.  We concluded the evening with prayer for our children.  The next morning we had a continental breakfast AND coffee.  I had a time of vision casting and safety training before we watched the second keynote.  There was a short break and we watched the last keynote.  We followed that time again with conversation and discussion about the keynotes as they applied to our context.  This included some good questions from our volunteers.  We were done before lunch and we all went home refreshed.   

In October and January,  I used the virtual conference videos for additional training by sending home the link and a list of the videos I’d like them to watch.  I asked them to send me a paragraph or two about what their biggest takeaway from the video training was.  I feel like this was too open ended.  When I do it this year, I’ll be more specific about which vidoes I want them to watch in a shorter time frame .  But I liked them being able to do it at home without coming back to church for another evening.  I try to do training August, October, January and March.  I’ll probably alternate between coming back to church to use one of the videos and have discussion and letting them do some at home.  I did give “happys” away for completing the videos that I had sent. 

LISA UPDIKE 

Training is such an important part of the children’s ministries of our churches, and yet it can be a challenge as well. That’s why we found the Virtual Grow conference to be such a blessing!  

Friday night and Saturday morning we invited everyone who serves with our children and youth to come to the church and be a part of a viewing party. Some were unable to attend in person, but we linked up with them on the internet and we felt connected that way. We gathered about 45 minutes before the broadcast began, providing some yummy food, sharing some of our church’s vision for next generation ministries, and taking a few minutes for prayer.  

The next morning we gathered for breakfast and some more good teaching provided by CDM. But the event didn’t end there! We bought the whole package so that everyone in our church could participate. I sent links to our session members with suggestions for workshops that I thought might encourage them. They were grateful for the opportunity! Likewise, I sent the Virtual Grow Conference links with a list of suggested workshops for different areas of service: nursery, Sunday school teachers, early childhood leaders, etc. Those who participated were asked to send me an e-mail with their main “take-aways.” Their names were placed in a bowl for a series of prize drawings. My volunteers consistently reported that the workshops were well worth their time, and they didn’t need a prize…but the potential of a prize did make it  more fun and motivating! 

Deciding to provide this training for your church members not only helps the children’s ministry director provide training, but shows your volunteers that you value them. It’s an investment in your ministry.