Grow Virtual Conference Home 20232023-05-25T14:38:14+00:00

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3

“Our Great God”
for ourselves and the children we love

Equipping church leaders, teachers, and volunteers to lead children to worship our great God.

The conference will be live
Friday, August 4, 2023, at 7:00-8:30 pm EST
Saturday, August 5, 2023, at 10:00-11:30 am EST
(The Conference recording will be available through January 2024)

Below are the Keynotes and Workshops.

Keynote Videos

Workshop Videos

Classroom Management: Corralling the Sheep

Rev. Jimmy Brock Workshop: Classroom Management: Corralling the Sheep Everyone knows that sheep like to wander! That can be a great source of frustration for teachers and students alike. Learn key principles [...]

Bonus Material

Watch the Events from our Live Weekend

Speaker
Friday Evening
The Lovely Character of the Good Shepherd Dr. Trent Casto
Saturday Morning
Leading the Sheep to Love the Good Shepherd Dr. Stephen Estock
The Good Shepherd’s Mission for the Shepherd Katie Flores

Watch the recorded livestream portion of the conference using the links below.

Video Workshop Descriptions

God’s Word charges us to teach ALL of God’s inspired and inerrant Word to ALL people, including children (II Timothy 3:16-17). And it ALL must be taught God’s way!  To avoid teaching the Bible in moralistic, legalistic, or behavioristic ways, we must learn to teach Jesus in ALL of the Bible. And the good news is: The Good Shepherd is everywhere in the Bible, not just in the gospels!

Even from a young age, God created us to worship Him! We long for the children in our churches to understand the symbolisms and rhythms of a worship service that help us all focus more on the One we are worshiping and the reason we worship Him. But at times we get stuck on how to accomplish this goal. The Teach Me to Worship curriculum was written to help you teach the 4-7 year olds in your church each aspect of the worship service from the Call to Worship to the Benediction. In this workshop we will break down the curriculum and give you the tools you need to then teach the curriculum to the little ones.

Elementary students – They know lots of facts, but have they truly met Jesus in His Word? Begin every lesson by engaging students in reading of the Word. “What do we learn about God?”  Knowing this about Him, “How do we then live?”  Prepare your lesson with these questions in mind. As you embrace your own newfound understanding and love for Him, open the curriculum and seek creative methods that will encourage each child to know, love and serve King Jesus.

Preschoolers – Teaching our preschoolers God’s Word in a way that sticks. Everything works together in the preschool classroom to reinforce the Bible lesson. Play centers, story time, music, games, and even snack time can help our preschoolers grasp the big truths of the Bible and point them to the shepherd. Then send them home with tools for parents to reinforce during the week. We lay a foundation at the preschool age for their growing spiritually throughout the rest of their lives.

Church nursery is not merely childcare; it is so much more! When parents bring their precious little ones to the nursery, we have the opportunity to partner with them in nurturing the tender hearts of our covenant children. The way we welcome babies into the classroom, the toys and books, the activities and structure, even the policies and procedures, are tools to point our children to Jesus.

Everyone knows that sheep like to wander! That can be a great source of frustration for teachers and students alike. Learn key principles and practical strategies for keeping the sheep focused and in the right pasture, so they can learn and grow.

Our minds are formed by what we stick in them! Let’s not stuff with fluff the minds of our precious lambs. Instead, let’s fill their minds with substance. This session will present some techniques to make memorizing easy, engaging, and even fun for your flock. You might even leave with a thing or two memorized yourself!

Let’s talk the practical organization of planning an outreach event that shares the gospel! Using Sammy And His Shepherd by Susan Hunt as the primary focus of an event, let’s learn how to create a rotation of activities that can be used by a small or large group of children and families. In addition, we’ll look at how the rotations can be extended in a way to use less volunteers and provide multiple times for families to attend. This could easily be your Easter outreach for this year!

This workshop will explore things that a teacher can do before children even walk through the door that will set up everyone for successful learning.

We often teach to our own learning style, yet our sheep have different learning styles and personalities. This workshop will explore different tools to help teach God’s Word. We will look at why to use a tool, how to choose a tool, and explore several object lessons and games to put in your toolbox.

Event Details

Watch the three live-streamed Training Sessions followed by live Q&A

  1. Invite teachers, parents, volunteers, and possible volunteers to a church wide training weekend. Serve dinner, breakfast, lunch (one or more), spend some time with your church protocol training and then tune in to these three sessions for resources, encouragement, and how to’s for making disciples.
  2. 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.
  3. Send link to all church members, encourage Friday evening viewing, come together on Saturday morning to discuss at breakfast and view the rest together.
  • Friday Evening Session 1: The Lovely Character of the Good Shepherd [Rev. Trent Casto]
  • Saturday Morning Session 2: Leading the Sheep to Love the Good Shepherd [Dr. Stephen Estock]
  • Saturday Morning Session 3: The Good Shepherd’s Mission for the Sheepfold [Katie Flores]

Access to Ten Breakout Training Videos to be viewed when and with whom you like:

See list below of video titles, descriptions and presenters

  1. View one or more of your choice immediately after live sessions end to complete a full weekend training conference at your church. They can break out to view the training of their choice.
  2. Schedule live training using these videos throughout the year as a continuing education program for parents and volunteers.
  3. Schedule virtual group training to be followed by live zoom discussions throughout the year.
  4. Send links for individuals to watch on their own and have breakfast, lunch or coffee to discuss the topic(s) that have been viewed.
  5. Post the links to these videos on church website or in bulletin as you train your entire congregation to consider and become involved in direct discipleship of children.
  6. Watch, take notes and hold a live training event where you communicate all that you have learned and want to pass on.
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