On February 12-13, the TWK Children’s Team gathered at Cedar Crest Camp for our annual planning retreat, taking time to celebrate, reflect, and dream together about the year ahead. We celebrated meaningful growth in 2025, including increased attendance at Wesley in the Woods and BE Retreat, a strong partnership with MLC, expanded children’s participation at Annual Conference, new team members, and preparations for the 2026 Wonder Summit at Lake Junaluska. During our retreat, we reviewed our team covenant, evaluated our events calendar, and identified key goals for 2026. Those include strengthening communication with children’s ministry leaders, refining our contact lists, and increasing connection through personal outreach.

Janet Haynes, Children’s Ministry Director of Broadway UMC in Paducah, KY, had this to say about the experience: “As a new member of the team, it was my first time meeting the team members in person. We have had several Zoom meetings, but Cedar Crest was the perfect place for an in-person meet up. Accommodations were great, and the Cedar Crest staff made sure we were well taken care of. Amazing ideas were shared and I look forward to see how our team can reach out and assist those who work in children’s ministry in our conference.”

We are looking forward to offering BE Retreat (with 100+ already registered), in-person regional meetups across the conference, quarterly Zoom gatherings on topics like VBS, calendaring, and volunteer recruitment, and a fall webinar for parents and ministry leaders focused on anxiety and mental health in young people. We are also exploring new resource-sharing opportunities at Annual Conference and long-term plans for training events and Sabbath retreats for children’s ministry leaders. We are grateful for the ways God is at work among our children and leaders and are excited for all that 2026 will bring.

Submitted by Hannah Underwood, St. Mark’s UMC