The pandemic has presented challenges to leaders involved in faith formation. Christy Miller White and Kathy Pittenger offer support with three new cohorts starting in January 2022.

CHRISTY MILLER WHITE
Coordinator of Youth Ministry Initiatives, Michigan Conference

Many Christian Education leaders have struggled throughout these last two years. Not only were they reinventing programming to adjust to a global pandemic they are now learning how to create hybrid curriculum to make sure everyone is getting the faith formation materials they need in a format that works for both virtual/online and in-person formats. To address some of these concerns Michigan Conference Children and Youth Ministry Initiatives are offering three new cohorts, starting January 2022.

Leaders in Children’s Ministry have two options in the coming year. Both cohorts meet once a month via Zoom for 90 minutes from January – November (no meetings in July or December).

• Cohort-1 Foundations, will walk alongside leaders who are new to children’s ministry or just want a refresher on the foundations of child faith formation, the United Methodist Church and being a part of a ministry staff team.
• Cohort 2- Seasoned, will focus on deeper opportunities and challenges in children’s ministry and church leadership. It is designed for experienced leaders who are curious about new paradigms, deeper learnings, and leadership components. Both cohorts will receive books chosen for their cohorts and hear from specialists in the UMC connectional system and throughout Christian Education areas.

More information and registration links for both children’s ministry cohorts can be found here. 

Youth leadership can join the Youth Ministry Leadership Cohort for 2022. The goal of this cohort is to create space for conversations and creativity around youth ministry while developing the leadership skills needed to take youth ministry into the future. Nine sessions with guided study, books, and webinars with leadership across the denomination will happen from January through December (with breaks at Easter, July, and August). More information and a registration link can be found here. 

All Faith Formation Cohorts have a nominal cost to cover the books, materials, shipping, and speaker’s fees. Scholarships are available for all cohorts and more information about applying for a scholarship can be found on the cohort pages or by contacting Rev. Kathy Pittenger ([email protected]) or Rev. Christy Miller White ([email protected]).

For more information about these empowering and encouraging Faith Formation Leadership opportunities or if you have questions about children’s and youth ministry please reach out to Kathy (children) and Christy (youth) at any time.

Last Updated on November 1, 2023