YMF Residential 2026
Innovation
In Youth Ministry
Four days that will reshape how you do youth ministry.
Youth ministry is harder than it’s ever been.
You know the reality. Sunday attendance is shrinking. Volunteers are tired. The young people who do show up carry more complexity than any training prepared you for. And most weeks, you’re working it out alone.
If you’ve been doing this for years, you’ve sat through the same conference talks repackaged with new slide decks. You don’t need another keynote. You need genuine intellectual challenge from people who’ve earned the right to speak — and peers who understand the weight of what you carry.
If you’re growing into leadership, the gap between where you are and where you want to be feels vast. Strategic thinking. Managing volunteers. Working with parents who don’t understand. You need frameworks, not just encouragement.
If you’re studying or just starting out, the world of youth ministry is exciting and isolating in equal measure. You want to see what this looks like in practice — and meet the people who are doing it well.
The YMF Residential exists because none of us were meant to do this work alone.
What you’ll take home.
This isn’t a conference where you sit, listen, and forget. You’ll leave with things you can use on Monday morning.
A plan for your context — not someone else’s.
Every applied session asks you to work on your ministry, not a hypothetical one. You’ll leave with a concrete plan shaped by experienced practitioners who’ve helped you think it through.
International perspectives you can’t get in Australia.
Chris Curtis brings 40 years of youth ministry experience from Youthscape in the UK — the kind of outside-in thinking that challenges assumptions you didn’t know you had.
A network that outlasts the week.
Forty youth ministry leaders from across Australia. Four days of living, eating, and learning together. These aren’t conference acquaintances — they become the people you call when things get hard.
New language for what you’re already doing.
Whether it’s a theology of innovation, a strategic framework for team leadership, or a fresh model for evangelism with young people — you’ll gain vocabulary and structure for the instincts you already have.
The people in the room.
Chris Curtis
CEO, Youthscape (UK)
Chris has spent more than 40 years in youth ministry and leads Youthscape, one of the UK’s most respected youth organisations. At the Residential, he’ll be teaching in the Innovation track — theology of innovation, practitioner insights, and applied practice. This is not a guest appearance. It’s a sustained, deep engagement with one of the world’s most experienced youth ministry leaders.
Dave Chiswell
Youth Minister, City on Hill Geelong
Dave leads the Youth in the Churches track with a practitioner’s eye — covering strategic models, team leadership, working with parents and pastors, and building youth ministry that endures beyond a single program cycle.
Graham Stanton
Director, YMF
Graham leads the Innovations track, bringing rigorous theological thinking to the practical realities of youth ministry in Australian churches. He provides the connective thread across both streams — grounding innovation in Scripture and strategy in context.
James Baker
Creator of xp.
James brings an innovator’s perspective through the xp film series, contributing a session on missional engagement through creative media.
Joy Linton
Former CFO, CSL and Bupa
Joy brings decades of senior leadership experience to the Innovation track — exploring what enables innovation and what quietly kills it, the cost trade-offs leaders face, and why being strong and kind isn't a contradiction. Expect a different language from the usual ministry conversation, but deeply practical and immediately applicable.
Two tracks. Choose your path.
The YMF Residential runs two dedicated streams across four days. Choose the track that fits where you are, and come together for combined sessions that bring the whole room into the conversation.
Youth in the Churches
Led by Dave Chiswell with Graham Stanton
The practitioner’s track. Covering the theology, strategy, and leadership skills every youth ministry leader needs — deeper than any weekend workshop can go. New to the Residential? This track gives you the complete toolkit. Returning leaders find it sharpens what experience has already taught them.
Academic unit DE011 → Residential + two follow-up online classes + assessments
Innovation
Led by Graham Stanton with Chris Curtis
What does innovation actually look like in youth ministry? Chris Curtis brings four decades of international experience to explore the theology, practice, and context of innovation — with hands-on workshops and space to apply it to your own setting.
Academic unit DE204 → Residential + follow-up online seminar + assessments
Weekly Timetable
Four days of sessions across both tracks
One price. Everything included.
Four days · all-inclusive
Choose your track — Youth in the Churches or Innovation — plus four days of accommodation and meals. No hidden costs. No add-ons.
- All sessions in your chosen track (Monday lunch – Thursday lunch)
- Accommodation included (Mon, Tue, Wed nights)
- All meals: Monday lunch through Thursday lunch (except Tuesday dinner)
- Tuesday dinner we’ll be heading out somewhere local. You’re welcome to join us (at your own cost).
- Morning and afternoon tea daily
- Evening community events and happy hour
- Night of Hope (Wednesday evening)
- All session materials
Four days · all-inclusive
Attending as part of an accredited academic unit? Same full Residential experience — every session, every meal, every night.
- All sessions in your chosen track (Monday lunch – Thursday lunch)
- Accommodation included (Mon, Tue, Wed nights)
- All meals: Monday lunch through Thursday lunch (except Tuesday dinner)
- Tuesday dinner we’ll be heading out somewhere local. You’re welcome to join us (at your own cost).
- Morning and afternoon tea daily
- Evening community events and happy hour
- Night of Hope (Wednesday evening)
- All session materials
Ridley unit fee is additional and FEE-HELP is available for eligible students.
Stay right next door
Accommodation is at Park Inn, Carlton — right next door to Ridley College. You'll share a room with someone of the same gender. Note any preferences when you register and we'll do our best to match you well.
