Youth Leader Summit
October 21-23, 2024
“The Youth Leader Summit is the perfect moment of rest, connection, and renewal I needed after the holidays. It was great to kick off the year with colleagues explaining how to think and love deeply in youth ministry.”
A weekend retreat where you can come together to worship and learn leadership skills while doing fun recreational activities!
The Youth Leader Summit seeks to be a supportive and informative gathering for all who work with young people in the church—youth directors, parents, pastors, educators and/or advisors are all welcome! Together, we will spend three days and two nights digging into some of the current issues facing youth ministry while also sharing joys, concerns and best practices. There will also be time for individual and group worship, play, rest and relaxation!
Working with and serving students in middle and high school, plus their parents, in our communities of faith requires no small amount of creativity, vision, persistence and joyful patience. In fact, youth ministry demands all the energy, intelligence, imagination and love that we can muster.
We want to honor our partnership in ministry with you by offering this annual event. Mo-Ranch wants to pour some love and strength back into you! We believe you need and deserve some dedicated time away with your colleagues to recharge and regroup.
Youth leader Summit Keynote : Justin Forbes
After graduating from Flagler College in 2002, Justin spent ten years in youth
ministry responsible for building and leading teams that worked with middle
school, high school, and college-aged students that covered a broad spectrum of
racial, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. In 2012, Justin decided to
pursue further education by attending Princeton Theological Seminary. It was at
Princeton that Justin discovered his love for teaching, and developing future
leaders in Youth Ministry. Justin continued his education completing his PhD in
Divinity at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He joined Flagler College in
2015 and serves as the director of the Youth Ministry Program, the Center for the
Study of Religion and Culture, and Assistant Professor of Religion. Justin has
been married to Bethany Forbes for just over twenty years and together have six
children.
Special 75th Anniversary Guest: David Lamotte
David LaMotte is a songwriter, speaker, author, and activist. As a singer, David has performed over 3500 concerts and released thirteen full length CDs. He has toured in all fifty states and on five of the seven continents. His most recent album, Still, was in the top twenty on Folk Radio for six months, and his song, September Me, reached number one in September of 2022. David has been a featured performer at top tier music festivals worldwide, including the Kerrville Folk Festival, Lake Eden Arts Festival, Merlefest, the Auckland Folk Festival (NZ) and the Australian National Folk Festival.
David was a Rotary World Peace Fellow, which enabled him to study International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. As part of that study, he also spent time in rural Andhra Pradesh, India working with a Gandhian development organization. David and his wife Deanna are founders of the nonprofit Senderos, which supports Guatemalan children through education, music and mentoring projects. He also created the Let’s Be Neighbors campaign to encourage community-building at the neighborhood level. David has authored four books and presented two TEDx talks. The most recent, based on his book, You Are Changing The World Whether You Like It Or Not, was recently featured as a TED Editor’s Pick, enabling a larger audience to hear David’s message on movement work and meaningful change.
Cost and Housing
Attendees will be housed in Guest Lodge.
This conference is free. Meals included, starting with dinner Monday until breakfast Wednesday.
Questions? We’re happy to help! Contact us at 1.800.460.4401 ext. 246 or registrar@moranch.org.
Packing Suggestions
- Comfortable/casual clothes
- Comfortable walking shoes (close-toed shoes recommended)
- Flashlight (it is very dark here at night)
- Bible
- Journal
- Toiletries
- Sunblock, sunshades and hats
- Rain jacket
- Water bottle
- A clean face mask for each day, and or full face shield.
- Beds are ready upon arrive; hotel rooms do not have mini-fridges, microwaves, TVs or hair dryers, so please plan accordingly.
- Towel are in rooms, and river towels are at the river and pool.
Transportation
Mo-Ranch is 90 miles one-way, or a 2-hour drive from the nearest airport (SAT), allow 3 hours travel/check-in time for departures. We recommend generally scheduling arriving flights before 3 p.m. and departing flights after 3 p.m. to be sure you do not miss any of your event. If you are in need of shuttle service to Mo-Ranch, call Kars for Hire in Kerrville at (830) 890-8200 at least 15 days in advance to arrange transportation from San Antonio International Airport.
Bookstore
Make sure to stop by the Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly bookstore during your conference to pick out a souvenir!
Questions
We’re happy to help! Contact us at 1.800.460.4401 ext. 246 or registrar@moranch.org.
