Events
View Events for Ministries with Young People in a larger map. If you’d like to add an event, email The YPM Webmaster.
Conference Youth Gatherings
Pacific Northwest Conference Senior High Convo
May 26-28, 2012
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
The Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church will be holding its annual Senior High Convocation this May at the University of Puget Sound. For more information and ways to register as it becomes available, visit the Young People’s Ministry Page of the Pacific Northwest Conference.
Set Fire: East Ohio Youth Annual Conference
June 15-17, 2012
Lakeside Camp, Lakeside, Ohio
The East Ohio Annual Conference invites youth to enjoy several days of great programing as they make friends, worship, and engage great speakers. The music for the event will be led by Praise-Applea, Andrew Berg Band, and Bucket Boys. The speakers will be Jeanne Mayo and Rev. Mark McTrustry. For more information about the event, including registration and the process to submit resolutions, can be found at the East Ohio Annual Conference site.
West Virginia Annual Conference Summer Youth Celebration
June 18-22, 2012
West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, West Virginia
SYC is a program of the Conference Council on Youth Ministry of the West Virginia Annual Conference held on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College.
The 2012 SYC theme is part of a four year program which will highlight “UBU: God Created You To Be…” The focus this year is on being UNIQUE – “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14a NRSV). Join us as we explore who we are as children of God and how we are to live as special creatures in God’s creation.
Campers will have several “expressions of me” opportunities to meet with persons from the Bishop’s cabinet, West Virginia Wesleyan College, the Buckhannon community, and members of the SYC staff each afternoon following traditional workshops. More information on the event, activities, and leaders can be found at The Summer Youth Celebration website.
Ichthus Music Festival 2012
June 20-23, 2012
Wilmore, Kentucky
The Kentucky Conference Ministry with Young People has an exciting new partnership with Ichthus Ministries in 2012! Ichthus is an event and media ministry based in Wilmore KY, that has its roots in many ways in the United Methodist Church. Most notably, the Ichthus Music Festival draws 18,000-20,000 people each year to its “farm” in Wilmore with four days of music, media, and high-impact ministry! It includes six stages (that run simultaneously), more than 150 artists, 20 speakers, a Global missions village, skate park, youth tents, parent tents, a coffeehouse, food and merch vendors, camping, dorm housing, and a lot more. The Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church is adding the Ichthus Festival June 20-23, as one of our events for 2012. We’ll be gathering as a group several times during the larger event. For more information, visit the The Kentucky Annual Conference Ministry with Young People page.
Holston Annual Conference Junior High and Senior High Assembly
June 25-29
Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens, Tennessee
The Holston Annual Conference Assembly is a week of discipleship featuring awesome worship, awesome people and one awesome God. It’s joining together with others your age to learn, grow, and laugh. It’s waking up and worshipping through word and song. It’s coming to an event and leaving with a “family”. It’s an opportunity to open up, to get real, to focus. It’s a chance to shift your thoughts, your actions, and your life from things of this world to the heart of Jesus. For more information, or to register, visit the
June 28-30, 2012 The trail hike is more than a hiking trip, it is an experience of spiritual journey. The hike provides a mountaintop experience for youth to face and meet a challenge, to see God at a new height, and to be come aware of God’s abiding presence. This year’s theme is “I’m not there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.” Each participant is responsible for their own backpack and gear as well as shared community gear. Reflections, worship, and sharing are a significant part of the journey. For more information, or to register, see this flier from the North Carolina Conference. June 22-24, 2012 The Explore Leadership Camp is for youth in the Missouri Annual Conference who are interested in taking a more active role in the church. It is available for youth who completed grades 9-12 and adult mentors who are interested in leadership. Visit the Missouri Annual Conference site for more information or to register. June 4-6, 2012 Join Youth from around the Texas Annual Conference for Collide 2012, the Youth Annual Conference. The event will include speakers and music. The deadline to register your youth group is January 23. To register, or for more information, visit Youthcollide.com. June 21-25, 2012 The 2012 Youth Harambee, sponsored by Black Methodists for Church Renewal, is coming up. Youth from all around the SEJ are invited to attend this great event. Youth will hear great speakers, take part in music led by youth, and take part in informative breakout sessions. More information about the event will soon become available, but get it on your calendar. June 22-24, 2012 This leadership event for youth, sponsored by Central Methodist University and the Missouri Conference Council on Youth Ministries, will help youth explore ways to be leaders in their congregation and the greater church. Youth who are serving as leaders in their church or interested in the ministry are invited to learn about what makes great leaders as well as topics such as worship planning, leading small groups, and organizing mission trips. For more information, visit the Missouri Conference website. June 22-24, 2012 Identify those youth in your church who are either already leading in your youth ministry OR who have leadership potential. Bring individual youth or your entire youth council – and come ready for a great weekend of learning, lots of fun, inspiring worship, connecting with others from across the conference, and making plans for ministry! Not only is this a great way to