2023 Workshops
All workshops below are offered both Friday and Saturday. Additional workshops may be added to the schedule. Workshop schedules and speakers are subject to change. All views of the Keynote Speakers and workshop presenters do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul.
Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression and Anxiety
Jenita Pace
Workshop A | Knight Hall
Depression and anxiety is such a heartbreaking challenge that can leave Christians feeling alone and isolated. Jenita is a licensed therapist and author who has had her own personal battle with depression and anxiety. She will share her journey as well as the tools and resources she has used to bring the Gospel to life. If you are struggling with depression and anxiety, love someone who is struggling or are ministering to those struggling, Jenita will provide ways to find hope using some of the most powerful names of Jesus. Join us for a time of healing.
Telling Your Story
Ann Sorenson
Workshop C | Knight Hall
You are an Ambassador of Christ, commissioned to make disciples as you go, everywhere you go, all the time. So how do you DO that? We will work through the Great Commission and discover how to practically walk out our faith with our families, co-workers, neighbors, friends and more! Life is a mission and we’re on it for Jesus. Come discover how God is calling, equipping and sending you to advance His Kingdom in your everyday life.
When You Pass Through the Waters
Keith Stevens
Workshop D | Knight Hall
When you've lost the love of your life, how do you find strength to carry on? Keith Stevens shares his story about finding strength in the wilderness, after losing the love of his life. Strength to carry on when all hope seems lost.
If you've gone through loss- loss of a loved one, loss of a friend, or any kind of loss at all, Keith will give you strength to not only carry on, but to find purpose and hope in middle of your wilderness. When you pass through the waters... I will be with you. Isaiah 43:2
Be Still
Sonya Anderson
Workshops C & D | Nazareth Chapel
Many people are familiar with the verse, “Be still, and know that I am God” but are unaware of its context. Psalm 46, Exodus 14, and Matthew 8 all paint pictures of stillness in the midst of chaos—trusting God in spite of unsettling circumstances. Sonya is mom of five young adult sons, two adopted as teenagers. She shares stories of God’s faithfulness through seasons of turbulence, and how she discovered the prayer that never fails. “God, I trust you.” Participants will explore practices for seeking stillness in the midst of the inevitable chaos of everyday life.
Making Your Way Through A Difficult Season
Renee Carlson
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F1360
Are you or someone you love in a difficult season? Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or even trapped by your current circumstances? Are you in need of some hope? Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble. He also told us that in Him we can have peace because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). In this empowering session, we will explore tangible, everyday strategies that in combination with your faith will help you navigate challenging times. You will leave equipped and encouraged!
Shifting Our Parenting Patterns
Amanda Carrara
Workshops C & D | Graham Commons G140
We parent from patterns based on past experiences. Scripture says, “ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear… We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4: 18-19)
We have access to this perfect love through Christ. He is our model.
How can we parent our children the way God parents us?
Come and discover barriers that hold you back from showing up the way you’ve always desired to as a parent. Gain clarity and confidence as you soften the fear and shame based cycles of parenting and step into God’s model of love.
Revive Our Hearts: Restore Our Joy
Heather Cruz
Workshops A & B | Nazareth Chapel
We will walk through the book of Isaiah with our magnifying glass aimed at the heart of God's people. Our journey will lead us to see how God makes a way for joy to be restored today. We will focus on three key ideas: Grace - the Heartbeat of Joy, Wholehearted Devotion to God, and a Heart of Worship.
Faithfully Connecting Generations
Becky Danielson and Carol Olsen
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F1360
From the beginning, God made a way to pass on His Gospel message through the family. Often generations find it hard to relate to one another. This session is designed to equip women of all ages. Using practical tips and strategies, we will provide ways to connect, communicate and invest spiritually, relationally, and financially with family members. We will also address challenges such as busyness, distance, difficult relationships, and abandoning faith. Participants will leave prepared to build or strengthen their family legacy of faith.
In Purpose, On Purpose, and For a Purpose
Kendra Q. Dodd
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2106
You are uniquely designed and called to lead for a specific purpose. Learning your purposeful story will help you see God’s faithfulness in you. During our time together, you will discover how to focus on your calling and priorities. It’s a time to see how God has been present in your life before you were created to your current circumstances. We will discuss how to move forward with confidence in your Destiny. We ALL are created In Purpose, On Purpose, and For a Purpose. Learn to see your experiences shine a path on where you should go next.
