Rooted Conference

Rooted introduces a new podcast focused on youth ministry in an Asian American context. It features a rotating panel of youth ministers who will talk about issues affecting Asian American youth and anyone ministering to them, whether in the home or in the church. This episode is a sample of what you will hear. The first full episode is available now at RootedMinistry.com/Podcasts . Or subscribe to...

In this panel from Rooted 2023, panelists Terrence Shay, Andrew King, Kerry Trunfio, Connor Coskery, and Cameron Cole talk about making the shift from youth ministry to family ministry. Their conversation includes a frank discussion of the roadblocks and insecurities they have faced, practical advice about how to partner with parents, and ways to get the whole church on board with the concept of f...

In this talk from Rooted 2023, licensed professional counselor Monica Kim addresses the impact of trauma on children. With a particular eye towards events like school shootings, Kim examines trauma through the biblical lens of Creation, Fall, Redemption, giving listeners a theological foundation for understanding this particular kind of suffering. Underscoring the importance (and complexity) of li...

In this workshop from Rooted 2023, speaker Sarah Zylstra shares her extensive research on the topic of teenagers and social media. Speaking as an accomplished journalist, a mother, and a Christian, Zylstra offers parents and youth pastors theological tools and practical guidance on how to think about social media with teenagers, especially the young women whose mental health has been so negatively...

In this episode of the Rooted Conference podcast, Kendal Conner continues with a "part two" of one of our most popular talks from Rooted 2022 (see below). Kendal explains the why and the how of this particular discipleship tool. She shares why Bible storying works especially well for digital natives, and how it empowers students to think biblically and study God's Word on their own.  "We must be i...

In this talk from Rooted 2023, youth pastor Vince Greenwald encourages youth pastors to make confession a regular part of their youth ministries. Rather than teaching students that youth group is a place to maintain a false image of perfection, Greenwald urges youth ministers to cultivate a culture of honesty. Amid safe and honest confession of sin, the gospel really begins to "get traction" in st...

In this conference workshop from Rooted 2023, Kelly Kapic encourages listeners to embrace the limits that come with being a human being.   "If you're ever going to experience the joy of being a human creature, the statement I am about to give has to go deep into your heart. And here it is: Finitude is not sin. Finitude is not sin." Resources: You're Only Human: How Your Limits Reflect God's Design...

In this helpful workshop for Rooted 2023, veteran youth worker Curtis Zachery shares a pastoral perspective for youth pastors who steward complex and ever-changing ministries. From his personal experience, Zachery helps youth pastors see their need for prioritizing their time with Jesus, learning to love him, and accepting the rest he offers us. "You are more than what you produce. It's hard to be...

Here at Rooted we get a lot of questions from youth pastors and parents about how to help kids grow up. How do we learn to release our children to go with God, especially considering they aren't really "ours" to begin with? In this panel talk from Rooted 2023, you'll hear from David Brashler, Dawson Cooper, Terrence Shay, Syler Thomas, and Anna Meade Harris--parents who have kids ranging in age fr...

In this episode of the Rooted Conference podcast, Vanderbilt professor of history and religion Paul Lim speaks about how to engage teenagers in an era dominated by shifting philosophies. He says our kids are growing up in an "achievement society" determined to "discard negativity," and the impact of our devices reinforces these trends.  "I need to actually worry less about the perception of the ot...

In this workshop from Rooted 2023, 29-year veteran youth leader Danny Kwon shares both the why and the how of involving student leaders in youth ministries. Emphasizing the Rooted pillar of relational discipleship, Kwon outlines a process for developing a student leader team in your ministry. Kwon now serves as the Senior Director of Youth Ministry Content and Cross-Cultural Connections at Rooted....

In this workshop from Rooted 2023, longtime youth and family pastor and Rooted founder, Cameron Cole, begins by debunking some myths about what family ministry means. He then moves into four key components of effective ministries to families in the church, with a special emphasis on how to work well with parents.  Resources: Are My Kids on Track?: The 12 Emotional, Social, and Spiritual Milestones...

In this talk from the 2023 Rooted Conference in Franklin, TN, longtime youth leader Mike McGarry encourages youth ministers to think deliberately about what a Christian is, and how to make disciples. Mike advocates for the longstanding church practice of a three- pronged approach to catechetical discipleship incorporating the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. Mike is th...

