The Do It Together Sabbath School Leadership Convention is described as training for Sabbath School superintendents, secretaries, creatives, youth pastors, other pastors, teachers, and those interested in growing their Sabbath School attendance and engagement. The convention will be held virtually from September 9-11, 2021.

North American Division Youth and Young Adult Ministries is partnering with Adult Ministries and Children’s Ministries to encourage leaders of all age groups to come together. General sessions and workshop training will be led by Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministries, and Adult Ministries, showcasing exciting ways to lead Sabbath School in the local church. The event will also include devotionals and special music.

“We are anticipating a complete relaunch of the vision and the mission of Sabbath School in North American Division. This is going to be it,” says Tracy Wood, NAD Youth and Young Adult Ministries director.

“The whole ‘Do It Together’ theme is about saying that the better way to do Sabbath School, and the strength and the power come when we all decide that we're going to do it, is together,” adds Vandeon Griffin, Youth and Young Adult Ministries associate director. "The power comes when we just all come together, intergenerationally, and do this thing. All of us are taught of the Lord.”

Resources, networking, and intergenerational training will be offered for a $20 fee per registrant. This event is unique, as training will happen for all levels of Sabbath School with an emphasis on teaching lessons in tandem. Beyond the training will be a plethora of resources that can be used in small groups, offsite Sabbath Schools, and virtual Sabbath School spaces.

NAD Children’s Ministries director, Sherri Uhrig, says that attendees will “learn how to add wonder and awe to their children’s Sabbath School.” She adds, “We are all about leading children to Say YES to Jesus and having them know love, and serve him.”

Gael Murray, Youth and Young Adult Ministries administrative assistant and part of the #OneTeam, says, “You can have endless tools and resources but if you don’t know how to break it down, or have the creativity, or even have examples, it will become foreign.” 

Murray has been on with the team each week of the online Momentum Youth Sabbath program and, with a long list of leaders, has helped with this year’s convention. Key convention contributors include Uhrig, Children’s Ministries associate director Gerry Lopez, Roger Wade, Kevin Watson, Steve Case, Kathy Beagles, Jeremy Wong, and Jason North.

Several training tracks will be available in English, Spanish, and French, with both basic and advanced tracks, and will include a special track to help leaders produce online Sabbath school. This is something with which the Youth Ministries team has hands-on experience. 

“One of our presenters has been with us through the entire year and a half of our Momentum Sabbath School,” says Wood. “Our presenters will be talking from experience, not just ideas. They will talk about what works and what doesn’t work; how to be innovative and just go for it.”

“This has been a work in progress for the last several years, says Armando Miranda Jr., Youth nad Young ADult Ministries associate director. “Six years ago, there was nothing. There was not even anything close to what we're doing right now with online Sabbath School programming and partnerships.”

Miranda explains that, for this convention, they started with youth Sabbath School training requested by union youth directors. 

“Administration caught on and they started helping us, funding YouthSabbathSchoolIdeas.org,” he adds. “Then Children's Ministries and Adult Ministries partnered with us. We are doing this together.”

“We're excited about the possibilities,” says Griffin. “The entire family gets a chance to go to Sabbath School, and it's not boring--it's exciting. We want to transfer our excitement to others so they too say, ‘I can't wait to be a part of Sabbath School! Let's all go and see what God does for us.’”

Click here to watch a video interview with the NAD Youth and Young Adult Ministries team as they talk about this event and more. [https://vimeo.com/577364462]

Learn more and register at https://oneteamplaybook.org/2021-nad-ssc/; register before Aug. 9 to receive a resource “swag box.”

This article was originally published on the North American Division’s news site.