Workshops

Instructional coaching strategies with resources

Presenter: Laura Montez
Recommendation: Teachers

Instructional coaching can take many forms and requires a slightly different approach for each of your teachers. In this workshop, we will focus on the practical application of strategies for instructional coaching and prepare you to take the next step in the journey, regardless of where you and your teachers are currently. Please bring a device to access the resources that will be shared during the workshop. (The target audience of the session is PreK-12 administrators.)

Laura Montez currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Divine Savior Ministries serving all 4 Divine Savior Academy campuses. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Wisconsin Lutheran College, master's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and ministry certification through Martin Luther College. Over the last 20 years, she has served as the principal at Divine Savior Academy in Delray Beach, FL; in PreK-12 public schools as a teacher, academic dean, assistant principal, and principal; and at the college/university level as an educational coordinator, adjunct instructor, and supervisor for graduate students seeking administrative licensure.

Search Success 101: Optimizing Your School’s Online Visibility on Google

Presenter: Brian Polfer
Recommendation: Teachers

Embark on a digital journey with 'Search Success 101: Optimizing Your School’s Online Visibility on Google.' This workshop is your compass to navigate the vast online landscape and ensure that prospective families easily discover your school through Google searches. Learn how to claim your spot on page one and attract the attention of families seeking the perfect educational fit.

Brian has demonstrated a deep commitment to education by serving on the board of education for Carlsbad Christian Academy and California Lutheran High School in Southern California. Brian has been instrumental in elevating WELS schools in Google Search by providing specialized services in Web Design, Local SEO Strategies, Google Ads, and Aerial Photography as the owner of Enrollment Plus. His impactful contributions extend beyond digital enhancements by his role in the remarkable growth of Carlsbad Christian Academy.

SPED Accommodations Across the Grades

Presenter: Brenda Wagenknecht
Recommendation: Teachers

Do you struggle to know how to meet the needs of all your students at different levels, especially those with learning disabilities? Do you wonder if what you are doing to accommodate your learners is Best Practice in education? Join Brenda to discover what you are already doing that helps each unique learner, and discover new supports to implement for your individual students. Take home a bucket full of accommodations for all grade levels!

Brenda Wagenknecht has 30 plus years of experience in education - teaching in public, WELS, and home school settings.  She holds multiple Master's Certifications in special education, neuro development, and trauma. She operates a consulting company called Hand in Hand Educational Consulting as well as serves the South Central District as the Special Education contact, Early Childhood District Coordinator, and NTI Lead Mentor. (www.handinhandeducate.com)

SEL for Teachers

Presenter: Stephanie Gonzalez
Recommendation: Teachers

We cannot pour from an empty cup. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a curriculum that is not only beneficial for students, but for staff as well. We will take a “learn by doing” approach as we explore individual applicable ways to promote awareness, connection, respect, understanding, community and belonging. We will take the abstract concept of the SEL curriculum and unpack concrete skills that conceptualizes SEL as a way of being, thinking, doing, and interacting. 

Stephanie Gonzalez is certified school counselor with Masters Degree in counseling and development. This is her ninth year working in education and her first year at Divine Savior Academy in Sienna. Outside of academics she has worked as a missionary in Kenya and Uganda with Creative Outreach Ministries. She is married and has a nine year old son. 

“A hop, skip and a jump: Improving gross motor skills in early childhood development.”

Presenter: Lindsay Allen
Recommendation: Teachers

All children will develop at their own pace and master motor skills at slightly different rates. However, recognizing what is normal and understanding when development is delayed can help to initiate interventions in a timely manner.  Exploring fun motor skills and drills to incorporate in the classroom to improve all learners' strength, balance, and mobility will be demonstrated.

Lindsay Allen has over 15 years of experience as a physical therapist with board certifications in both orthopedics and sports. She currently teaches doctoral students at UTMB with a focus on pelvic health. She also has her own practice focusing on pelvic floor health and women's health physical therapy. Her most important job however is not her work, but her husband and three children whom she adores and spends as much time playing, crafting and exploring with.

Differentiating through Small Groups for ALL

Presenter: Laura Montez
Recommendation: Teachers

You can differentiate with small groups by utilizing your current knowledge and skills with student data to meet the needs of ALL your students! This workshop will focus on practical application and prepare you to take the next step in the journey, regardless of where you are currently and what age students you serve. Please bring a device to access your students’ data as this workshop will focus on academic differentiation. For DSA teachers, this session will build on previous professional development. (The target audience of this session is K-12 educators.)

Laura Montez currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Divine Savior Ministries serving all 4 Divine Savior Academy campuses. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Wisconsin Lutheran College, master's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and ministry certification through Martin Luther College. Over the last 20 years, she has served as the principal at Divine Savior Academy in Delray Beach, FL; in PreK-12 public schools as a teacher, academic dean, assistant principal, and principal; and at the college/university level as an educational coordinator, adjunct instructor, and supervisor for graduate students seeking administrative licensure.

Can I really do evangelism? 

