2012 Rooted Conference: Adopted - The Beauty of Grace

­ Rooted: A Theology Conference for Student Ministry is thrilled to announce and unveil our next conference which will take place August 9-11, 2012 in Birmingham, AL at the Cathedral Church of the Advent. Our theme, Adopted - The Beauty of Grace hits at the core of the theological crisis in youth ministry, the emotional state of youth culture and the centrality of the Gospel of grace. Those interested can REGISTER NOW.

It is no secret that youth ministry in America is failing. We have all heard the statistics. According to some statistics, 70% of youth group alumni will not return to church after high school. Christian Smith, Kenda Creasy Dean, and others have been champions for youth ministry in the way that they have identified theology - the message - of youth ministry as the problem. The general theology of religious, American teens is encapsulated in the term therapeutic, moralistic deism. The message of much of youth ministry centers on what students do - performance and behavior - and less on what Jesus did on the Cross. As Adam McLane aptly writes, there is little Good News in the Gospel of youth ministry.

First and foremost, the 2012 Rooted Conference will focus on the same old story, the message of the Cross. We will talk about how the Gospel of grace must serve as the axis of what we teach, how we minister, and how we relate to teens and youth culture.

Rooted believes that the game-changer in youth ministry is simple: it’s the infusion and influence of the Gospel of grace in everything we do and teach. The full Gospel - the reality that Jesus’s death on the Cross means He absorbed all of our shortcomings, sins, and flaws and, in turn, gives us His righteousness - is what kids need. Understanding how deeply and perfectly God loves them in spite of their sin is what will yield a desire for holiness, love, justice, and mission.

The Gospel permeates the essence of the 2012 Rooted Conference. We specifically will talk about how this message relates to the current emotional state of youth culture. More on that later.

BASIC DETAILS:

REGISTER HERE

DATES:
Thursday, August 9 – Saturday, August 11, 2012

COST:
$100 (before February 1)
$150 (before June 1)
$200 (after May 31)
The cost includes conference admission, light breakfast, and dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday. Full refunds for cancellations will not be given after August 1.

LOCATION:
Cathedral Church of the Advent
2017 Sixth Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203

FOR WHOM:
People ministering to students, including youth pastors, college ministers, teachers, coaches, and volunteers who:

• Need to be refreshed by the message of God’s grace
• Want to serve students better with the Gospel
• Care about the Gospel being central in the Church
• Wish to connect with other student pastors
• Want to grow in theology