Beating Burn Out to Burn Long and Live Refreshed
Jennifer Dougan
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2128
In our frenzied, fast-paced world, how do good leaders model balance? Weaving the continual urgent needs of a hurting people and world with his own team's needs for food, rest, and renewal, Jesus has much to teach us about work/life/ministry balance. Stepping into historical accounts from the Bible, walk beside Jesus and his team, seeing with new eyes three tools he models to help us beat burn out and live a renewed, refreshed life. Speaker, writer, and Bible teacher, Jennifer Dougan loves to point people to God's life-transforming words. www.jenniferdougan.com
Under His Wings
Aminta Geisler
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2211
Have you ever cried out, "I don't know what to do!" while going through a crisis? The book of Ruth holds an amazing answer to that cry for help. "Under His Wings" is a three part strategy for walking out God's redemption to any story:
1. The mind - trusting and tucking into the protection and covering of God.
2. The heart - being loyal, humble and fearless.
3. The body - taking the next right step.
Follow Ruth and Naomi on an incredible redemption journey and receive practical steps for walking through your own seemingly impossible situation. Hope is found under His wings!
Being or Doing
Heidi Hoefs
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2211
Are you a checklist person? Let’s make a list, do the thing, and check it off? But what if there is more to life than checklists and getting things done? It is easy to miss the abundance that God invites us into when we are moving at such a fast pace with a mountain of distraction. We become defined by what or how much we do, rather than who we are. With story and scripture, this workshop invites us to explore and discuss who we are in Christ and practical ways to be.
In God's Waiting Room
Pati Kachel
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2106
Sometimes we pray and pray about situations and concerns in our lives and God asks us to just wait for His answer. While we are waiting, God is still working behind the scenes, orchestrating the details and arranging the perfect timing for His sovereign plan to unfold. I will share scriptures that have encouraged my heart and given me peace as I have waited upon the Lord to make His highest and best plans come to pass in my life. I will share how God has come through for me in miraculous ways when I have put my trust in Him and in His perfect timing. It will be a FUNSHOP, not a workshop!
Prayer: An Invitation, A Conversation, A Response
Bev Phillips
Workshops A & B | Graham Commons G227
What is prayer anyway? Prayer is a 6 letter word with multiple definitions. We are often hesitant to admit doubts as to whether it makes any difference - we don’t want to sound like bad Christians. Our prayer times may a brief, tangled mixture of worrying and mental wandering rather than a meaningful time of connecting with God. Let’s dig into the Scriptures for the true definition of prayer, the reason to pray, and Jesus’ example of where and how to pray. I have prayed in the midst of pregnancy loss, prodigals, elderly unsaved parents, and family members with gender struggles. The heart of prayer is not in getting things from God but Getting God. We can come messy and begin to see how God can do “new things” in our thirsty souls!
Testing, Training, and Complaining in the Wilderness
Anna Rask Emison
Workshop A & B | Graham Commons G115
After God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, it was imperative they did not go straight to the Promised Land. Israel needed to learn more about God, and God wanted to see if they were ready to trust, obey, and be his covenant partner. So he led them into the wilderness and tested them. These were not pass-or-fail tests; instead, they were training exercises for Israel to learn more about God and practice trusting him. Unfortunately, these tests were regularly met with complaining and the striking revelation that while God was testing Israel, Israel was testing God.
Come to the Table
Erica Whitson
Workshops C & D | Graham Commons G115
One way we can be the hands and feet of Jesus is through opening up our homes to others. God makes it clear in His word that community is an important gift as it is a reflection of the Kingdom of God. In the wake of COVID and not being able to be together it's important we renew our focus on community and reaching out to others. As it states in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the day approaching." Hosting and organizing events can be intimidating for many because there is so much pressure to have everything perfect. My goal in this workshop is to help participants choose 1 of 3 areas that are important to them, in which they can focus on, and give tips to help the other 2 areas be easier. It will be a workshop where participants will come away with ideas for hosting different events, set goals for future hosting possibilities, and give copies of some simple recipes to make. I want participants to feel empowered to create a space around their table to make others feel loved, safe, grateful, and at home. In doing so they are reflecting the selfless, inclusive, and serving love of God.
The Kindness Connection
Lori Wildenberg
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2128
The kindness of God is one way the Lord beckons us to Himself. Discover different types of kindness killers and a few ways to weave kindness into your relationships in order to strengthen those relationships.
