Enrolments

Most of the student leaders, volunteers, and staff from French-speaking GBU have not studied theology formally. Therefore, our primary training resource is to learn for ourselves. In this seminar, a panel of representatives from several Francophone regions share their best resources and best practices for successful self-training. 

An opportunity to share the journey of deepening our foundations in Scripture and renewing our vision of the Word and its richness. We want to talk in more detail about six aspects of Scripture Engagement, each of which can help us evaluate how we and our national movements are doing. 

The Policy Governance Model gives clarity about the different roles of the Board, the General Secretary (National Director), and the staff team. Good policies are designed ‘from the outside-in.’ They are the boundaries set by the Board that shape other decisions, especially the decisions of the GS (ND). Adopting a Policy Governance model frees your Board to set the goals, approve the use of resources, and monitor the performance of the national movement, while freeing your management (GS/ND) to lead the daily activities and achieve these goals within clear boundaries.  

This seminar is for the Board members and General Secretaries, as well as for staff workers 

Exploring the challenges of using Scripture contextually and creatively in our witness to Christ as it relates to the present generation of students. 

Have you ever considered how Art can help us get to know the world, ourselves, and God? The Bible has several examples of how Art was used to help us learn about our world and future realities. The Old Testament’s tabernacle and temples were symbolically designed to point to cosmic eschatological reality. Art can also be a mode of imaginative unveiling that convincingly opens the world to us. It stages an encounter with the world that speaks to us through metaphor. And this encounter can be both with the reality of the fallen world and with glimpses of redemption. 

The creation and analysis of Art are also vital forms of learning with the potential for the transformation of culture. And this makes us question the vocation of the Christian artist, asking ourselves what God has called us to. This seminar aims to explore the role of Art in the Kingdom of God from a theological and artistic perspective and how Art can become an avenue for the discipleship of the imagination. 

Latin American reality is plagued by injustice and corruption, with daily manifestations of violence, and beyond this geographical limit, similar scenes also take place in other parts of the world. Through this seminar, we want to engage in a dialogue that allows us to find nuances and meanings relevant for today regarding our calling as believers to build justice and peace from the Gospel.  

This seminar proposes an interdisciplinary reflection that will seek to find common sense and inspiration to live God’s justice and shalom from the personal to the collective sphere. We will start with some reflective questions that may arise today: Why do many people no longer believe in human justice? Does divine justice resemble human justice? What signs of justice does the church evidence? How can Shalom be lived in everyday life in the midst of a violent world? What peace aspirations do we have as believers in our context? The Latin American team of the Logos and Cosmos Initiative will facilitate this space. 

How are we impacted by the news we read or hear? Good or bad information can significantly impact our days and change our moods and ideas. It may also not lead to action as a response to the news. In the digital age we live in, we receive a lot of information, perhaps more than ever before in history. The advent of social media, with its algorithms, drives this huge amount of news. Some are true, some are fake, some are not true at all. We want to explore this fake news universe and its impact on our lives. We would also like to understand how we can address news in the light of the Scriptures, expounding on the ethics of the commitment to truth. From our IFES movements, we can address this issue by helping students and professionals to identify fake news, call them out and remain motivated in our commitment to the truth through bible studies. 

Pioneering new work in different cities, regions, and countries is part of our DNA as IFES. This seminar will reflect on lessons learned in recent pioneering initiatives and shared experiences, while introducing our new pioneering framework. 

The aim is that people will be encouraged and equipped to use this new tool and understand better the partnerships needed to break new ground. 

As well as funding new projects, Breaking New Ground supports a network that connects pioneers around the world. This seminar will be an opportunity to meet people in that network and explore forging new connections. 

Why is it important to reach international students and how is this different from local students? What do we need to know to build the right bridges so they can understand the gospel and encounter Jesus?  

In this seminar, we will share from our years of experience in international student ministry as this relates to: different worldviews; guidance for conducting seeker bible studies with international friends; and what we’ve learned about caring for your international friends to help nurture their growing faith. Come, be equipped, and encouraged! 

Each page of God’s Word comes to us from a particular context. But how can we know God in today’s diverse contexts? What things influence how we read, understand, and apply God’s Word in our lives? What can we, as a global fellowship, do to enrich one another’s engagement with God in the Scriptures? 

Is it possible to connect with Muslims, share our Christian convictions, and avoid angry debates? Yes! Hundreds of Peace Feasts have helped Christians and Muslims from around the world to build friendships while talking openly about our beliefs. In this seminar, you’ll see how simple it is to host a Peace Feast in your community. Learn more at peacefeast.net. 

Strong relationships are absolutely crucial if we are to deepen our impact and broaden our influence. This seminar will explore culturally diverse strategies for strengthening relationships with churches, volunteers, other ministries, academics, and supporters. We will share how a culturally diverse philosophy of ministry partnership can enrich the experience of those with a stake in our work and extend our reach with youth, students, and graduates. This seminar will be especially relevant for staff and movements looking to transition away from an exclusively individually-based staff fundraising model. 

This seminar is only for students. The idea in this seminar is to discuss the challenges currently faced by those working in all levels and types of leadership.  

Together we seek to understand and discern the ethical implications of following Jesus in university classrooms. There are many academic theories of leadership, but not all of them include the ethical dimension as a central aspect. Scandals in the political, religious, and business spheres in recent years have highlighted the need to emphasise the conduct and character of the leader. By their example, leaders make the values of an organisation visible and help to reinforce them.  

This seminar seeks to build a multicultural and intergenerational dialogue from the biblical narrative to explore some of the ethical challenges faced by students as they develop and exercise leadership in IFES campus ministry.  

