|
Associates are gifted presenters who lead workshops, seminars, and conferences on behalf of The Institute. Many provide consulting and coaching services designed to help congregations fulfill their vision for youth and familiy ministry. Please contact Jim Ladoux to make use of their services. Associates specializing in peer ministry are featured on the Peer Ministry website.
Rev. Mike Carlson
Specializes in: Peer Ministry, Youth and Family Ministry Consulting |
 |
Pastor Carlson is a Youth and Family specialist who has provided solid ministry as a youth and family minister in the parish and in the community. Mike has developed programs in Peer Ministry that have proven to be powerful tools for ministry in the lives of hundreds of people. He is a trained trainer for the Peer Ministry division of The Youth & Family Institute and has trained hundreds of youth and adults. His energy and practical application have proven to work well in any size group.
He is a pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, MN, where he lives with his three boys and his wife Tammy. He received his M.Div. from Wartburg Theological Seminary. He is also serves as a Speaker, Trainer, and Consultant all over the United States, teaching and preaching on the wonders of God's powerful and transforming love. |
Mike keeps groups spell bound as he weaves Biblical foundations with life stories that apply to the priesthood of all believers. He is an accomplished speaker at Synod gatherings, graduations, school groups, and churches as well as being a powerful trainer. Mike is dedicated to empowering all people to find their gifts of ministry.
Workshop and seminar areas include: Surviving Learning Disabilities, Sexuality, Parents Passing on Faith, Intergenerational Ministry, and Sunday School. |
Peggy Contos-Hahn
Specializes in: Coaching, Hand and Hand Conferences |
 |
Peggy Contos serves as Assistant to the Bishop of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod. She is Executive Director of Camp Hope Ministries and the developer of The Discipleship Project. Peggy serves as adjunct faculty for the Center for Youth Ministry at Wartburg Seminary, co-directing Certification Schools for the synod staff in youth and family ministry. She will continute to work with The Youth & Family Institute in leading Hand in Hand congregational consultations and facilitating numerous traininig events. Peggy also has experience working with congregations in El Salvador for over ten years and is the mother of three young adults—Kristen (24), Jeff (22) and Matt (20)—and a chocolate Labrador named Lucy. |
Peggy is passionate about faith formation with people of all ages and is dedicated to outreach among Latino families. She is committed to leadership development through discipleship, and will be assisting The Institute in expanding our coaching services which are available to church leaders and congregations. She will deepen the relationships we enjoy among denominational bodies and continue to grow partnerships with organizations that share our values of passing on Christian faith and living well in Christ. |
| |
Pat Eidness
Specializes in: Milestone Ministry |
|
Pat Eidsness is currently serving as Associate in Ministry for Youth & Family at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She has worked in youth and family minsitry in three congregations, and
is a certified youth minister through Wartburg Seminary. For five years, Pat served the South Dakota Synod, ELCA, as Director of Faith Family Style, which teaches congregations how to put the "and
family" into youth and family ministry. Pat preaches, teaches, plans intergenerational events and does strategic planning with congregational leaders. She teaches practical ways to use the milestones in children's lives to connect families to each other and to the church. Pat brings passion, experience, research and theology into the discussion of passing on faith to the next generation.
|
|
Pat and her husband, Roe, have four grown children, eight grandchildren, one great-grandson and a puppy! They are avid bicyclists, riding the 115-mile Mickelson Trek through the Black HIlls of South Dakota each fall. |
Eric Hamrick
Specializes in: Peer Ministry, Growing Groups, Youth and Family Ministry Coaching, Ministry Measurements, Models for Mentoring, and Models for Outreach |
 |
Eric Hamrick, currently serves as the Director of Youth and Family Ministry at Living Lord Church in Lake Saint Louis Missouri and enjoys building ministries for children, youth and families to help people find new ways to connect with one another and with God. As the father of two girls, Eric stays connected to youth and parenting trends and makes every effort to “practice what he preaches.”
Eric enjoys speaking and training in various ministry settings across the country. Eric is an Associate with the Youth and Family Institute specializing in Peer Ministry, Growing Groups, and Youth and Family Ministry Coaching. He also trains congregations, staff and volunteers in Ministry Measurements, Models for Mentoring, and Models for Outreach. Eric also enjoys writing training material and curriculum periodically for Augsburg Fortress Publishing.
