What is YM Day?
YM Day began in 2024 with a vision from ICOM Executive Director David Empson to give Youth Ministers a day to be encouraged, equipped and to simply relax. This is an annual gathering that provides a firehouse of current data on students, youth ministry, the church and so much more. This is presented from leading experts, seasoned venters and influential individuals from the youth ministry world. Our hope is that you will come away awakened, refreshed and inspired to keep serving Jesus in the trenches of Youth Ministry for many years to come. You play a vital role and we want you to know you are not alone. The students you serve today need to be activated in the church today, so they can lead the church for tomorrow!
Previous guest speakers included Brad Griffin from the Fuller Youth Institute presenting research and data from their latest findings detailed in the Book Faith Beyond Youth Group. The other special guest was Jayson French, President of Christ In Youth, who presented research that CIY recently conducted and challenged churches to start measuring success with a different matrix of Timothies launched over weekly attendance.
We invite you to join us for our next YM Day to be encouraged, equipped and to relax with others like yourselves as we come together to strengthen one another to keep serving King Jesus by making student disciples who make disciples.
What to Expect?
- Everything is FREE!! Thanks to generous sponsors, all costs are covered.
- Amazing food! A light breakfast and lunch is fully provided
- Give-A-Ways! We have a variety of gifts and resources we want you to have
- Invaluable wisdom from leading experts and seasoned veterans
- Break out groups for reflection and encouragement
- New friends from your neck of the woods and beyond
- A renewed spirit!
We had an Amazing time at YM DAY 2026!
Here is a sample of what was there. Info for 2027 will be released in the upcoming months! Check back this summer to mark your calendars and block of the day to join us. YM need one another and a day to be refueled!
We are excited to have two veterans of youth ministry and discipleship joining us this year to share with us their wisdom and experience. We will have a day full of pouring into you all and each other.
Dann Spader will share two presentations to guide us in our conversations. The first presentation will be sharing the fundamentals of his 4 Chair Discipling training that derived from his MDiv Thesis work during his days as a youth minister. The second one will be on Future Hope and how teaching students about the end times from a biblical perspectives can guide students to hope while guiding them to their purpose.
David Empson will compliment Dann's presentations with his heart beat for ministry that has guided him through all of his years with ICOM: The Invaluable Need for Students to be Involved in Missions.
Come join us for an incredible day for us to recognize the incredible work God is doing in and through you!
Schedule Sample:
8:30 am — Check-In
Grab some coffee & a bite to eat
9:00 am — Welcome & Introductions
9:30 am — Table Turn
10:05 am — Break
10:20 am —Dann Spader: 4 Chair Discipling overview
12:00 Noon — Lunch
12:45 pm — Dann Spader: Future Hope
1:30 pm — Giveaways and Break
1:45 pm — David Empson: Invaluable need for Students to be Involved in Missions
2:45 pm — Table Turn
3:15 pm — Final giveaways
3:30 pm — Head Home
Special Guests:
Dann Spader- (Moody Bible Institute, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) has dedicated his life to disciple-making, teaching others how to take someone from seeker to making disciples themselves. More than 750,000 people in 90 plus countries have been trained to make disciples through organizations he has led. He is the Founder of Sonlife Ministries and currently serves as President of Global Youth Initiative (GYI/Concentric), an alliance of organizations in 95 countries committed to “equipping young leaders for movements of multiplication.” He is also author of 4 Chair Discipling, Walk Like Jesus, Live Like Jesus and co-author of Growing a Healthy Church and The Everyday Commission, among other titles.
Dr. Spader is known for his study of the life of Christ and how Jesus modeled for us His life and ministry! He showed us the MISSION, He was the MODEL, and He gave us the METHODS on how to make disciples in John 17. Jesus lived fully God and fully man. He masked his deity to live full humanity.
A majority of churches in America are struggling to make disciples and multiply. We are now in a day where we can no longer rely on just programs or preaching to make disciples that reproduce. Like Jesus helps you get back to scripture by studying Jesus’ life and ministry and how He made disciples. He laid out a pattern and modeled disciple-making for us to follow. We can emulate His life and build movements of multiplication.
David Empson-is a native of Columbus, Indiana, where he was raised attending the New Hope Christian Church…where he was both baptized and ordained into the Christian ministry. He attended Kentucky Christian College (1977-1981). David served as a youth minister in Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana from 1981 thru 2001. He received a Master of Arts from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in Practical Ministries in 1991. During his youth ministry years, David led many student mission trips. This experience led him to be recommended to lead to the student program, creating the Windows of the World Teen Convention for the NMC in 1998. As Windows grew, David became the first full time student director, operating from central Indiana. In 2008, David took on the executive director role and moved operations from Copeland, KS to Indiana. That change took place in 2008. David is the President for ICOM 2026 with his final year as the Executive Director.
Thank you to Christ First for hosting ICOM and Youth Ministers Day 2026!
We are grateful for your support of youth ministers and the crucial work they are doing!
A huge thank you to these YMD 2026 Sponsors! We wouldn't be able to have this free event without them.
Click on their logos below to view their website!
