OC 22 Breakouts to Reimagine Multi-Site Churches

It’s so hard to believe it is almost time for Orange Conference 2022! I cannot tell you how much I have missed seeing all of my partners face to face. Two years is way too long! As I am planning, prepping, reading, and outlining, I am getting more and more excited. We are going to have some major fun! Last week, I was looking over the breakout sessions for the kids’ track at Orange Conference. There are so many amazing sessions that I wanted to recommend a few that I’m most excited about for multi-site churches. These are a few that I believe will help you in your role as a multi-site leader:

Irresistible In-Person Experiences for Preteens

As I’ve coached large, multi-site churches over the years, I’ve been surprised how many do not have thriving preteen ministries if any at all. Despite the fact that there are large numbers of preteens coming into their churches. This is such a miss! The preteen years are key to seamless transitions into student ministry. Not only that, but they are often the years when we as parents need our kids to be engaged with our churches the most. If you are not sure if you have an irresistible preteen ministry, I would highly recommend registering for this one.

New Rules for Multi-Site Churches in Kids Ministry

A few questions multi-site churches are asking right now:Should we centralize? Do we share content and resources? Who manages the budget? What if our campus wants to use a different curriculum? How do we determine who has full time staff and who doesn’t?

Multi-site ministry already brings a multitude of questions that we were wrestling with pre-pandemic. The past two years have brought a whole new set of questions. Multi-site ministry can be a great way to reach a bigger portion of your community. Join us as we talk through best practices in this new era. You don’t need to do multi-site ministry alone. This is a great way to connect with your tribe.

The Role of Character in Faith Formation

Has anyone ever told you, “I think your curriculum is only about behavior management. It seems to only focus on actions and not faith”?

I get this question from time to time from ministry leaders who have been confronted by an elder or a parent. It’s most often from someone who has never actually served in their ministry or taken a look into the curriculum. Someone sees that your ministry is talking about compassion, hope, wisdom, contentment, etc. And they assume.

They assume your ministry is too focused on behavior management. I love having this conversation with leaders and wrestling with the “whys” behind what they do.  If you want to dive in more to this conversation, this is the breakout for you. We will talk about the difference between leading kids toward Jesus and teaching kids to work hard at being good. This is a deep dive into Christian ethics in discipleship that you don’t want to miss. I promise you will walk away with some new nuggets of truth that you potentially didn’t even know you needed.

What Did You Do Last Summer?

I am extra excited about this breakout because I’m helping to lead it (Of course I’m a little biased). Do you want to know something about me? I LOVE summer. And I believe we have such a unique opportunity in summer to reach kids in ways that we can’t during the school year. One of the hats I wear at Orange is Executive Director of Orange VBS. I enjoy sharing how we can not only give kids a great week, but how we can give them the Very Best Summer. Summer has the potential to offer so many catalytic faith experiences that can take your VBS, camp, and Sundays at your multi-site churches to a whole new level. This breakout is going to be led by a team that is extra enthusiastic about summer. It’s your chance to walk away from conference with a plan that is possibly like none you’ve ever had. I can’t wait!

I’m counting down the days until we are together again. Can’t wait to see you at Orange Conference 2022!

For other kids ministry breakouts we’re excited for, check out this blog. Or, to check out all of the breakouts at OC22, click here!