Kids ministry looks a lot different this year but it's changed to continue impacting lives.

While the Awesome KidMin Conference in 2020 was supposed to be their biggest yet, the committee had to cancel it last minute because of the pandemic.

"Our 2020 conference theme was 'Anchored'. It was, despite the storms of life, we have an anchor for our soul. We can handle anything that comes our way so long as we are anchored in Him. That was very fitting when we had to cancel the conference," says Lisa Schau who has been on the planning committee since its inception. 

This year they are doing the conference virtually and its theme is 'Still Anchored'. 

Awesome KidMin Conference will be on March 12 and 13, 2021. While the initial goal was to serve kids ministry in Manitoba, the conference has previously seen leaders from other Western Canadian provinces attend. Going virtual, the conference in 2021 will be available to ministry leaders everywhere.

"This is the only inter-denominational children's ministry conference in Western Canada," says Schau. 

The conference is for anyone that works with children in ministry ages 12 and under. 

"Friday is what we call our leadership lab day and that's targeted to individuals who are in charge of their children's ministry."

Friday evening is open to everyone for a time of listening to worship music and hearing a message. This evening event is free of charge. 

"It's our soul care and that's when our main conference starts. It's just to get people in the mind and heart space to be able to hear from God," she says. 

Saturday is filled with break-out sessions with two keynote speakers and three break-out sessions.

"Originally my role was just prayer support as I learned about all the ins and outs of children's ministry in Winnipeg. I was in awe of these people on the team who had such connections," she says.

While Schau's role has grown in administration, she still leads the team of prayer warriors. 

"I love connecting with churches, finding out who's out there, how they are serving and how we can help them to do what they do better."

There was a time when Schau didn't see the value of kids ministry until she became a mother.

"I realized what a beautiful thing [kids ministry] was and how important it is for us to ground our kids right from an early age in an understanding that God is real, that He loves them and He created them for a purpose," Schau says.

Another focus of the conference this year is learning to equip parents to lead their children in this time, as Sunday School and other ministries for kids have been put on hold during the pandemic. 

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