develop youth leadership within your own church or district, but there are also opportunities for youth leadership in the North Georgia Conference. More information about the event can be found at the North Georgia Annual Conference website. August 10-11, 2012 The Holy Ghost Party will include group building time, worship, food, fun, swimming, boating, campfire, small group experiences, and optional planning time for the next year. Designed to get your group kicked-off for the new school year so bring a friend! For more information about the event, visit the Missouri conference website. November 9-11 Pilgrimage is a weekend event for UMYF and local church youth groups in which youth and young adult advisors are challenged to a new or deeper faith in Jesus Christ. The content of the event will focus on challenging youth to step out of the boat onto the water, have higher expectations; and inspire them to volunteer, lead and invite others to come join in. The theme for Pilgrimage is “If not now, when. If not us, who?” For more information, or to register, see this flier from the North Carolina Conference. November 30 – December 2, 2012 The South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church presents their annual Youth Gathering, “Celebration.” Join youth from around the conference for three days of worship, fellowship, and fun. Visit the South Georgia Conference website for more information as it becomes available. January 11-13, 2012 The Baltimore Washington Annual Conference is proud to present its annual youth retreat: Rock 2013. Get this great event on your calendar and joining youth from around the conference to worship, take part in breakout sessions, and hear great speakers. More information will be available at the the Rock 2013 website as the event nears. January 26-27, 2013 Join youth from all aroung the Missouri Annual Conference for WOW 2013. Get the date on your calendars now, and keep checking in with wow2013.org for more information, including speakers, activities, and registration, as the date of the event nears. Tentatively scheduled for May 2012 Emergent Detroit invites you to join them for their annual young adult gathering at Lake Louise United Methodist Camp. This is a 3 night stay at a beautiful lake in northern Michigan, plus training and fellowship with other young adults participating in Summers of Service in various programs around the state. Visit the Emerge Detroit website for more information. May 21-25, 2012 A theological, ecological pilgrimage for young adults. Spend five days on the Eastern Shore and on the Chesapeake Bay in relationship with God, each other, and God’s creation. Deadline to register is May 11, 2012. Participants must be between 18 and 35 years old. For more information, or to register, visit the Virginia Annual Conference website. July 6-14 This young adult event, sponsored by the Epworth League, offers a week of rest in the wilderness. We will stay in vacation rental homes at 8,600 feet elevation near the park. Nearly every day will consist of day hikes at high elevation in the mountains. The views and animals are incredible. We expect to keep the group limited to a maximum of 20. We will leave on Friday evening July 6 and return 8 days later on Saturday night. Cost is only $250 for all lodging, meals, park fees and transportation (For the first 14 people that sign up). For information on how to sign up, visit the Epworth League website. October 19-21, 2012 The Cal-Pac Confernece is proud to host its Fall Young Adult retreat at the Lazy W Ranch. Put it on your calendar and keep checking with the Cal-Pac Conference Young People’s website for more information as the event nears. November 15-17, 2013 Exploration is a unique event for United Methodist Young Adults discerning a call to ministry. The event provides a chance to explore the call to ordained ministry through worship, prayer, workshops, networking, and small groups. For more information as the date approaches, follow Exploration on Twitter or on Facebook. June 25-July 7, 2012 The Texas Youth Academy (TYA) is an advanced discipleship program for senior high United Methodist Youth. TYA is intended for youth in any of the United Methodist Conferences of Texas who show promise for clergy and lay leadership in the Church. High school sophomores and juniors are accepted through an application process. Applications along with 2 letters of recommendation are due THIS WEEK – Friday, March 9th! Visit the Texas Youth Academy website for more information or to apply. June 26-30, 2012 At Empower, youth will have the opportunity to experience leadership in a new way. They will be challenged and empowered to be leaders now in their churches, communities and schools. Brad Fiscus and Dr. Ed Trimmer will lead a staff of veteran youth workers who will serve as small group/experience leaders. For more information, or to register, go to the Young People’s Ministries page of the Tennessee Conference. A flier is also available with more information. June 25-29, 2012 This transformational experience is an opportunity to go deeper in living your faith and learn how to be a generation for change. An exploration of social justice issues and systemic causes (locally and globally), this trip will help young people ages 16-22 years old to discover a passion to change the world. This seminar is sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. Seminars are presented for a minimum of 15 people. The goal is to register at least 15 participants by January of 2012. The exact cost has not yet been determined as yet as final details are being set; but, it is estimated to be approximately $800 per person. If you are interested in participating, please contact Becky Tate as soon as possible for more information. July 16-20, 2012 God’s Got Talent is a youth worship camp offering people grades 6-12 a chance to explore creativity and worship God together in music, art, dance, drama, photography, video, and crafts. The week will include workshops in musical performance and worship leading, songwriting, dramatic scenes and monologues, painting, and drawing, dance, photography, video graphics, and crafts. More information can be found at the Tennessee Annual Conference Ministries with