Jenita Pace
Workshop A | Knight Hall
Depression and anxiety is such a heartbreaking challenge that can leave Christians feeling alone and isolated. Jenita is a licensed therapist and author who has had her own personal battle with depression and anxiety. She will share her journey as well as the tools and resources she has used to bring the Gospel to life. If you are struggling with depression and anxiety, love someone who is struggling or are ministering to those struggling, Jenita will provide ways to find hope using some of the most powerful names of Jesus. Join us for a time of healing.
Telling Your Story
Ann Sorenson
Workshop C | Knight Hall
You are an Ambassador of Christ, commissioned to make disciples as you go, everywhere you go, all the time. So how do you DO that? We will work through the Great Commission and discover how to practically walk out our faith with our families, co-workers, neighbors, friends and more! Life is a mission and we’re on it for Jesus. Come discover how God is calling, equipping and sending you to advance His Kingdom in your everyday life.
When You Pass Through the Waters
Keith Stevens
Workshop D | Knight Hall
When you've lost the love of your life, how do you find strength to carry on? Keith Stevens shares his story about finding strength in the wilderness, after losing the love of his life. Strength to carry on when all hope seems lost.
If you've gone through loss- loss of a loved one, loss of a friend, or any kind of loss at all, Keith will give you strength to not only carry on, but to find purpose and hope in middle of your wilderness. When you pass through the waters... I will be with you. Isaiah 43:2
Be Still
Sonya Anderson
Workshops C & D | Nazareth Chapel
Many people are familiar with the verse, “Be still, and know that I am God” but are unaware of its context. Psalm 46, Exodus 14, and Matthew 8 all paint pictures of stillness in the midst of chaos—trusting God in spite of unsettling circumstances. Sonya is mom of five young adult sons, two adopted as teenagers. She shares stories of God’s faithfulness through seasons of turbulence, and how she discovered the prayer that never fails. “God, I trust you.” Participants will explore practices for seeking stillness in the midst of the inevitable chaos of everyday life.
Making Your Way Through A Difficult Season
Renee Carlson
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F1360
Are you or someone you love in a difficult season? Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or even trapped by your current circumstances? Are you in need of some hope? Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble. He also told us that in Him we can have peace because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). In this empowering session, we will explore tangible, everyday strategies that in combination with your faith will help you navigate challenging times. You will leave equipped and encouraged!
Shifting Our Parenting Patterns
Amanda Carrara
Workshops C & D | Graham Commons G140
We parent from patterns based on past experiences. Scripture says, “ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear… We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4: 18-19)
We have access to this perfect love through Christ. He is our model.
How can we parent our children the way God parents us?
Come and discover barriers that hold you back from showing up the way you’ve always desired to as a parent. Gain clarity and confidence as you soften the fear and shame based cycles of parenting and step into God’s model of love.
Revive Our Hearts: Restore Our Joy
Heather Cruz
Workshops A & B | Nazareth Chapel
We will walk through the book of Isaiah with our magnifying glass aimed at the heart of God's people. Our journey will lead us to see how God makes a way for joy to be restored today. We will focus on three key ideas: Grace - the Heartbeat of Joy, Wholehearted Devotion to God, and a Heart of Worship.
Faithfully Connecting Generations
Becky Danielson and Carol Olsen
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F1360
From the beginning, God made a way to pass on His Gospel message through the family. Often generations find it hard to relate to one another. This session is designed to equip women of all ages. Using practical tips and strategies, we will provide ways to connect, communicate and invest spiritually, relationally, and financially with family members. We will also address challenges such as busyness, distance, difficult relationships, and abandoning faith. Participants will leave prepared to build or strengthen their family legacy of faith.
In Purpose, On Purpose, and For a Purpose
Kendra Q. Dodd
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2106
You are uniquely designed and called to lead for a specific purpose. Learning your purposeful story will help you see God’s faithfulness in you. During our time together, you will discover how to focus on your calling and priorities. It’s a time to see how God has been present in your life before you were created to your current circumstances. We will discuss how to move forward with confidence in your Destiny. We ALL are created In Purpose, On Purpose, and For a Purpose. Learn to see your experiences shine a path on where you should go next.
