The YFM Conference provides relevant leadership training, renewal in a retreat environment, and opportunities to strengthen old and create new friendships. The conference brings together both commissioned and non-commissioned ministers in youth and family ministry in order to share best practices and strengthen the network between leaders across the NOW District and the entire West Coast.
Explore the “Formed” Theme
It is an honor as the keynote speaker for the 2026 NOW District YFM Conference to provide an overview of the conference, which will explore the challenges of faith formation in our cultural context. The opening keynote address, “Cultivating a Winsome Witness to the World,” will lay out the changing religious demographics in the United States and ways in which the Good News of Jesus can address the maladies of our age. During the conference we’ll also engage in some interactive Scripture study methods with a twofold purpose: to strengthen participants’ identity as those called by God to serve Christ and the people of God in a particular place and time; and to provide resources that can be adapted for a variety of settings involving youth, children, and families. A second keynote address, “How Ritual Forms Communities and Individuals,” will unpack the power of ritual to shape our desires and habits in conformity with Christ.
Deaconess Rhoda Schuler, ThD
Professor Emerita, Concordia University, St. Paul
Co-author, Journey to Jesus: Faith Formation into Christ and Community
2026 Youth and Family Ministry Conference
The YFM Conference provides relevant leadership training, renewal in a retreat environment, and opportunities to strengthen old and create new friendships. The conference brings together both commissioned and non-commissioned ministers in youth and family ministry in order to share best practices and strengthen the network between leaders across the NOW District and the entire West Coast.
Explore the “Formed” Theme
It is an honor as the keynote speaker for the 2026 NOW District YFM Conference to provide an overview of the conference, which will explore the challenges of faith formation in our cultural context. The opening keynote address, “Cultivating a Winsome Witness to the World,” will lay out the changing religious demographics in the United States and ways in which the Good News of Jesus can address the maladies of our age. During the conference we’ll also engage in some interactive Scripture study methods with a twofold purpose: to strengthen participants’ identity as those called by God to serve Christ and the people of God in a particular place and time; and to provide resources that can be adapted for a variety of settings involving youth, children, and families. A second keynote address, “How Ritual Forms Communities and Individuals,” will unpack the power of ritual to shape our desires and habits in conformity with Christ.
Deaconess Rhoda Schuler, ThD
Professor Emerita, Concordia University, St. Paul
Co-author, Journey to Jesus: Faith Formation into Christ and Community