The 2026 Youth and Family Ministry Conference
Sponsored by the NOW District
April 27-30, 2026
Camp Lutherhaven | Coeur d’Alene, ID
The YFM Conference provides relevant leadership training, renewal in a retreat environment, and opportunities to strengthen old and create new friendships. The conference brings together both commissioned and non-commissioned ministers in youth and family ministry in order to share best practices and strengthen the network between leaders across the NOW District and the entire West Coast.
Conference Information
Back this year – a 4 Day/3 night event!
We are keeping our expanded conference schedule so that participants will travel to the event on Monday, April 27, with programming beginning that evening. This will allow for full days of conference activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with a half-day of programming on Thursday.
Click here to download a draft schedule for this year’s conference.
Online Registration Notes:
EVERYONE should register as a guest, even if prompted that “they’re recognized” and given the option to “log-in”.
We are not able to accept in-person payments at the conference. If you prefer to pay by check rather than online, please select “Pay In-Person” on the final page of the registration portal and mail your payment.
Event Pricing
Registration Fee Covers: Housing in a shared room, meals (breakfast Tuesday through breakfast Thursday), and program materials.
Regular Registration Rate: $350
Early Bird Discount Available through January 31: $25
Cost for Additional Workers from Same Ministry/Students/Spouses: $325
Additional cost for single room request: $125*
*As our conference grows, our venue is less able to guarantee single-room occupancy possibilities for all who request them. The additional fee this year covers the additional $50/night cost of additional rooms at camp to accommodate those requests, with a $25 discount already applied.
Explore the "Formed" Theme
It is an honor as the keynote speaker for the 2026 NOW District YFM Conference to provide an overview of the conference, which will explore the challenges of faith formation in our cultural context. The opening keynote address, “Cultivating a Winsome Witness to the World,” will lay out the changing religious demographics in the United States and ways in which the Good News of Jesus can address the maladies of our age. During the conference we’ll also engage in some interactive Scripture study methods with a twofold purpose: to strengthen participants’ identity as those called by God to serve Christ and the people of God in a particular place and time; and to provide resources that can be adapted for a variety of settings involving youth, children, and families. A second keynote address, “How Ritual Forms Communities and Individuals,” will unpack the power of ritual to shape our desires and habits in conformity with Christ.
Deaconess Rhoda Schuler, ThD
Professor Emerita, Concordia University, St. Paul
Co-author, Journey to Jesus: Faith Formation into Christ and Community
For more information on Dr. Schuler and Dr. Burreson’s work, please visit forminglutherans.org.
Their book, Journey to Jesus, is also now available for purchase.