Thank you for your interest in presenting at the PCCCA Annual Conference.
This event will be held at Heartland Center outside of Kansas City, Missouri on November 13-18. The PCCCA Annual Conference will bring together camp and retreat leaders from across the United States and Canada. The event is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, the Campfire Collective, and the Office of Christian Formation of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. The conference has been endorsed by the Outdoor Ministries Institute of the United Church of Canada and the Outdoor Ministries Association of the United Church of Christ.
The Planning Team for the conference is seeking workshop presenters.
Our workshop sessions are scheduled throughout the week and are approximately 75 minutes in length. As a community of servant leaders, we do not compensate workshop leaders. If you are not planning on attending the conference as a participant, we are willing to provide you meals and the program participant fee during the day of your session.
The theme for the conference is “Abiding Presence.”
Gather with us to explore what it looks like to welcome people into God’s Abiding Presence through camp and conference ministry. No matter the shifts we continue to make in our ministries, what hasn't changed is our call and mission. Join us as we delve into how we can be conduits of this Abiding Presence of welcome, transformation, and service by doing what we do best - teaching and learning from one another as we discern what Matthew 25:31-46 is saying to us today.
Our Daily Themes are as follows:
Space to Welcome
Camp and conference ministry is designed to welcome people into community. How do we welcome others who have not been traditionally a part of outdoor ministry culture in? In our desire to create community, how do we celebrate the individual and guard against requiring conformity?
A Place to Dwell
How then shall we live together? What does community look like in this era? How do we address the connections that are made in virtual space and lift up the in-person space and nature that camps and conferences provide?
Ways to Sustain
The outdoor ministry experience shouldn’t be just one week during the summer, but a connection that continues throughout the year. How do we nurture and preserve that community connection when sunscreen is not required? How do we partner with and equip churches to sustain the exploration and deepening of faith during these times?
Room to Move
As we welcome new people and new ideas to dwell in our spaces and places, we will need room to stretch, to move things around, to let some things go, and to make room for others. What if even camps and conference centers have some sacred cows that need to be rearranged?
The Planning Team suggests the following as possible workshop presentations.
In connection with our theme, and the ongoing work of our ministries, the following topics are suggested. If you feel confident in leading one of the following (or a topic of your own), we encourage you to submit a proposal.
Suggested Topics include:
• Camp cultural vitality
• Empowering staff to devise and implement mission driven programming
• Boost your ministries nimbleness for timely response to community need
• Practical anti-racism programs and partnerships, a panel discussion
• Serving youth and children with trauma backgrounds
• Becoming a Matthew 25 Camp
• Alternative energy for your site
• Neuro-diversity Inclusion
• De-escalation techniques
• Time-management for executives and administrative staff
• Transgender Inclusion
• Canva 101
• Great ideas to steal for your site
Submit a Workshop Proposal Today
Whether it is one of the suggested topics above or one of your own creation, please fill out the form below to submit your proposed session. The Planning Team will finalize workshops in September.