A Faithful Future: A Conversation about the missional church and the first third of life

The Seventh Annual Consultation on the Missional Church
Nov. 4-5, 2011

Workshop leaders

Todd Hobart
Life Stage Youth Coordinator, ST. Matthew Lutheran Church, Renton, Wash.

"Anticipating the Kingdom: Engaging Students in Missional Faith Formation"
 Todd Hobart joined the St. Matthew staff in July 2007. He has worked in a variety of areas with youth and children, including after-school programs, a faith-based drug and alcohol treatment center and several church ministries. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and Western Seminary–Seattle (now Mars Hill Graduate School). He holds a Ph.D. in Congregational Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary.

Watch Anticipating the Kingdom.

Mike King
President, Youthfront

"Thrive: Curating Environments for Vibrant Faith Communities"
Mike King serves as president of Youthfront, a youth ministry organization that works to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating environments where spiritual transformation occurs, by working with those who are involved in the spiritual formation of youth and by providing church-assisting events. He is also on the pastoral staff of Jacob's Well in Kansas City, Mo. King holds a Master of Arts in theological studies and is an adjunct professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary. He serves as the executive editor of Immerse: A Journal of Faith, Life and Youth Ministry. He is co-founder and chair of the board of the Wild Goose Festival, a celebration of faith, justice, music and the arts.

David Lose
The Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary

"Finding Ourselves in the Biblical Story"
David J. Lose is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate (1988) of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn., and holds the Master of Divinity (1993) and Master of Sacred Theology (1997) degrees from The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He earned his doctorate in homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary (2000). Ordained in 1993, Lose served three ELCA congregations in New Jersey between 1993 and 2000. He currently serves as the director of the Center for Biblical Preaching and in that capacity led the creative teams that developed WorkingPreacher.org and Sermon Brainwave. Lose is the author of "Making Sense of Scripture" (2009) and "Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World" (2003), which was named one of the top 10 books of 2004 by the Academy of Parish Clergy.

Watch Finding Ourselves in the Biblical Story.

Brenda Olson
mission Development Director, First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, MInn.; and Director, Bay Lake Camp 

"Urban Ministry and the First Third of Life—Joint Venture: The Missional Call to Accompaniment"

Watch Urban Ministry and the First Third of Life.

Rethinking Community
Thrive: Curating Environments for Vibrant Faith Communities
Mike King

How do we move from being programmers who do events and programs that tend to create mere connections with adolescents, to youth workers who craft environments where young people inhabit transforming space and sustained Christian formation? We will consider situated learning theory in the context of youth ministry and faith communities. Serving as a curator requires deep theological reflection and an inclusive posture, along with the acquisition and development of skills to shape an environment of transformation where young people can thrive in their faith formation. This workshop involves careful attention and intentionality to not only the explicit realities but also the implicit dynamics that shape who we are as a community of believers.