Serve Boldly guests attend a workshop on children’s ministry, led by Kirsten Shanks.
Churches of the Northeast Fellowship attended its one-day ministry training conference at Breesport (New York) Baptist Church.
Serve Boldly is an annual event designed with church volunteers and ministry leaders in mind. Instead of enlisting a main speaker, the conference offers workshops that connect with attendees’ individual ministry goals.
Volunteers and staff from at least 44 churches attended, choosing among 30 workshops on topics including facility improvements, how to lead a Bible study or worship service, navigating necessary changes in the church, insight into destructive ideology, discipleship in the home and church, and effective outreach.
Doug Forman (in photo above), pastor of Breesport Baptist Church, led a workshop on “Understanding Contemporary Critical Theory.” He familiarized guests with the major tenets of contemporary critical theory and explained why it is not the answer to the culture’s problems.
David Strope, interim national representative of the GARBC, led two workshops: “Lone Wolves, Pack Mules, and Isolated Flocks,” addressing the value of Baptist churches working together, and “What?! Our Church Change? The Impossible Dream!” Change is inevitable, he says. He helped church members and leaders understand the process of change and how to lead their churches through change without losing theological beliefs or people.
Another workshop leader was Kirsten Shanks, who taught “Deciphering Children’s Ministry,” looking at organizational aspects of children’s ministry, including recruiting and managing volunteers. Kirsten is a children’s ministry leader at Breesport Baptist Church, where her husband, Andy, is pastor of youth and worship.
Throughout the conference, “attendees received valuable insights and actionable strategies to help them lead ministries more effectively,” says Brian King, executive director of the Northeast Fellowship.
“With such a diverse range of topics and attendees, the Serve Boldly conference truly embodied its name, empowering church volunteers across New York and Pennsylvania to serve their communities boldly and effectively for the cause of Christ.”
