Registration open, speakers set for ‘National15’

Registration is open and speakers have been announced for LCMS Youth Ministry’s “National15” — the short name for the 2015 National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference, July 12-15 in New Orleans.

Griffin

The National event — sponsored by the Synod’s Office of National Mission – Youth Ministry — takes place the year before the next LCMS Youth Gathering, in the city where that Gathering is set. For 2016, the Gathering will be July 16-20 in New Orleans. National15 will meet at the Astor Crown Plaza Hotel there.

National gives youth leaders from across the Synod an opportunity to become familiar with the Gathering city as they are “encouraged in their vocation and further equipped in their service to the Church,” according to a statement on a Web page for the event. “Participants dialogue about practical skills and relevant theory for effective youth ministry while networking with other volunteer and professional youth leaders.”

Adult registrants who make reservations in the conference-room block at the Astor Crowne Plaza will receive free registration to the 2016 LCMS Youth Gathering. To learn more about National15, including registration details, visit nlywc.com.

This year’s National conference features more than 25 plenary and workshop-session speakers “to aid youth workers in their understanding and practice of significant youth-ministry topics,” said Amy Gray, media and publications project coordinator for LCMS Youth Ministry.

Leading the plenary sessions will be:

Rev. Dr. Tony Cook, assistant professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

Brad M. Griffin, associate director of the Fuller Youth Institute in Pasadena, Calif.

Paula Isakson of Winter Park, Colo., founder of Faith Family Reunion.

Rev. Jeffrey Meinz, director of family ministry at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Rev. Ryan Peterson, campus pastor and assistant professor of Theology at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Workshop speakers include professional and lay leaders serving in LCMS districts and congregations, Lutheran high schools, the Concordia University System, and those in leadership for the Synod and other LCMS-affiliated entities.

Posted March 18, 2015