There will be over 100 seminars and “This Generation” seminars offered during the 2007 conference. These seminars fall into 9 different topics or “tracks”. Separating the seminars into these different tracks allows for a more strategic presentation of various topics. You can attend seminars that fit within your specific area of interest or you can choose seminars from a variety of tracks to fit wider interests. The tracks are indicated on the seminar schedule, next to the title of each seminar.

Strategic Mission Opportunities
This track is designed to give you the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of ministries around the globe. Each presenter will share how God is uniquely using them and present the ministry opportunities that are available to you and your church.

Relief
This track is designed to share what churches and agencies are doing to respond to disasters or conflict around the world.

Mission Strategies
Do you want to be involved in cutting-edge, groundbreaking ministries but have no way to connect with them? This track is designed to give a variety of different strategies that are being explored and finding success in our world.

Church Missions Development
Developing an effective church based missions ministry is vital to fulfilling the Great Commission. In this tract you will discover a wide variety of effective church missions programs that include how to set up and structure missions in your church, effective mission recruitment, program promotion, missionary care and funding your mission program.

Personal Missions Development
Are you on the path to the mission world? This track is designed for those who are pursuing short term and career missions. You will learn of the many opportunities for personal missions preparation available through the local church and mission agencies. Discover what is required to be effectively equipped for world missions.

Youth and Children’s Track
The next generation of missionaries and mission leaders are in our churches today. What will you do to direct these young people toward a life and career serving Christ in the unreached parts of their world and how do you effectively challenge and involve students in world missions? In this track you will learn about the great resources available to you and your church to assist you in the process of training up the next generation of world Christians.

Please Note that the Youth track is different from the “This Generation” (Youth) Seminars. The latter are seminars designed for youth to attend.

Local Cross Cultural Ministry
From Christian Community Development to refugee ministry to being missional within your community—find out what God is doing right across the street.

Business as Mission
Jesus said he must be about His father’s business. Many are using their business skills to build His Kingdom locally and globally.

This Generation (Youth) Seminars
These are seminars designed for youth to attend. A variety of topics of special interest to students and youth will be covered. While geared towards students and young adults, anyone is welcome to attend these seminars.

I attended my first Missions Fest (in Vancouver) when I was fifteen. As a teenager who had big dreams of heading to the mission field and changing the world, I valued the opportunity to meet and interact with missionaries from many different organizations. I came home excited about what God was doing in the world and talked non stop about my experience at Missions Fest for the next three weeks. The next year, before I left for Missions Fest in Vancouver, my mom made me promise to not “sign anywhere on the dotted line.”

The seminars have always had the greatest impact for me. I have sat in seminars about the persecuted church, orphans in China, ministering to International students, language learning strategies, and many more. I’ve also had the opportunity to have several meaningful conversations with seminar presenters that have allowed to me to ask difficult questions and to hear honest answers from some of the “experts.” I even had the opportunity one year to meet one of my childhood heroes–a Wycliffe missionary from the Philippines whose story was perhaps the biggest influence in my desire to serve God overseas. In a sense, you can say that I am addicted to Seminars.

My own experience with seminars has convinced me that seminars are one of the most important parts of Missions Fest Seattle. I’m excited about the seminars that we will be offering this year!

There are 9 different tracks, or categories, that our seminars fit into. This helps you choose the seminars that best fit with your interests. Are you ready to “sign on the dotted line” and go? If so, there will be some seminars in the Personal Missions Development track that can help you figure out the next step. Do you want to hear stories of what God is doing in the world or learn about new and exciting strategies for reaching the world? Then check out the Missions Strategies or Strategic Missions Opportunities tracks (and, yes, there is a difference between these two similarly titled tracks). If you want to learn how to develop your church’s missions ministry then go to a seminar or two in the Church Missions Development track. Youth and Children’s leaders…we even have something for you!

Check back this summer for more information on the specific seminars that will be offered and I hope to see you in a seminar or two in October.

Missions Fest Seattle