ABOUT REGISTER

Conference Components:

Rooted Ministry offers a unique, simple annual conference for both youth ministers and parents of teenagers. Rooted Ministry begins with the Gospel as the starting point and considers all matters in student ministry and youth culture from that axis. These conferences feature great preaching, engaging biblical teaching, practical workshops, sincere worship and the most intimate atmosphere you’ve ever encountered at a conference. Just the Gospel, relationships and conversations. 

Rooted Ministry organizes our annual conferences for parents and youth ministers to offer great teaching and an ideal venue for relationships and the interchange of ideas. The hope is that attendees will leave feeling that they learned a great deal, both from the program and from conversations.

Defining what it means to be human seems more elusive today than ever before. The next generation hears many competing voices about identity, purpose, and belonging. As children’s and youth ministers, we have the unique calling—and privilege—of pointing them to God’s Word as the source of truth. At Rooted 2026: Humanity, we’ll return to Scripture to rediscover what God says about us. Together, we’ll explore the story of humankind: created by God in his image, separated from God by sin, redeemed through Jesus, and brought into new life together as members of the body of Christ. We will walk through the biblical theology of humanity to consider how these truths shape the way we disciple children and teenagers. Join us as we deepen our understanding of who we are—and help the next generation discover their place in God’s story.

 Conference Location: Nashville, TN

Plenary Speakers

Join us for plenary speakers including Cameron Cole, Carol Kaminski, Chad Scruggs, David A. Washington, Drew Hyun, and Vince Greenwald

Workshops

Our workshop topics and speakers are chosen by Rooted’s Steering Committees, two diverse groups of youth pastors and parents from different contexts and parts of the country.

 

Pre-Conference Options:

Join us for extra fellowship and teaching for specific groups of people, whether new to youth ministry, working in an Asian-American church, or those interested in becoming Rooted Writers.

Asian-American Church

Join us for extra fellowship and teaching for people specifically working in an Asian-American context.

Join us for our 9th annual Asian American Preconference, as we are offering a preconference specifically for volunteers, pastors, and youth leaders in the Asian American church. This year’s preconference theme will be “Doing Emotionally Healthy Ministry” and will be held on Thursday, October 22nd from 11:30am – 3pm. Lunch will be included.

Our speakers for this year’s preconference are Drew Hyun, Executive Director of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship (pioneered by Pete & Geri Scazzero), an organization that aims to transform church culture through the multiplication of deeply changed pastors and leaders, as well as a panel of experienced practitioners, for this preconference experience, designed to encourage us to “press forward in gospel-centered ministry for the Asian-American church.” Join us for this special fellowship and teaching for people working specifically in an Asian American context.

The cost of this pre-conference is $35.

Accommodations: 

Rooted has partnered with a number of hotels near the conference site in order to provide our registrants the best discounts available. See below to view all of our discounted room blocks, distances from the hotel properties to the venue, amenities, special offers, and more. 

Book your hotel rooms soon! Our room blocks often fill up quickly.

Staybridge Suites Franklin

Hampton by Hilton Nashville/Brentwood

  • Distance: 10 minutes from the conference site

  • Location: 5630 Franklin Pike Cir, Brentwood, TN 37027

  • Rate: $154/night

  • Ask for the Rooted Ministry group rate

Register Today!

Rooted 2026 Registration

$175.00 USD

Rooted 2026 Asian American Preconference

Join us for the Asian American Preconference!  

$35.00 USD

We are Rooted Ministry

We are a non-profit group of practicing youth pastors from all over the U.S. who work to equip and empower churches and parents to faithfully disciple students to lifelong faith in Jesus Christ. Our vision is to transform youth ministry so that every student receives a grace-filled, gospel-centered, and Bible-saturated discipleship in the church and the home. 

We provide many types of resources to support churches and parents in this endeavor, including a blog, podcasts, conference, curriculum, training, local community connections for youth pastors, and resources. 

Rooted Ministry espouses a simple approach to youth ministry, based on our understanding of scripture and validated by research on effective models for cultivating sustainable faith in young people. Therefore, we emphasize the following foundations for youth ministry: 

  1. Gospel Centrality - faithfully proclaiming the good news of God's unconditional love for sinners through Christ.
  2. Theological depth through expository, biblical teaching - equipping students with a biblical worldview.
  3. Relational discipleship - pursuing all facets of ministry in the context of caring relationships with students.
  4. Partnership with parents - educating, equipping, and collaborating with parents in the discipleship of their kids.
  5. Intergenerational integration - including students among all the generations of the church.