Beating Burn Out to Burn Long and Live Refreshed
Jennifer Dougan
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2128
In our frenzied, fast-paced world, how do good leaders model balance? Weaving the continual urgent needs of a hurting people and world with his own team's needs for food, rest, and renewal, Jesus has much to teach us about work/life/ministry balance. Stepping into historical accounts from the Bible, walk beside Jesus and his team, seeing with new eyes three tools he models to help us beat burn out and live a renewed, refreshed life. Speaker, writer, and Bible teacher, Jennifer Dougan loves to point people to God's life-transforming words. www.jenniferdougan.com
Under His Wings
Aminta Geisler
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2211
Have you ever cried out, "I don't know what to do!" while going through a crisis? The book of Ruth holds an amazing answer to that cry for help. "Under His Wings" is a three part strategy for walking out God's redemption to any story:
1. The mind - trusting and tucking into the protection and covering of God.
2. The heart - being loyal, humble and fearless.
3. The body - taking the next right step.
Follow Ruth and Naomi on an incredible redemption journey and receive practical steps for walking through your own seemingly impossible situation. Hope is found under His wings!
Being or Doing
Heidi Hoefs
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2211
Are you a checklist person? Let’s make a list, do the thing, and check it off? But what if there is more to life than checklists and getting things done? It is easy to miss the abundance that God invites us into when we are moving at such a fast pace with a mountain of distraction. We become defined by what or how much we do, rather than who we are. With story and scripture, this workshop invites us to explore and discuss who we are in Christ and practical ways to be.
In God's Waiting Room
Pati Kachel
Workshops A & B | Totino Fine Arts F2106
Sometimes we pray and pray about situations and concerns in our lives and God asks us to just wait for His answer. While we are waiting, God is still working behind the scenes, orchestrating the details and arranging the perfect timing for His sovereign plan to unfold. I will share scriptures that have encouraged my heart and given me peace as I have waited upon the Lord to make His highest and best plans come to pass in my life. I will share how God has come through for me in miraculous ways when I have put my trust in Him and in His perfect timing. It will be a FUNSHOP, not a workshop!
Prayer: An Invitation, A Conversation, A Response
Bev Phillips
Workshops A & B | Graham Commons G227
What is prayer anyway? Prayer is a 6 letter word with multiple definitions. We are often hesitant to admit doubts as to whether it makes any difference - we don’t want to sound like bad Christians. Our prayer times may a brief, tangled mixture of worrying and mental wandering rather than a meaningful time of connecting with God. Let’s dig into the Scriptures for the true definition of prayer, the reason to pray, and Jesus’ example of where and how to pray. I have prayed in the midst of pregnancy loss, prodigals, elderly unsaved parents, and family members with gender struggles. The heart of prayer is not in getting things from God but Getting God. We can come messy and begin to see how God can do “new things” in our thirsty souls!
Testing, Training, and Complaining in the Wilderness
Anna Rask Emison
Workshop A & B | Graham Commons G115
After God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, it was imperative they did not go straight to the Promised Land. Israel needed to learn more about God, and God wanted to see if they were ready to trust, obey, and be his covenant partner. So he led them into the wilderness and tested them. These were not pass-or-fail tests; instead, they were training exercises for Israel to learn more about God and practice trusting him. Unfortunately, these tests were regularly met with complaining and the striking revelation that while God was testing Israel, Israel was testing God.
Come to the Table
Erica Whitson
Workshops C & D | Graham Commons G115
One way we can be the hands and feet of Jesus is through opening up our homes to others. God makes it clear in His word that community is an important gift as it is a reflection of the Kingdom of God. In the wake of COVID and not being able to be together it's important we renew our focus on community and reaching out to others. As it states in Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the day approaching." Hosting and organizing events can be intimidating for many because there is so much pressure to have everything perfect. My goal in this workshop is to help participants choose 1 of 3 areas that are important to them, in which they can focus on, and give tips to help the other 2 areas be easier. It will be a workshop where participants will come away with ideas for hosting different events, set goals for future hosting possibilities, and give copies of some simple recipes to make. I want participants to feel empowered to create a space around their table to make others feel loved, safe, grateful, and at home. In doing so they are reflecting the selfless, inclusive, and serving love of God.
The Kindness Connection
Lori Wildenberg
Workshops C & D | Totino Fine Arts F2128
The kindness of God is one way the Lord beckons us to Himself. Discover different types of kindness killers and a few ways to weave kindness into your relationships in order to strengthen those relationships.
