Practical, hands-on strategies and tools that you can immediately implement in your ministry.
Workshops at WARM are designed to be interactive and highly engaging, offering a unique experience compared to typical breakout sessions you may be accustomed to at conferences. These sessions encourage active participation, allowing attendees to connect deeply with the content, instructors, and fellow participants. Upon registration, you'll have the opportunity to select one of four workshop options. Each workshop consists of four interconnected sessions, building on each other to enhance your learning experience.
Our Workshops
Funding the Mission
Workshop Leaders: Fred Douglas, Jeremy White & Ron Frey
Funding the Mission brings together three seasoned leaders whose combined experience spans nonprofit development, faith-based ministry, community engagement, organizational leadership, and strategic fundraising. In a ministry world where simply passing the offering plate no longer cuts it, this workshop will equip pastors and ministry teams with practical tools to cultivate sustainable resources, engage donors with clarity and confidence, and build financial models that fuel long-term, Gospel-centered impact.
Drawing from decades of work in philanthropy, ministry leadership, nonprofit consulting, and donor engagement, the presenters will guide participants through the essential components of building a healthy funding culture—rooted in story, strengthened through relationships, and supported by clear strategy. Attendees will learn how to identify mission-aligned partners, communicate vision in compelling ways, grow donor trust, and build long-term systems for financial sustainability.
Whether your congregation is large or small, urban or rural, Funding the Mission will inspire and equip you to resource the work God has entrusted to you—faithfully, wisely, and boldly.
Youth Ministry That Disciples
Workshop Leader: Chip Taylor
Youth Ministry That Disciples is a practical, energizing workshop focused on building student ministries that form resilient, Jesus-centered young people. Grounded in decades of frontline experience and a deep passion for mentoring the next generation, this session will equip youth leaders with tools to move beyond programs and into intentional discipleship.
Participants will explore how to create environments where students are known, challenged, and spiritually formed; how to develop leaders who model authentic faith; and how to build pathways that help teenagers grow from initial curiosity to lifelong commitment to Christ. With a focus on real-world strategies, relational investment, and the long game of spiritual development, this workshop will help churches of any size cultivate a youth ministry that actually makes disciples—not just attenders.
Come ready to be encouraged, equipped, and reminded that shaping the next generation is one of the most important callings in the church today.
Biblical Exegesis That Equips
Workshop Leader: Dr. Tim Dwyer
Biblical Exegesis That Equips is a hands-on workshop designed to help pastors, teachers, and ministry leaders handle Scripture with clarity, confidence, and faithfulness. Drawing from years of deep academic study and practical ministry experience, this session will guide participants into a richer understanding of how to interpret the biblical text in ways that strengthen preaching, teaching, and discipleship.
Attendees will explore essential tools for engaging the original context, tracing the author’s intent, and discovering how Scripture speaks with power to the church today. With a focus on accessible, reproducible methods, the workshop emphasizes exegesis not as an academic exercise but as a pastoral skill that equips God’s people to grow in maturity and mission.
Whether you’re preparing sermons, leading small groups, or discipling others one-on-one, Biblical Exegesis That Equips will deepen your love for the Word and sharpen your ability to teach it with accuracy, insight, and joy.
Practicing Justice
Workshop Leader: Andrew Gale
Practicing Justice is an invitation to understand and embody God’s heart for people—both locally and globally—through thoughtful, informed, and relational engagement. This workshop explores how the church can faithfully respond to the needs of vulnerable communities, drawing from deep experience in global ministry, intercultural studies, and international development.
Participants will gain a clearer framework for what biblical justice looks like in practice: caring for those experiencing poverty, standing with marginalized communities, and cultivating partnerships that honor dignity and promote lasting transformation. With a focus on global connectivity, practical steps, and sustainable impact, this session provides tools for churches and leaders who want to move beyond awareness into meaningful action.
Whether your ministry is just beginning to explore global engagement or is looking to deepen its current efforts, Practicing Justice will equip you to participate in God’s restorative work in the world with wisdom, compassion, and purpose.
Brave Cities & Missional Innovation
Workshop Leaders: Beth Wolff & Jerod Brown
Brave Cities & Missional Innovation invites leaders to reimagine what it means for the church to courageously love, serve, and shape the communities where God has placed them. Drawing from extensive pastoral leadership, theological depth, and a passion for cultivating healthy, connected communities, this workshop explores how congregations can move beyond maintaining ministry to pioneering it.
Participants will learn how to discern the needs of their neighborhoods, build meaningful relationships, and develop creative expressions of mission that reflect the heart of Jesus. With a focus on empowerment, listening, and Spirit-driven innovation, this session offers practical frameworks for engaging complex communities with hope, compassion, and holy imagination.
Whether your context is urban, suburban, or rural, Brave Cities & Missional Innovation will challenge and equip you to take bold, faithful steps toward becoming a church that loves its city well—one conversation, one act of service, one spark of hope at a time.
Boards that Champion Their Pastor
Workshop Leaders: Dr. Carl Addison & David Boots
Boards That Champion Their Pastor is a practical and essential workshop designed to help church boards build healthy, supportive, and mission-aligned relationships with their pastoral leaders—spiritually, relationally, and financially. Drawing from decades of church leadership, pastoral coaching, and nonprofit financial strategy, this session will equip board members with tools to build trust, communicate clearly, navigate tension with wisdom, and establish systems that allow both pastors and congregations to flourish.
A key focus of this workshop is understanding the often-complex world of pastoral compensation—not only for today, but for the pastor’s future. Participants will learn how to structure salary and housing allowance, understand accountable reimbursement plans, navigate clergy-specific tax considerations, provide health insurance and fringe benefits, and offer meaningful “free-to-the-church” benefits that support pastoral wellbeing. This session will also address a critical reality many churches face: pastors who cannot afford to retire. Attendees will explore how to avoid this situation through proactive planning, sustainable financial practices, and intentional long-term stewardship—strengthening both the pastor and the health of the church.
Throughout the session, there will be space for open discussion and Q&A.
Whether your board is new or well-established, this workshop will help you strengthen governance, align expectations, care well for pastoral families, and create a culture where pastors feel supported, valued, and empowered to lead faithfully. When boards champion their pastors, unity deepens, ministry becomes more sustainable, and the whole church moves forward in shared mission with strength and joy.