Vibrant Faith Ministries provides onsite and online training opportunities that equip people to be effective leaders who build disciples:

• Youth & Family Ministry Certification Schools (11+ days)
• 21st Century Leadership events (3 days)
• Vibrant Faith Congregational Trainings (2 days)
• Milestones Ministry Training (1 day)
• Board or Learning retreats (1-2 days)

In addition, we offer 60-90 minute training modules that may be done online or onsite. Listed below are training modules currently available to support congregations and their leadership teams.
Building a Spiritually Vibrant Culture
Becoming an INVITING Church
Inviting congregations have a process for continuously bringing people into member’s homes and into the congregation. Learn ways that you can increase the likelihood of people in your community being aware of and engaging with people and ministries connected to your faith community. This training will address marketing issues such as having a website that that serves as the front door of the church and is visitor-friendly.  It includes networking and servant evangelism strategies along with equipping people to be more comfortable with inviting people into their lives, homes and congregations church.
Becoming a WELCOMING Church
WELCOMING congregations provide extravagant hospitality where guests feel valued, are warmly welcomed, and are introduced to several members. They experience meaningful, engaging worship and are followed up with after their first and second visits. Learn ways your congregation can turn strangers into friends, take the next step in learning more about your faith community, and increase the likelihood of them becoming a partner in ministry.
Becoming an EQUIPPING Church
EQUIPPING congregations meet people where they’re at and walk alongside them in their faith journey.  They have a plan and clear outcomes for forming faith at every age and life stage. Recognizing that everyone experiences God and practices faith in their own unique way, this training highlight “greenhouses for growing faith” that include home, congregational and online settings along with providing specific pathways for growing faith in large group settings, small group settings, online and individually.
Becoming a EMPOWERING Church
Most leaders serving congregations, if asked, would not consider themselves to be a leader. This training will highlight what leadership is about, how one can exercise effective leadership, how to be forward-thinking, and how to be a person of influence everyday, everywhere. As a bonus, the training will also address ways to deepen the bench of qualified leaders and how to support and encourage them in their ministry.
Becoming a SERVING Church
SERVING congregations help people find their “sweet spot” and find ways to use their time, gifts, and passions to make a difference by serving at and beyond the congregation.  This training will ways to help Individuals to discover, develop and deploy their gifts and share best practices for tracking, equipping and supporting members engaged in ministry. In the process, you’ll discover how a gifts-based ministry can revitalize your congregation and increase member engagement across all ages and life stages.
Becoming a SENDING Church
SENDING congregations help people BE the church and become more attentive to the needs of their community. participants will learn strategies for helping members recognize servant opportunities in their daily life along with strategies for sharing one’s faith with friends, neighbors and co-workers.
 
Supporting Lifelong Faith Formation
Adult Faith Formation
Research reminds us that the traditional way of doing adult education in our congregations has not been particularly successful at helping the next generation live their faith. The fundamental question addressed in this presentation is, “What can congregations do to help people experience and practice faith at every age and life stage?” The answer takes us beyond the classroom setting and explores how every aspect of our life of faith may become an opportunity for forming faith. Participants will learn several ways their congregation can equip all adults in faith formation that will bless homes, congregations, and the larger world.
Becoming a FAMILYING Church
Learn about approaches to ministry that recognize and celebrate the gifts and wisdom of all ages, and help create faith forming networks of support that include home, congregational and online settings. This presentation addresses why it’s essential to gather the generations together and to broaden our understanding and definition of family.  Participants will learn ten strategies for cultivating a “familying” mindset that taps into the gifts and wisdom of all generations.

Becoming a RITUALIZING Church
Rituals, traditions and milestones provide opportunities to be reminded of God’s presence in our lives, ground us in what matters most, and serve as life-giving opportunities to reflect, learn, serve and celebrate. Participants will receive a framework to developing rituals, traditions and milestones for every age and stage of life that can be recognized, practiced and celebrated within the congregation, in daily life and online.
Faith Formation and the Adolescent Brain
In the past 20 years much has been learned regarding the development of the human brain. It is now possible to observe the brain as it functions and grows. The research shows exuberant brain growth takes place in infancy and during puberty. These are incredible windows through which to observe how God shapes human beings. In addition, these times are doors of opportunity to walk through and help shape the values, faith and life choices of adolescents. Participants will learn about the growth of the brain and how these insights shape our ministry principles and practices.

Faithful Parenting & Grand Parenting
What do parents and grandparents need to know and do to model vibrant faith for their children and grandchildren? They need knowledge. They need skills. They need resources. They need a network of support. Learn what a other congregations are doing to equip parents and grandparents to play this important role.

