8:30 – 9:00 Arrive / Check In

9:00 – 9:35 Opening Session

9:35 – 10:05 Bible Buzz / Recreation (large group divides up)

10:05 – 10:20 Refreshments

10:20 – 10:50 Recreation / Bible Buzz (large group divides up)

10:50 – 11:00 Break

11:00 – 11:45 Worship Session

11:45 – 12:20 Lunch (pizza, chips, drinks, pre-packaged fruit, dessert)

12:20 – 12:50 Fun & Entertainment

1:00 – 1:55 Closing Session

2:00 Conference Concludes

“I always greatly appreciate the details that go into the Kid’s Conference each time we come. The music is always excellent and I end up using a fair amount of the songs at our kid’s program back home. The fun little games and unique elements are memorable and I often find myself mimicking some of those details in my children’s ministry, too.”

— Matthew Thiner
Pastor, Astoria Christian Church

“We had an amazing time at the Light Kids Conference in Peoria! The kids really loved the worship and games, and the lessons were presented in super fun ways.  I loved how we were all making a connection with the Lord on so many different levels! The kids all said they can’t wait until next year!”

— Gretchen Thum
First Baptist Church, Canton, IL

CHURCH CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES

Very often, a group of adult volunteers from a local church will gather a group of kids and attend the conference as a group. This is a great way to build community and connection among the kids in your ministry (and as many friends as they can invite). If you’re bringing a group, there’s isn’t a required ratio of adults to children, but we have found that at least one to six works well.

ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT

This event is set up as a conference and all kids will need to be accompanied by an adult (either children’s ministry leaders, pastors, parents or grandparents. Sometimes a family will bring their children along with their friends or cousins! Most everything is done in a large group setting for the day and everyone is welcome to join in!

REGISTRATION FEE

The registration of $35 per child covers the program, snacks, entertainment, pizza lunch, and a small gift at the end of the day! Adults who join children at the conference have a registration fee of $30. T-shirts are available to purchase at The Light Kids Conference for $15, or you can add on to your registration for $13.

REGISTRATION FORM

If you are bringing a church group or signing up with your church group and don’t already have your own permission/release form, you can print this and bring it with you! PRINT RELEASE FORM

DIETARY AND ALLERGIES

Due to the fast pace lunch schedule, we invite any child or adult who doesn’t like pizza to bring a lunch. The setup for lunch is designed in such a way that students will be sitting in the same room (spread out as much as possible) and anyone who would like to bring their own lunch can also go through the line and get drinks, fruit, chips or desserts or whatever they do like / can have. Pizza toppings include pepperoni, sausage or cheese and we have found it too difficult to determine allergy and dietary needs for children during the rush of lunch. Thank you for taking care of this small detail for your child/children.

TEACHING & BELIEFS

Harvest Ministry, a non-for-profit ministry (since 1996) based in Troy, IL partners with the host churches to host The Light Kids Conference. The music through Harvest includes interactive music that helps children engage and worship! [Spotify Playlist | YouTube PlayList] Along with the music, Tim Price, Director of Harvest Ministry, typically write and leads the curriculum, which always focuses on basic Bible stories and Jesus. The response time at the close of the day is a combination of prayer and celebration. We invite kids to remember the stories and the memory verse from the day, to come up and pray and then we celebrate. Knowing there are many Christian denominations represented, we stick with the simple stories and a call to love Jesus. Tim Price holds a BA in Organization Communication from McKendree University and an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary. For 2023, the theme is Rise Up!