In this workshop from the Rooted conference in 2023, Gospel-Centered Family founder and TGC editor Jared Kennedy explores God's good design for men and women. He describes how we can teach our children about gender so that they will understand and appreciate the bodies that God gave them. "What we need to teach our students, and our kids (as parents), is that our bodies are gifts that help us to f...

In this workshop from the 2023 Rooted conference in Franklin, TN, Syler Thomas shares nine principles that he uses to prepare the parents of the youth in his church for the changes that come with middle and high school. Considering Syler's experience as a youth pastor for over 25 years and raising his own four children to adulthood, you won't want to miss his wit and wisdom! "The biggest obstacle ...

In this workshop from the 2023 Rooted Conference, CJ Moore gives a theological framework for short-term missions, an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of short-terms missions, and highly practical considerations for planning a trip.  C.J. Moore serves as an Associate Pastor at Grace Bible Church in Oxford, MS and as an Adjunct Professor of Missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary...

In this workshop from Rooted 2023, Clark Fobes provides a foundation for teaching the Sermon on the Mount. After preaching through this text in his church, Fobes wrote Rooted's Sermon on the Mount curriculum. This workshop is a great place for anyone who plans to study this passage with their students or children. "That's essentially how I try to approach the sermon on the Mount, by asking the que...

In this talk from Rooted 2023, Chattanooga family pastor Andy Cornett talks about how youth pastors can partner with parents and draw people of multiple generations to work with the teenagers in the church. These volunteers are crucial for the development of a fruitful youth community, where the gospel forms faith in young people. Andy Cornett is Associate Pastor of Families at Signal Mountain Pre...

In this workshop from Rooted 2023 in Franklin, TN, TGC journalist Sarah Zylstra shares wisdom about video games gathered from Scripture, her research, and her experience as a mother of teenage boys. This thought-provoking workshop will help parents think about their sons' gaming from a biblical perspective.  Resources: How to Help Your Child Faithfully Navigate Video Games (Rooted 2023 Workshop Pr...

In this highly practical, helpful workshop from Rooted 2023 in Franklin, TN, RUF pastor and Indelible Grace leader Kevin Twit shares from his experience a veteran college minister and parent of three adult kids. Helping teenagers to rely on adults before they go to college, teaching them the principles of common grace and general revelation. "If you think you understand youth from two years ago, y...

In this main talk from the 2023 Rooted Conference, worship leader, writer, author and speaker Katie Polski shares the comfort and hope that parents and youth workers find in the gospel. In particular, Katie focuses on choices- the choices we make as parents and leaders- and teaching teenagers to discern life-giving, gospel-centered choices, and those choices which lead to death. Listen, and be enc...

In this main talk from the 2023 Rooted Conference in Franklin, TN, former youth pastor and current Rooted Director of Ministry Development Isaiah Marshall asks us to consider what our lives and our churches would look like if we lived out our kingdom calling God's way. "We have to allow God to do the work in our lives so that he can use us to do the work in other people's lives." References:  Matt...

In this main talk from the 2023 Rooted Conference in Franklin, TN, veteran pastor Daniel Yang reminds us to seek Jesus' kingdom righteousness without being cynical about tomorrow.   "The truth doesn't reside on the left or the right, it resides with God. The Truth is a person." Resources: Matthew 6:25-34 Follow us @rootedministry on Instagram. Join us for Rooted 2024 in Dallas, October 24-26.&nbsp...

In this third main talk from the Rooted 2023 conference in Franklin, Tennessee, Kelly Kapic examines the Sermon on the Mount in view of performers (for whom do you perform?), prizes (for what do you long?), and practices (how can I seek wholeness?). "One reason virtue signaling is so painful is that it lacks actual virtue." Follow us @rootedministry on Instagram. Join us for Rooted 2024 in Dallas,...

In this second main talk from the Rooted 2023 conference in Franklin, Tennessee, Trillia Newbell opens up this difficult text from Sermon on the Mount. She suggests that we as a culture have trivialized love, but also failed to embody a radical love for others. "When we look out at the landscape of our churches and our communities, one might wonder if we too have adopted that false idea that we sh...