OGDEN -- A group of local evangelical Christian youth pastors is offering a gift to the community Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.
They are hoping area parents and youths will take advantage of their 10th annual Huddle-Up Conference, to be held at the Nuevas Alturas branch of Washington Heights Church at 1720 Washington Blvd.
The conference includes a Friday evening seminar from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for parents and a Saturday conference from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for youths ages 12 to 18 and their leaders.
"The parent seminar is for parents to help their kids grow up in the culture we live in," said Brent Hinsley, a youth pastor at Alpine Church, an organizer of the event. "We live in a culture full of challenges and temptations."
Hinsley said that as a youth pastor, he regularly gets questions from parents about how to raise their children.
"In one night, a lot of their questions are answered," he said. "We want parents to be able to ask a lot of questions and get a lot of answers."
The parent seminar will be led by Michael Kell, a youth pastor with Youth Specialties in California, who will talk about techniques he and others have used to find success, Hinsley said.
The seminar also includes a workbook that lists other resources on parenting.
A brochure on Kell's offerings calls his seminar "Real World Parenting." It states that the seminar is designed to give hope, vision, encouragement and practical skills for parents to help families grow in Christ and accomplish God's purpose on the earth.
It also states that it will help participants explore Bible principles that will help families grow together in their identity as followers of Christ.
The brochure tells of potential pathways that will lead families to intimacy with each other and with God.
The cost of the parent seminar is $5 but the conference the next day is free for youths.
And the conference is designed to be about the kinds of subjects about which kids want to know, he said.
"We try not to make it like school," he said. "We have seminars about things teenagers really are interested in."
Among seminars at the conference are suicide prevention, dating issues presented by the Pregnancy Care Center, how to understand the Bible, keeping away from drugs and a comparison of creation and evolution.
He said the youth leaders will learn about teenagers, what they go through, how to help them and how to help parents.
Those wishing to participate or to get more information are asked to send Hinsley an email at brent@alpinechurch.org.
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