Finding Sabbath in a Whitewater World
We live in a world addicted to speed, achievement, acquisition, and busyness. People are frazzled, stressed, burned out, and exhausted. We have forgotten God’s example, God’s commandment, and God’s invitation to recreation in observing the Sabbath. What would Sabbath look like in your setting? How might you recapture the natural, healing, restoring rhythms of a life well lived? This presentation will provide strategies for rest and renewal that can be incorporated into one’s life, household and congregation!

Practicing Faith Everyday, Everywhere
Weaving faith practices into every facet of our lives provides opportunities to extend God’s love and saving work to the world on a daily basis. Faith practices not only strengthen the faith life of individuals and communities within households, they also serve as the means to strengthen congregational vitality through healthy, nurturing, faithful homes. Participants will learn several strategies for incorporating faith practices into their daily, weekly and monthly routines.
Using Milestone Celebrations to Form Faith
A faith milestone is a marker along life’s journey that says, “This is something important and God is here, too.” Participants will learn how to be deliberate in looking for opportunities to name and claim God’s presence in the lives of children, youth, and adults. Learn how to combine family enrichment and corporate worship, partnering home and congregation in the vital task of living the faith. It is a strategic way to reach out to not-so-involved caregivers in the faith lives of children. You will receive a framework to develop milestones for every age and stage of life, beginning at birth and continuing through baptism, first Bible, communion, new driver’s license, marriage, first home, retirement, and more!

Using Social Media to Form Faith and Build Community
Have you been thinking about creating a Facebook page for your congregation? Or, do you have a Facebook page for your congregation, but are not using it? Or, why does my Facebook profile look different? What’s a tweet? Does using social media really make an impact? If you’ve asked yourself these questions, this 90-minute presentation is for you! Learn tips for effectively utilizing Facebook in your congregation, a little about Twitter, and why using social media matters
Using Worship to Teach Household Faith Practices (10 Tips Series)
Worship experiences provide a wealth of opportunities to teach and model faith practices that can be replicated in household settings. Participants will gain insights into how practices related to caring conversations, prayer practices, scripture readings and acts of service can be introduced and modeled throughout the entire worship experience, and how the worship experience can be extended into family settings throughout the week.

Becoming a GROUNDED Congregation
GROUNDED congregations have clarity around their mission, vision and values along with a clear understanding of how faith is formed and passed on. In this training, participants will learn about foundational principles for living and passing on a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ that serves as a foundation for developing goals, strategies and action steps that lead to the fulfillment of your congregation’s mission and vision.
 