Eric brings a great deal of passion and experience to his work, speaking and training. He has served as Director of Youth & Family Ministry in three churches, worked as Program Director and Program Coordinator for two Big Brothers/Big Sisters agencies and worked three years as a Crisis Counselor.
|
Eric has a MA from Luther Seminary in Youth and Family Ministry and a BA from Luther College majoring in Psychology. Eric has 16 years experience developing effective Peer Ministry models and small group models in congregations. He enjoys teaching and equipping people for ministry and finding new and creative ways to help people reach out and serve the needs of the church and community |
Heather Hultgren
Specializes in: Training adults in Youth and Family Ministry, Creative Expression in Worship, Clown Ministry Training |
 |
A graduate of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN with a Master of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry, she has seven years of youth and family ministry experience and is an ELCA Associate in Ministry.
Heather has written VisionPak for The Youth & Family Institute, as well as curriculum for Augsburg Fortress; has been a columnist for Parish Teacher; and has written Bible Studies for Youth Encounter. She developed Smart Start, a mentoring/education program for youth workers through Youth Leadership, Inc.
Heather is a graduate of Christ Clown College, and is currently Boss Clown of Life In Christ Circus, a Twin Cities performing clown troupe. She has clowned in Mexico, Africa, and the United States. She has trained others in the art and theology of clown ministry. |
| Heather is in the season of motherhood, with her son Marcus, a clown himself, and daughters. She and her family live in Woodbury, MN. |
Lisa Kimball
Specializes in: Passing on Faith Conferences, Keynote Speaker, Significance of Godparents |
 |
Lisa Kimball has a passion for working with and on behalf of children, youth and families inside the Church and beyond. She began her professional ministry in 1981 at Trinity Parish, Menlo Park. She has since served on the staff of congregations and dioceses in California and Minnesota with an emphasis on Youth/Young Adult Ministry and Congregational Development. Lisa is a nationally recognized speaker, consultant, program developer/evaluator, retreat leader, and writer. She is regularly asked to teach courses at Episcopal and Lutheran seminaries. |
| At present Lisa is serving as the Sabbatical Coordinator for St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN, and teaching full-time in the Youth Studies program at the University of Minnesota while she completes a Ph.D. dissertation. Her topic, The Significance of Godparents in the 21st Century, grew out of her own experience as the godmother of twelve remarkable young people. Lisa lives in Minneapolis with her partner Cathy and their ball-obsessed blind black Lab, Boosaio. |
David Lynn
Specializes in:Energizing Your Family's Faith and Energizing Your Congregation's Faithhome |
 |
David Lynn is a 30-year veteran of childrens, youth, and family ministry. He has written numerous books, articles and learning games including the best-selling TalkSheets, Tension Getters, Zingers, Grow for It Journal, and Home Grown Faith. He is the creator, with his wife Kathy, of ReadyClickGrow Your Family and ReadyClickGrow Your Faith, innovative Web-based ministries that extends a church’s ministry 24 hours a day, seven days a week. David specializes in creative approaches to home-grown faith. He lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, Kathy, and their two children. |
| |
Rev. Rob Norris-Weber
Specializes in: Peer Ministry, Faith and Skills for Parenting, Youth and Family Ministry Consulting |
|
Rob is Associate Pastor of Youth and Family Ministry at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. He also serves on the Life Development Team for Bethlehem, building faith from pre-birth to post-high school youth. Rob earned his Master of Divinity at Luther Seminary. Previously, he worked for five years in a camping ministry setting. Rob is a member of the ELCA Youth Ministry Network.
Rob has been training Peer Ministry and Advanced Peer Ministry leaders since 1993. He was in the first group trained in the current Faith and Skills for Parenting curriculum. He still uses both Peer Ministry and Faith and Skills for Parenting at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Rob works with over 100 trained adults and high school youth who are the leaders for Bethlehem's Youth and Family Ministries. |
Rob describes himself as a relational person. He enjoys speaking, training, or leading a retreat, after helping people walk through a process to identify their hopes and dreams. Rob loves to help people realize the gifts God has given them. Jesus said, "I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). Rob believes that society will never be safe for children, but we can make children safe for society. This is accomplished through mentoring programs, Peer Ministry, equipping parents, and encouraging all congregational members to take an active role, so we can give children a strong foundation.