Presenter: Andy Westra
Recommendation: General

The last several decades have seen massive shifts in America's religious landscape. Fewer people attend church in America than ever before. This might seem scary, but it also provides many opportunities for us to carry out the Great Commission. But can you really do evangelism? The answer is yes! And our church body has a number of tools to assist you in sharing the good news of Jesus with those the Lord causes to cross your path. 

Andy Westra is a pastor and home missionary at Christ Our Refuge Lutheran Church in Hewitt (Waco), TX. Sic 'Em Bears and horns down!

Would you like to be more healthy and stay that way?

Presenter: Gary Jeffers
Recommendation: General

Today’s world overwhelms too many people with frenzied schedules, burned-out spirits, and stress-induced ailments. We will discuss these realities along with Biblical realities and the necessity of a solid foundation of spiritual, emotional, and physical health and resiliency. We will discover how much personal resiliency benefits you and impacts others. Participants will create and take home a one-page, Christ centered, self-designed, personal resiliency plan. It will include tools and ideas to get started on a journey to greater spiritual, emotional, and physical health. NOTE: This workshop has TWO sessions – selecting this workshop will only allow you to attend two additional workshops at the conference.

Gary Jeffers has served since 2019 as the Development Director for Grace in Action (GIA), a WELS Partner Ministry. He is a California native and has lived in Arizona since 1983. Prior to that he was in banking for over 20 years, and a Thrivent Financial representative for over 12 years. He is passionate about helping people to be spiritually healthy. His wife Brenda teaches kindergarten at a WELS school in Peoria, AZ, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Understanding The Adulting Dilemma

Presenter: Mike Westendorf
Recommendation: General

As critical thinking engages in the late teens to mid 20s, young adults are thinking about life and faith with a different brain. It profoundly impacts their view of the world, themselves and the Gospel itself. So what is happening during these young adult years and how can we as caring Christians walk together with our young men and women better?  We'll take a look at some important challenges facing young adults and how we might help bridge the gap between adolescent and adult faith.

Mike Westendorf is a Staff Minister at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and The Bridge in Muskego, WI.  He was a meteorologist for 25 years and served for 17 years at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee as Director of Operations for Innovative Weather, an internship program of UWM.  Mike has been involved in Campus Ministry since 2007 and in 2014 launched Awake and Alive, a ministry that serves young adults.  He has been a WELS touring musician and songwriter with 9 albums since 2005.  Mike is married to his wife Melissa and they have 3 young adult children.

Celebrate Differences for a Stronger Marriage

Presenter: Jon Bergemann
Recommendation: General

Why do some couples' differences seem to pull them apart, and other couples' differences draw them together? No matter which couple you think you are, celebrating differences can strengthen your marriage.  In this workshop, we will discover the latest science regarding the profound differences between men and women, delve into powerful promises from God to address these differences, and go home with 4 practical strategies to celebrate differences and strengthen our marriages.  

Pastor Jon Bergemann is the host of the weekly WELS "Marriage Moments."  He also serves on the WELS Commission on Discipleship, Everyone Outreach team, Preachers Podcast, and pastor mentoring program.  He served for 15 years in Woodbridge, Virginia before moving to the western suburbs of Chicago to pastor at Good Shepherd, Downers Grove, Illinois.   He enjoys life with his wife Amanda, and children Ella and Micah.  

(A)Typical Woman

Presenter: Tiffany Brown
Recommendation: General

Society is trying to define womanhood and coming up short; reducing the definition of a woman to a shallow exterior of someone who likes pink and wears a dress. We are going to take a look at unique and important roles of the woman and God’s beautiful plan for her. 

By the grace of God, Tiffany Brown was born into a strong Christian family and became a child of God through baptism just days after her birth. Her childhood was spent in WELS schools creating a firm foundation for the rest of my life. Tiffany has been married to her husband for 23 years and they have 4 children (ages 6-21). She has a passion for children’s ministry as well as encouraging and equipping women in their ministry in the home. 

"Where was God when ...?" (The Depth of the Cross in the Face of Suffering)

Presenter: Caleb Kurbis
Recommendation: General

The phone rang. “Pastor, I can’t get the picture of the dead body out of my head.” An email read, “Because of college and my mom’s cancer, it feels like the world is crushing my family.” Another asked, “I lost my job. My wife is gone. Now what?" Still another said, "Is it wrong to want to die?" Each of these real people in real situations are struggling with knowing where God is and what he is actually like. And these struggles aren’t unique. It’s not a matter of if your faith will be challenged; it’s a matter of when. And when that happens, God is never against us or far away. Instead, the One who knows the depth of every challenge is also the One who brings us through them and makes us stronger because of them. He is for you and he is also for the people you are privileged to serve.

Caleb Kurbis serves as a pastor at Living Savior Lutheran Church in Asheville & Hendersonville, NC - one church in two locations. God continues to open doors to share the gospel in this growing population which is an eclectic mix of traditional Southern, weird hippie, culturally diverse, professional-meets-down-home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. He serves as circuit pastor and coordinator for the South Atlantic District Discipleship Committee. He and his wife Sarah have four children (ages 6-13) and love spending time in the outdoors. 