Empowering Leaders & Ministry Teams

Becoming CHANGE Agents in your Congregation
Change is an inevitable part of the renewal process and leaders need effective tools and strategies for helping their congregation navigate change. Participants will learn about the six step CHANGE process along with ten tips for moving foreword faster within their ministry settings.  Tools will be provided that help participants assess their congregation’s existing culture and map out a more vibrant ecosystem and process for growing faith.
Becoming a CHANGE ARTIST in Your Personal Life (10 Tips Series)
Everyone has at least one or two areas in their life that are in need of change and this webinar will help participants identify areas that most need attention, highlight the strategies individuals and families have found helpful, and address ways households can support each other in the change process to grow in faith, serve others and bring out the best in each other.
Becoming a Transformational Teacher (10 Tips Series)
If you oversee faith formation opportunities in your congregation, or serve as a teacher or mentor, then this training is for you! In sixty minutes you’ll learn how to create learning experiences that participants will remember and talk about in their homes. You’ll learn how to set up learning environments that reinforce your key messages and engage all the senses. You’ll receive tools to engage students in ways they learn best.. Finally, you’ll gain tips on how to partner with parents and grand parents to reinforce your learning outcomes.
Bringing Out the Best in Your Team (Leading Well Series)
Maximizing the impact of every team member is essential for moving forward faster.  This training offers insights for equipping people to exercise effective leadership in ways that celebrate their gifts and passions. Participants will receive tools for assessing people’s current leadership capacities along with strategies for helping team members thrive individually and as a team.
Building Great Teams That Get Results (Leading Well Series)
Learn the essential elements for building great teams that great results. Gain insights on  how to get the right people on board, serving in the right roles, for the right reasons. Explore avenues for building team cultures that are grounded in trust, sustained by mutual commitment and accountability, and contribute to congregational vitality.
Dealing with Difficult People (10 Tips Series)
Individuals and organizations often get immobilized by people who express their wishes or concerns in ways that shut down conversation, divide people or hinder honest, grace-filled communication. This presentation addresses strategies for providing safe, healthy environments along with way to frame difficult issues in ways that move conversations forward and reveal underlying concerns and assumptions. Scripts to help individuals speak their truth in love, engage with those they disagree with and respond to inappropriate comments and behaviors will be will be woven throughout the training, offering ways leaders can maintain a non-anxious presence in the midst of conflict and turmoil.
Inviting, Equipping and Encouraging Volunteers (10 Tips Series: 90 minutes)
participants gain ten new tools for equipping and encouraging the people they’ve invited into ministry. These tools will help people discern, develop and deploy their gifts and maximize their ministry impact. Research will be shared about what people say they need most to succeed in their ministries and how you, as a cheerleader, coach and equipper, can best address these needs. Participants will be given access to downloadable tools and resources to support their equipping efforts.
Leading Meetings that Matter (Leading Well Series)
Learn ways to use meetings to build community, share faith, learn together, brainstorm, set goals and hold each other accountable.  Use meetings to celebrate short-term wins and to discern God’s preferred future.  This training will provide insights, ideas and tools to transform meetings into gatherings leaders to forward to rather than dread.
Living a Centered Life as a Leader (10 Tips Series)
Do you feel spiritually malnourished? Have you lost your passion for ministry? Do you struggle to prioritize your ministry activities? The demands of ministry can easily overwhelm us and hinder our capacity to stay spiritually renewed. The ten tips highlighted in this webinar will provide participants with insights and action steps to live a centered life that is joy-filled, energizing and sustainable.
Move Forward, Faster With a Ministry Plan
Before a home is built, an architect creates a drawing or blueprint, highlighting the time, money and resources needed to the complete the home. No contractor would begin a home without such a plan. Yet, so often in congregations, we launch into ministry without a blueprint or plan to guide our work, Participants will learn address why a plan is needed, how to develop one, and how to use the plan to monitor ministry progress.
Using Tech Tools to Turbocharge Your Ministry (Leading Well Series)

Changes in technology result in changes in how we communicate, organize, manage workflow and team together.  Gain insights on tech tools currently available that will enhance your leadership capacities and enable you to lead well in person and online.

Welcoming Resistance: Embracing Conflict as Opportunity (Leading Well Series)
Conflict is a natural part of the change process, and as leaders, we should welcome resistance as indicators that we are moving people beyond their comfort zones and into God’s preferred future. Learn strategies for framing difficult issues in ways that move conversations forward and get at the heart of people’s underlying concerns and assumptions.  Explore avenues for attending to loss and addressing sabotage if and practice scripts for helping individuals speak their truth in love and to engage with those they disagree with.  Toxic statements and behaviors will be named and suggested responses will be shared.  The learning experience will wrap up by offering ways that leaders can maintain a non-anxious presence in the midst of transition.
 
Trainings to Support Assessment Process

Assessing Your Congregation’s Spiritual Vitality
Through this assessment, congregations obtain a “reality check” on the current state of their faith forming capacities. Congregations would begin with having members complete an Exemplary Youth Ministry assessment that will provide insights on how spiritually the vibrant the congregation is, and what steps might be taken to enhance their congregation’s spiritual vitality initiatives.  An executive report is distributed to leaders and includes “conference call” with the coach to walk through the results and recommendations.

Assessing Your Congregation’s External Communications
The coach and key leaders collaborate on the completion of multiple assessment tools that include a Website Audit, a Social Media Audit, and a Branding & Publications Audit.  An executive report is compiled and distributed to leaders that listed observations and recommendations for enhancing your congregation’s overall external communications.

Assessing your Congregation’s Leadership Capacities
No matter how compelling your vision is, or how good your ministry plan might be, the primary factor limiting your congregation’s ability to live into God’s preferred future to be its leaders.  Leader’s must understand their roles and responsibilities.  They need a governing structure that supports the process.  They need training, orienting and tools to do their best work. This coaching process will assess overall leadership capacities that include governance, strategy, the grooming of new leaders, and ways that leaders can execute better in order to move forward faster.

Assessing your Congregation’s Capacity to Move Forward, Faster
Many congregations we work with have clear, compelling visions and often reasonably good plans for moving ahead.  What they frequently lack, however, is access to or knowledge of essential documents that support leaders’s capacities for moving forward.  These documents include a Leader’s Manual, job descriptions, an annual planning calendar, leadership rosters, forms for evaluating programs and people, a listing of congregational goals, bylaws and more.  Lack of knowledge and clarity around these documents tend to immobilize leaders and often lead to conflict due to confusion around roles, responsibilities and expectations.