- Shared room for three nights (Mon–Thu)
- Accommodation requests noted at registration
- Single room available (+$80/night)
Fed and fuelled
All meals plus morning and afternoon tea are served on-site at Ridley, thanks to HotDish. Dietary requirements? Just note them when you book. Tuesday night we'll eat out locally — you're welcome to join, but that one's on you.
- All meals from Monday dinner to Thursday lunch
- Morning and afternoon tea and coffee
- Dietary requirements catered for
Places are limited to 40 — and once they're gone, they're gone. Early registration also gives you time to arrange travel, plan leave, and get church approval sorted.
Studying? Earn academic credit.
Attend the Residential and earn academic credit through Ridley College, an affiliated college with the Australian University of Theology, CRICOS provider code 02650E.
Cost: $200 covers accommodation and meals. An additional unit fee applies. Contact the registrar at Ridley College to discuss unit fees and registration. (FEE-HELP is available for eligible students.)
To enrol or ask questions: registrar@ridley.edu.au
Youth in the Churches
Earn academic credit for this unit through Ridley College. The Residential is your first teaching block, with two follow-up online classes to complete the unit.
Assessments: A reading response, strategy analysis, and a ministry report with supervised fieldwork.
Unit OutlineInnovation in Youth Ministry
Earn academic credit for this unit through Ridley College. This unit explores new approaches and strategies in youth ministry, with a focus on practical application and innovation. The Residential is your first teaching block, with two follow-up online classes to complete the unit.
Assessments: A reading review and a seminar paper
Unit OutlineWhat people say.
“The YMF Residential exists because youth ministry leaders deserve more than a weekend workshop and a pat on the back. They deserve four days of deep thinking, genuine community, and the kind of challenge that comes from being in a room with people who take this work as seriously as they do.”
— Graham Stanton
It’s so easy to feel isolated and under appreciated in youth ministry. YMF residential gathers like minded people together and spurs them on to serve passionately in our churches for the long haul. Don’t miss it!
— 2025 Residential Attendee
YMF residential is one of the most useful conferences I’ve ever been on. The balance between theory, practice and relational building was well-struck - all with a view to serve the Church and the youth of Australia, both now and in the future.
— 2025 Residential Attendee
36 leaders from across Australia attended the 2025 Residential. In 2026, we're welcoming Chris Curtis from Youthscape UK — because this work deserves the best thinking we can bring to it.
Questions you might have.
If you’ve been to conferences that felt like recycled content in a new venue, we understand the hesitation. This is different. Chris Curtis delivers content you won’t find at any other event in Australia. The dual-track structure means you choose content that fits your experience level, not sit through beginner material. And with 40 people in the room, every session is built for dialogue — not broadcast.
If you’re looking for genuine intellectual challenge alongside practitioners who take this work as seriously as you do, this is the room to be in.
We’ve put together a one-page summary you can share with your board or senior pastor — what the Residential covers, what you’ll bring back, and why it’s worth the investment.
Download the Leadership Brief (PDF)
For context: $600 covers four days of expert-led training, three nights’ accommodation, and all meals. That’s $150 a day — less than most one-day ministry conferences charge for registration alone.
You won’t be the only one. Every year, people arrive knowing no one and leave with a network they rely on for years. The Residential is designed around shared meals, small-group sessions, and evening community time — you’ll know people by the end of day one.
With 40 people (not 400), there’s nowhere to hide and no reason to. Several 2025 attendees came on their own and said it was the best decision they made.
Accommodation is included in your registration for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. We strongly encourage staying onsite — the evening conversations, happy hour, and Night of Hope are where some of the best connections happen.
But if you’re local and prefer to commute, that works too. Your registration covers everything either way.
Everything except Tuesday dinner.
- All sessions across both tracks (Monday lunch – Thursday lunch)
- Three nights’ accommodation (Mon, Tue, Wed)
- All meals: Monday lunch through Thursday lunch (except Tuesday dinner)
- Tuesday dinner we’ll be heading out somewhere local. You’re welcome to join us (at your own cost).
- Morning and afternoon tea daily
- Evening events, happy hour, Night of Hope
- All session materials
Yes. Two accredited AUT units are available through Ridley College: DE011 (Youth in the Churches) and DE204 (Developmental & Educational Ministry Seminar). The Residential forms your first teaching block, with a follow-up component to complete each unit. FEE-HELP is available for eligible students. Contact registrar@ridley.edu.au to discuss your options.
Student registration is $200 (accommodation and meals included); the Ridley unit fee is additional.
YMF is working with Youthworks and the Sydney Anglican Office of Safe Ministry to facilitate an online course for Residential delegates so that you will be able to join us for the whole Residential and benefit from the essential training for safe ministry offered by the Diocese. Contact Youthworks Ministry Support (ministrysupport@youthworks.net) for details.
This doesn't happen without you
Events like this don’t happen without the prayer, advocacy, and financial support of people who believe in the next generation. Your partnership directly enhances the quality and longevity of youth ministers as they live out the gospel with young people across Australia.
Every contribution makes a difference—whether it’s covering a scholarship place, funding a guest speaker, or simply helping us keep the cost accessible for those in ministry.
All donations are tax-deductible with Ridley College
^ every bit counts!Corporate & Business Partners
Want to make a larger impact? We’d love to discuss how your organisation can partner with us—whether through sponsorship, in-kind support, or ongoing partnership.
donations@ymfutures.com.auReady to join us?
15–18 June 2026 · Ridley College, Melbourne · Only 3 spots left!
Four days of deep thinking, genuine community, and practical training with Chris Curtis, Graham Stanton, Dave Chiswell, and 40 youth ministry leaders from across Australia.
Questions? Contact Bryan at residential@ymfutures.com.au