Rob lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Nancy, who works in child development at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, MN.
Workshop and seminar areas include Wise as Serpents, Next Time I Fall in Love (both address issues of sexuality); Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families; Parenting Issues; and Student and Adult Leadership Training. He will adapt a seminar to meet a congregation's individual needs. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
Jason Reed
Specializes in: Hand and Hand Congregational Training |
|
 |
Jason Reed serves as the Youth Ministry Specialist for the New Jersey Synod, ELCA. Prior to his New Jersey work, he served in rural, suburban, and urban congregations up and down the East Coast.
He has a real passion for servanthood, and struggles to work for God’s peace in this world. He enjoys every opportunity to present to and train young people and adults across the country in these areas. In 1994 he began a servant ministry to the children of Bosnia and Croatia, and has been leading teams to these countries since 1996.
|
|
| Jason’s understanding of home as church and its connections to the congregation (and beyond) are daily deepened and strengthened through his marriage to Krista the Great and the shared parenting of their three young children. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
Tom Schwolert
Specializes in: Peer Ministry, and Faith and Skills for Parenting |
|
Tom is Director of Youth & Family Ministry at Faith Lutheran Church in Flower Mound, TX. He brings twenty years of experience in youth and family ministry. He grew up in Denton, TX but has spent most of his adult life in Minnesota. It’s good to be warm again! He met his wife Melanie and got married at a Bible camp in Wisconsin. They have three children, Jazmine, Max and Zoey. He is a proud parent of a teenager!
Tom loves to motivate others to "do the faith". He has passion for helping others see that they are capable of being faith builders in their everyday life. Believing that God has given us the gifts we need to nurture the faith of our children and youth right where we are, one does not need to bean "expert" or a "professional" to share the faith. When we claim Jesus as the Christ, each of us becomes an "expert" in our own faith journey. |
|
| Tom challenges people to take the gifts that God has given and begin to unleash these gifts to build faith in children, youth, and families. Tom is best as a Trainer for Peer Ministry and is also available for Energizing Your Family’s Faith workshops, speaking at youth or parent gatherings and facilitating retreats. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Dee Seaquist
Specializes in: Gift-Based Ministry Training |
|
Dee has worked with congregations in the Minneapolis area and with The Youth & Family Institute. Her ministry focus has been coordinating intergenerational events, family camps and retreats, and helping congregations develop and implement gifts-based volunteer ministry. Dee’s passion is nurturing congregations as they seek to empower and equip their members for ministry.
At home, Dee celebrates 27 years of marriage to Mark. Their daughter, Kristen, is an RN. As a family, the Seaquists enjoy trips to museums and live theater, and camping and biking in southern Minnesota. |
|
Rev. Allan J. Schoonover
Specializes in:
Passing on Faith Conferences, Keynote Speaker, Hand and Hand Conferences, Coaching, Milestones Ministries and Mentoring Models |
|
Pastor Schoonover has been an ordained Lutheran Pastor for the past 38 years, all of those in the parish. He served parishes in Williston, ND, Monroe, WI, Rice Lake, WI, Fridley, MN and Aberdeen, SD. He is also a Youth and Family Institute Senior Associate. He has a deep passion for the Gospel, and children and families of all ages. He knows the importance of forming and passing on faith. In his last call, before semi-retiring, he help led a congregation to amazing growth and dynamic ministry. In 8 years, they took in over 1300 new members and more than doubled weekly worship attendance and budget, went from 14 baptism a year to over 60 a year. One of the main driving forces for this growth was The Youth and Family Institute Model for ministry. He is and engaging teacher, effective preacher and master story teller. He is graduate of University of Wisconsin and was a starting end on 1959 Big Ten Championship Team and Rose Bowl 1960. He got his MD at Wartburg Seminary. He and his wife De have been married for 31 years and between then they have 5 children (one son was killed in 1984) and they have 7 grandchildren.
|
| |
|
