Cohorts

DYMNC2011

This is an exciting new way to maximize your learning and benefit of this convention! Cohorts are led by leaders who are primarily in the role of discussion facilitators. After each large group teaching session, cohort leaders will help participants process the information they have just been presented with the goal of finding practical applications to their unique ministry settings.We are striving to find ways to make this information more applicable in your unique ministry setting.

Reach

Here I am in the back of a room filled with darkness
Where the air is thick with sorrows, pains, and sadness.
As I feel a deep chill shiver up my spine, tingling with guilt and fears.

As I stand alone weighted down by my heavy burdens, screaming in agony
Where my sound has drowned alone in the darkness.

As if I'm not meant to be heard by anyone until I reach my hand out hoping that
Someone will save me from this despair and this wretched room

where I don't want to be 'til I saw a tiny flicker of a faint glow in the dark calling my name.

My body refuses to move as if someone was controlling my body by calling me out.
As soon I got closer to the tiny flicker the glow become a light.

The light become golden as I saw the hand of a man reaching toward me
Waiting for me to grab on as I pull myself out of the age of darkness

Into the world of light with a man who saves me and is named Jesus.

by Robert F. J. Brown, Jr.

Choosing a Cohort

You will likely fit into more than one cohort. The content will be the same for all the cohorts; the key is being together with people who share a similar ministry experience. The best cohort for you depends on which group of colleagues holds the most potential for your overall learning experience and long-term benefit.

Registrants will make a first and second choice of the following cohorts. The goal is to build a community of trust that provides friendship and support in the year following the convention.

If for some reason, there is not enough registration for a given Cohort, it may be canceled and another choice may be made. Facilitators may change without prior notice due to unforeseen circumstances.

Cohorts (based on common ministry setting)

First Few Years of Deaf Teen Ministry
Facilitators: Jim Smith, Heather Suhr

Youth Ministry Veterans
Facilitators: Bob Rhoads, Dawn Smith

Residential Ministry Settings
Facilitators: Liz Steele, Tessi Muskrat

Mainstreamed Ministry Settings

Facilitators: Kathy Ayres, Carrie Burgess

Church Based Ministry

Facilitators: Mark Seeger, Rick McClain

Cohort and Workshop Leaders

Bob and Kathy Ayres are the co-founders of DeafYouth Ministries and YFC Deaf Teen Quest. Kathy is an Occupational Therapist and serves as the DTQ regional coordinator for the Great Lakes states. Bob is the national director of YFC Deaf Teen Quest and author of Deaf Diaspora: The Third Wave of Deaf Ministry.

Matthew and Jessica Belwood serve in ministry with DTQ Cincinnati in connection with St. Rita School for the Deaf. Jessica is certified "Master Teacher" of 3Story training. She is the editor of a weekly devotional and information national email called "DTQ Monday Memo". Matt is a dean at St. Rita and the national coordinator of DTQ camps.

Noah Buchholz is the Executive Director of Deaf International, a Christian non-profit organization. He holds a BA from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL and is pursuing an MDiv at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Carrie Burgess is the DTQ Area Coordinator for Greater Louisville/Southern Indiana. She is also the national missions coordinator for YFC Deaf Teen Quest. Carrie has an MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.

Chad Entinger is the Executive Director of Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, IA. Chad has a masters degree from Gallaudet University and is a well-known leader in Deaf ministry.

Dr. Rick McClain is the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Deaf Online University and serves on the national team for YFC Deaf Teen Quest. Rick earned his doctorate in ministry from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.

Tessi Muskrat has been serving in deaf youth ministry for over ten years. A founding member of the Hands of Love Deaf Ministry (Fulton, Mo), Tessi leads it’s outreach to the students of the Missouri School for the Deaf.

Bob Rhoads ministers at Gallaudet University through Deaf Leadership Ministries, an outreach he and his wife Karen founded. In Frederick, MD. Bob also serves as the YFC Deaf Teen Quest area coordinator for Central MD YFC.

Mark Seeger is the pastor of Jesus Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Austin, TX which sits directly across the street from Texas School of the Deaf. Between 150-215 Deaf students come to Jesus Deaf Church each school year.

Liz Steele is the YFC Deaf Teen Quest area coordinator in connection with the Alabama School for the Deaf. Liz serves on the DTQ national team with a focus on curriculum development.

Heather Suhr is on DTQ staff and part of an outreach at Gallaudet University called Koinonia Deaf Fellowship which will eventually help to establish a DTQ outreach to teenagers in the Washington DC area.

Jim and Dawn Smith lead the DTQ ministry in Vancouver, WA and Jim serves as the Pacific NW Regional Coordinator. Dawn works at the Washington School for the Deaf. Jim is the pastor of the Maple Grove Deaf Church in Battleground, WA.

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