Beginning to Teach
All you need to know as you start out on the road of children’s ministry. This seminar will cover the basics including how to tell a story, teach a memory verse, lead games, manage a small group of children, pray with children and open up the Bible with them.
Ruth Mitchell is Children’s Development Officer for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Boys will be Boys
Everyone knows boys and girls are different! This seminar will explore the specific ways in which boys learn and help you understand how they approach life. Ideas will be suggested that will help you motivate and relate to boys through activities which will challenge and engage them.
Colin Millar, Boys’ Brigade Disability Network Consultant for Northern Ireland.

Children and Prayer
With the increasing importance on the call to pray within the church, how can children experience this method of communication with God to its upmost? This seminar aims to provide ideas and inspiration to get children praying in a stimulating and relevant way.
Jud Sweeny is a P4 primary school teacher who loves life!

Christmas are you ready yet!
This workshop will include all sorts of ideas for your Sunday School, Church or youth group to use to give the real meaning of Christmas from carols to crafts, from outreach to input, from drama to reflections, from tots to teens. Come to take in but where necessary to give out as we all share in declaring the reason for the season.
Alice McAlary works with Alliance Youth Works, a support network for youth leaders and groups based in Coleraine and Rostrevor.

Creative Bible Communication
Children today live in a multimedia, multifaceted world – constantly bombarded with new methods of communication and technology. In the midst of this culture, how can we as Christians ensure that we effectively communicate the Bible in fresh yet faithful ways? This seminar will help us to think through the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of these questions.
Leanne Dunlop, Schools Worker, Scripture Union.

Fanning the Flame (Morning only)
In today’s society many of the children we are working with are hurting and have little or no knowledge of God’s love for them. Kathryn will cover how children’s spirituality gets damaged, the importance of understanding this, and how we can help to nurture their spirituality.
Kathryn Copsey, Keynote speaker

Following in your footsteps (Morning only)
As parents, how do we share our faith with our children in a way they understand and enjoy? How do we create moments and milestones that will impact their lives in the future? And where will we ever find the time? Jean Gibson co-ordinates the work of Care for the Family in Northern Ireland and writes and speaks widely on family- related issues.

Games for Younger Children
Run out of ideas? Duck duck goose just not working anymore? Then this is the workshop for you! Lots of ideas of easy games to use with the little ones, as teaching in the programme, as tools to develop skills and some just to add a bit of fun!! Come prepared to play!!
Alyn Jones works with Alliance Youth Works, a support network for youth leaders and groups based in Coleraine and Rostrevor.

Leading Small Groups
Some handy hints and tips for working with a small group of children, whether it is a Sunday school class, a Good News Club, or a group which you might have thought would have been bigger!
Mark Moorhead, Children’s Worker, Hamilton Road Presbyterian, Bangor.

"Let's Close down Sunday School"
Has that ever been said in your church about any activity? One of the areas that we need to think about more is how we reach the children that we work with. Is Sunday the best time? Are there different ways to approach our work? In this seminar we will look at what our vision for our work is and how we go about making that a reality.
Rev David Rock is General Secretary of the Department of Youth and Children’s Work of the Methodist Church in Ireland.

The Urban Challenge (Afternoon only)
How do we understand the pressures faced by children living in inner cities and socially deprived housing estates? In this seminar we will explore the characteristics of the child brought up in these contexts, seek to understand their rich challenges and consider what our response needs to be.
Kathryn Copsey, Keynote speaker

Special Needs Seminar (Morning only)
This seminar will discuss the inclusion of children with special or additional support needs in your church or children’s ministry group. You will have the opportunity to hear about examples of good practice in local churches and consider ways of improving ministry practice amongst children with special needs. The seminar will include a question time during which you will have the opportunity to ask our panel questions and benefit from their expertise, wisdom and experience.
Panel Format with Billy Burnison, Ruth Clarke and Carol Mills.