Young People page. May 31, 2012 This training is for pastors, youth ministers, Sunday School teachers, and just about anyone who cares about teenagers. The conference will be led by Duffy Robbins. Duffy is Professor of youth ministry at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. A thirty-five year veteran of youth ministry, he is a bestselling author, speaker and youth ministry trainer. During this training Duffy will share insights on how to more effectively communicate the gospel in the context of youth ministry. For more information, visit the Tennessee Annual Conference Ministries with Young People page. August 25, 2012 Join us this August as we offer an outstanding array of seminars that help you make youth ministry as easy as apple pie. With so many students filling up on ministry experiences around the globe it can be hard to stay current. But we want to show you how to make youth ministry your bread and butter before you become toast. Registration information and a schedule will be coming soon at The Event website. Young People’s Ministries, in partnership with YouthWorks, is hosting 9 weeks of short-term mission trips in Nashville for 2012. This will be our third year of partnering with Youthworks to offer this awesome experience. To learn more or book your trip please contact Youthworks at: nashvilledmyp@youthworks.com or 877-746-6418. To learn more about Youthworks visit www.youthworks.com This site is open to both Junior and Senior High youth. Youthworks provides trained staff who handle all the programming and logistics, freeing you up to serve and have fun alongside your youth! Find the Nashville Mission Trip Site on Facebook. Click HERE to download the flier. June 24-30, 2012 A $125 one week mission trip helping people in this remote community in Northern Wisconsin, USA. To find out more, visit the Epworth League site or contact Ken Rheingans for details or call 414-807-3193. Summer, 2012 Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.” In 2011, we expanded our summer programming to include mission work. Our theme for the 2011 summer, SURGE into Missions, gave youth an opportunity to think, learn and experience what it means to do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. They met and worked with people in need within the surrounding communities during their time at Lake Junaluska. Through our amazing group of summer staff, relevant speakers and dynamic worship, youth learned how to live in their faith. Check the website regularly for more information as the summer gets closer. United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries offer a wealth of events near you for your youth. Visit the website and see what events the camps around you are planning and find new ways to engage you in fellowship, spiritual growth, and more. Chrysalis offers spiritual renewal to young people through a three-day experience and follow-up. Journeys are available especially for young people (age 19-25). Visit the website for more information on how to be a part of an upcoming journey. Know of an event that’s not listed here? Send it to Young People’s Ministries at ypm@gbod.org New York or Washington D.C. Have you returned from service trips with renewed passion, but without any concrete ways to stay engaged with the issues and connected to the people you encountered? Are you ready for a new kind of “mission trip,” one that encourages your group to look beyond quick fixes, and gives them the tools to address the systems that allow injustice to exist? An experience that propels your group into a new level of thought and action and continues beyond the days they spend on the trip? Consider taking a trip to Washington, DC, or New York City, for an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and empowering journey of faith with the United Methodist Seminar Program! Seminars are available for people of high school age and over. For more information on how to take part, visit the UM Seminar website. North Carolina Conference Appalachian Trail Hike
Starting in Raleigh, North CarolinaExplore Leadership Camp
Central Methodist University, Fayette, MissouriYouth Collide 2012
Galveston, TexasHarambee 2012 SEJ Youth Retreat
Registration Deadline May 31, 2012
Epworth by the Sea, St. Simons Island, GeorgiaExplore Leadership Camp
Central Methodist University, Fayette, Missouri
Deadline to Apply is June 1st, 2012YL2L: Youth Learning to Lead
Oxford College, Oxford, GeorgiaHoly Ghost Party
Lake of the Ozarks State Park Organized Group Camps, Camp Clover PointPilgrimage: An Event for North Carolina Conference Youth Groups
Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North CarolinaYouth Celebration 2012
Epworth By The Sea, St. Simons Island, GeorgiaRock 2013: Baltimore Washington Annual Conference Youth Retreat
Ocean City, MarylandWOW 2013: Missouri Annual Conference Youth Gathering
Springfield, MissouriEvents for Young Adults
Re-Member 2012
Lake Louise Camp United Methodist Camp, Boyne Falls, MichiganA Sojourn to Sacredness
Eastern Shore of VirginiaRetreat to Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National ParkWTF?: Cal-Pac Conference Fall Young Adult Retreat
Lazy W Ranch, San Juan Capistrano, California Exploration 2013
Denver, Colorado
Other Youth Gatherings
Texas Youth Academy
Application Deadline April 9, 2012
Southwestern University, Georgetown, TexasEmpower: A Leadership Experience for Youth
Martin Methodist CollegeYoung People’s United Nations Seminar
Washington D.C.God’s Got Talent: Youth Worship Arts Camp
Martin Methodist College, Pulaski, TNLeadership and Training Events for Adult Workers
Making Your Teaching Come Alive: A Youth Ministry Training with Dr. Duffy Robbins
Forest Hills United Methodist Church, Brentwood, TennesseYouth Ministry Bread and Butter Training
Trinity United Methodist Church, Birmingham, AlabamaUpcoming Service Opportunities
Mission Trip Site in Nashville
Cost is only $248 per person and includes:
Northwoods Missions – Grantsburg, Wisconsin
Grantsburg, WisconsinSURGE into Missions: Christian Summer Youth Events
Lake Junaluska, North CarolinaOccassional Retreats and Gatherings
United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries
Chrysalis Journeys for Young Adults
UM Seminar Program