Special ministries are a special blessing for Gospel ministry

Presenter: Matt Brown
Recommendation: General

Special ministry covers many groups of people, military, jails, nursing homes, developmentally disabled and other groups. This workshop will encourage us to see these groups as opportunities for ministry and discuss the challenges and blessings the Lord provides. These special ministries are not different from the ministry we do each day, but are an important part of that ministry. 

Matt Brown has served in Home missions since 2000. He began as a home missionary, served on two district mission boards, served on the WELS commission on Lutheran schools, worked with an established congregation to help start other churches and currently serves on the WELS Board for Home Missions. During each year in ministry there have been opportunities to combine special ministries with the "regular" ministry. Matt is married to Katie and they have 5 children. He has served at Abiding Word in Houston, TX since 2017. Since 2018, Matt has been visiting the hospital at the Harris County jail each week. Not one of the thousands of prisoners he has seen over the years has shown up in worship, but this jail ministry is an important part of his ministry.  

Porn in the Church:  A Winning Strategy for this Spiritual War

Presenter: Mike Novotny
Recommendation: General

Pornography doesn’t have a type.  It affects men and women, married and single, pagans and Christians, lay people and called workers.  Yet few people within the Christian world know where to start when it comes to addressing this pervasive problem.  What do you say?  To whom?  When do you say it?  And how?  At what age and in what context do you say it?

Mike Novotny has wrestled with these questions.  A recovering addict himself, Mike’s first published book focused on pornography, and his doctoral project, “Preaching on Porn,” was created to help local ministries tackle this taboo topic.  This breakout session will share wisdom gained from decades of personally ministering to believers who ache to escape the secrecy and shame of pornography and honor God with their bodies.  If you need encouragement in this battle or long to help others do the same, this breakout is for you.

Just You And Jesus

Presenter: David Scharf
Recommendation: Pastors

In describing the righteous person, Psalm 1 says, “And on his law he meditates day and night.”  Who’s got the time for that?  Life is busy.  The devil can get the “to-do” lists in our lives to consume our time so that we feel like we have more pressing matters at hand than opening God’s Word and meditating on it.  This workshop will focus on looking at our devotional life from God’s perspective, exploring the motivation for a rich devotional life , and giving practical ways of putting the priority on time with our Savior in his Word.

David Scharf served as a parish pastor at lmmanuel in Greenville, Wisconsin from 2005-2016.  Since then he has served as a professor of Theology at Martin Luther College.  Dave and his wife Beth (nee Koelpin), have six children ages 10-21.

The Old Testament and Human Sexuality

Presenter: Bill Tackmier
Recommendation: Pastors

Ministering to souls in a day when the line between male and female has become incredibly blurred and confused is no easy proposition. Yet God’s will for male and female is clear in the Old Testament. So how does the wise pastor present God’s unchanging will to today’s generation and minister to those who may be getting misled by the world they live in and perhaps even by their own sinful flesh? Those are the questions we’ll pursue in The Old Testament and Human Sexuality.

Prof. Bill Tackmier has taught Old Testament and homiletics at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary since 2010. Before that he was a parish pastor for twenty years in Michigan and California

For Such a Time (and Place) as This – Communicating the Assurance of the Gospel 

Presenter: Caleb Kurbis
Recommendation: Pastors

South of the Mason Dixon line there is no shortage of diversity among Christian churches. There are more Metho-Bapti-Presby-costal-Holiness churches than WELS churches x 10,000. It can be hard to understand and communicate when there are such diverse church backgrounds, pervasive mis-assumptions about saving faith, and confusing religious baggage. That's often true of people in our communities, classrooms, and churches. Worse yet, such contexts and confusion can deprive souls of the comfort and assurance God has in store. This workshop will revisit and rethink the assurance of our salvation as we seek to better share God's timeless treasures in our day. (Spoiler alert! God has given us exactly what we need to optimistically and positively confide in and communicate the gospel!)

Caleb Kurbis serves as a pastor at Living Savior Lutheran Church in Asheville & Hendersonville, NC - one church in two locations. God continues to open doors to share the gospel in this growing population which is an eclectic mix of traditional Southern, weird hippie, culturally diverse, professional-meets-down-home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. He serves as circuit pastor and coordinator for the South Atlantic District Discipleship Committee. He and his wife Sarah have four children (ages 6-13) and love spending time in the outdoors. 

Book Review for Pastors - Care of Souls

Presenter: Donald Patterson
Recommendation: Pastors

In this workshop we will review the high points of this helpful book by about pastoral ministry to the individual that was written by Lutheran Pastor, Harold Senkbeil.  It would serve the participants well if they read the book ahead of time. But it is not necessary.  Elders would also benefit from this book discussion.

District President Don Patterson has 31 years pastoral experience.  The care of souls is a high priority for him.