Fanning the Flame (Morning only)
In today’s society many of the children we are working with are hurting and have little or no knowledge of God’s love for them. This seminar will look at how children’s spirituality gets damaged, the importance of understanding this, and how we can help to nurture their spirituality.
Kathryn Copsey, Keynote speaker.

CURBS Unpacked (Afternoon only)
All children are created in God’s image, CURBS starts in the world of the urban child and, through positive relationships, seeks to build bridges which will enable them to experience God’s loving care. In this session Kathryn will ‘unpack’ CURBS, give you a taster of the material and highlight the resources available.
Kathryn Copsey, Keynote speaker.

Beginning to Teach
This seminar will explore some principles to help those starting out in children’s ministry to become confident volunteers. We will spend some time breaking down a typical hour-long session with your group into more manageable, bite-sized pieces!
Cathy McElhinney works as a supply teacher in primary schools in Dungannon. She is a busy mum of three children and volunteers in the local Parish where her husband works full time.

Building a Healthy Children's Ministry
Do you wonder how you can build a successful children’s ministry that will last? Or where children’s ministry fits into the broader life of a congregation? We will look at these issues and how to develop your children’s ministry to meet the demands of the 21st Century. This seminar will be particularly helpful for Sunday School Co-ordinators and clergy.
Barbara McDade is Director of Programmes for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

Working with 4-7's
This seminar aims to encourage and inspire you in working with the 4-7s age-group. We will look at themes for your teaching and various ideas for exploring the Bible, craft, games, drama, song and prayer which may be adapted to suit any session.
Lynn Storey has a background in Primary School Teaching and has experience as a Sunday Club leader in her local Church of Ireland Parish.

Away in a Muddle
Involving children in church at Christmas can be a challenge, even with all the resources that are out there. This workshop will look at how to adapt ideas, old and new, to help your children’s group worship with the angels, be it 5 or 50!
Kathryn Storrs Draper is a musician, married to a clergyman, with two teenage daughters. For the past 25 years she has been involved with children in Holiday clubs, Church, Sunday school, choirs & nativity plays.

Puppet Basics
Have you ever wondered how puppets can be used in ministry? Then come along to our taster session in basic puppet skills and discover how you can do puppet ministry on a shoe string! No previous training required for this fun filled seminar.
John O’Neill and Karen Webb of Church Army have been involved in Puppet Ministry for 10 years in schools, churches and community groups.

Boys will be Boys (Morning only)
We are all aware of gender difference in our ministry with children! This seminar will explore specifically the different ways in which boys learn and approach things. How can we help relate to and motivate boys through activities which will enthuse and engage them?
Colin Millar, Boys’ Brigade Disability Network Consultant for Northern Ireland.

Reaching every child (Afternoon only)
This seminar will look at the barriers to engaging children of all abilities (including those with difficulties) and simple ways of ensuring that maximum learning takes place in an interactive setting. We will look at children’s learning styles, adult language and the gender issues in learning.
Colin Millar, Boys’ Brigade Disability Network Consultant for Northern Ireland.

Games with a purpose (Morning only)
Games are very often used just as a filler in children’s programmes. However, games in themselves are a wonderful teaching tool. This seminar will demonstrate how games, if used creatively and with lots of enthusiasm, can develop our Bible messages in a very visual and active way.
Alice McAlary and team from Alliance Youth Works, a support network for youth leaders and groups based in Coleraine and Rostrevor.

Too Cool for Craft (Afternoon only)
What happens when colouring in or finger painting no longer hold the attention of your young people? This seminar will provide lots of craft ideas to excite the 8+ age group and to develop their creativity and skills, boys included!
Alice McAlary and team from Alliance Youth Works, a support network for youth leaders and groups based in Coleraine and Rostrevor.

Working with Tweenagers
This seminar will look at specific issues of dealing with 9-13 year olds. How are they different from young children? We will look at what a tweenager is like and then some ideas of how to help them engage with the Bible, their faith and the God who made them.
Ruth Mitchell, Children’s Development Officer for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.