Speakers will share testimonies on the ethical demands of being a leader in the 21st century, in the context of the global south, from a woman’s perspective, and when we understand the need to be continuously learning.  

After the Covid-19 Pandemic, many of us find our National Movements struggling with fewer students, fewer staff, and limited financial resources. Come hear the stories of General Secretaries and former GS’s from around the globe who have faced similar challenges in rebuilding their National Movements. You’ll hear best practices, receive coaching/mentoring and prayer.  

Format: Panel discussion, workshop with coaching.  

God gave us His Word for our salvation and life. He uses the written word to draw people to Jesus and to transform them to become more and more like him. Learn the strategic global impact of Christian literature ministry and how you might participate as a writer, editor, or publisher now and in the future.  

The General Secretary is the most precious asset of any national movement, and one of the main tasks faced by Boards is to provide care and support to him or her. So how can you help your General Secretary (National Director) to keep their ministry’s joy and sense of calling both fresh and appealing? Do you keep a good balance between supporting and challenging your General Secretary? Do you walk alongside your General Secretary, in the hard times as well as the good, or you are absent? May this seminar be an inspiration and practical guide in personalized care for each General Secretary with whom we are entrusted. May we see our General Secretaries not only as CEOs, but also, or maybe especially, as human beings saved by grace, just like us. 

This seminar is for the Board members and General Secretaries. 

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes us as being like one body made up of many parts. There is unity because Jesus made this one body, but there is also diversity because the body is a combination of different parts each of which serve different functions. 

We appreciate this metaphor, but we struggle to live it out in day-to-day life, especially in the context of teams, churches, and organizations. Not all teams function in unity; we compare ourselves and think that some parts of body more important than others to ministry. This can sometimes result in the wrong people ending up in the wrong place, causing the whole body to suffer. 

How can I know what part of body I am meant to be? What might help me and my team members to understanding our functions? How can we learn to operate better as a unite, but diverse body? 

We will discuss these questions, learning from each other about what can help us become a healthy body in which every part is appreciated and recognized. 

Self-awareness, awareness of God, and awareness of others will help us achieve what God intends for us, so that we complement each other’s differences – working together as one body. 

God is in the process of forming us into the people he made us to be. We are invited to partner with him in this process: to be attentive to what he is doing and open our lives to his presence and work.  

What is God’s part and what is our part in spiritual formation? How can we create space for God to meet and shape us in the depths of our being? What does it mean to become more like Christ? Together we will explore different aspects of spiritual formation. As we do so, we will look at our own journeys and how God is calling us into a place of deeper spiritual intimacy.  

This seminar will be in English. Informal translation into Spanish will be offered. 

All students will graduate. Some graduates will help us develop our ministry; but, sadly, some will fall away from Jesus. What can we do to help our graduates make a good transition into working life, and keep them walking with Jesus? And how can we give them opportunities to help us build the ministry our Lord has given to us, so they might nurture the next generation of young Christian adults. This seminar will introduce various resources from Graduate Impact.   

Participants of this seminar will be able to identify ways of doing God’s mission in the university according to the concept of ETU/Dialogue Science-Theology. They will be inspired by the testimonies of LCI Catalysts sharing about their projects. This will stimulate their creativity to formulate missional activities to implement in their universities. 

God in his sovereignty, mercy, and love has provided various resources to nations to meet their needs in the spirit of mutuality and partnership. For different reasons, a select few take control of these resources at the expense of the majority. Our responsibility as national movements is to seek credible, creative, innovative, and timely ways harnessing these resources for our ministry. The task of harnessing resources, especially for Christian work, can be very challenging and many have wrongly concluded that they are not called to fundraise or may never be able to overcome the barriers associated with support development in their context. 

This seminar will help you as a leader to discover and release wells that God has dug on your behalf to do ministry effectively. This will free you from the associated stress of digging the wells yourself, which has led to frustration, burn out, and high attrition in ministry. The knowledge gained in this seminar will help you to know what to stop doing, what to continue doing, and more importantly, what to start doing so you may ensure the sustainability of ministry resources. 

Through this seminar, we want to encourage participants to think holistically and strategically in contributing towards our vision. We will introduce a Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (PMEL) framework that seeks to answer these four questions essential to ministry planning: 

What is the vision that your movement wants to contribute? 

Who do you work directly with, and with whom do you anticipate opportunities for influence? 

What are the changes you would like to see? 

How will your movement contribute to the change process? 

The framework also integrates monitoring and evaluation which enables us to assess (1) the behavioural changes of those with whom we work directly, (2) our strategies, and (3) the organisational practices. Better ministry planning, monitoring, and evaluation help us to be better stewards of God’s resources and enable us to see the need for change and growth in our ministry for his glory. 

High School Ministry has long been an important dimension of work in many IFES movements and in some is the largest and most significant part of what the movement does. This seminar will look at different models of High School Ministry, including “Inter-school Christian Fellowship,” camping, church partnership, and relationships with complementary youth organizations. 

 We will share resources and explore ways that we might grow High School networks within IFES. 

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3). All things were created by God through his word, including the resources needed for ministry. Partnering with God in developing ministry resources can therefore be said to be a great privilege. Yet, many are unsettled in their quest to sort things out and raise the required support needed for their work in God’s field. Others are not certain as to whether God needs them to be part of this process at all or just what the nature of their involvement should be. Why should anyone play a part when God is in a position to fund his work without any human intervention? What is the role of God’s people in developing resources for God’s work? Who can be involved in fund raising or support development? How central is calling and obedience to issues surrounding ministry support development? Is there a biblical pattern for fundraising in both the Old and New Testament? Get answers to these and other questions during this seminar on Biblical Basis for Raising Ministry Support.