General Schedule for YouthCon

YouthCon will have its own schedule apart from the rest of Assembly. However, YouthCon and Assembly will be together for the opening Worship & Plenary on Thursday evening, and for the closing Worship & Plenary on Sunday morning.

See a PDF of the YouthCon schedule here.

Registration

Late registration is now in effect. Save your spot here.

Costs:

Forms and Clearances

In order to have minor children and youth participate in YouthCon ’26 in Pennsylvania, there are certain documents that must be completed for youth AND youth leaders and chaperones. We are asking congregations to take responsibility for collecting these documents and making sure they are all printed and submitted for filing at YouthCon. If it is found that a volunteer or youth participant in missing documents, those individuals may need to sit out of YouthCon events until the situation can be rectified.

Please put together two folders: one for youth participant forms, and another for all youth leader/chaperone clearances. These will need to be printed and provided at registration check-in on June 18th.

You may be a leader/volunteer who has already had to complete clearances through your workplace and/or volunteering. If this is the case, as long as they were completed within the last five years (prior to our June event), you do not need to complete new clearances. Instead, submit a copy of the already completed clearances so they can be printed and submitted with the rest of the leader clearances.

Youth Forms

All youth participants must have a completed Student Permission Form completed by their parents/guardians. And, we request all parents/guardians fill out the Photo Release form to indicate whether or not LMC Churches has permission to photograph their child at YouthCon.

Please note, these documents are confidential in nature. We suggest identifying one youth leader who will collect and hold these documents until registration check-in.

Student Permission Form document

Minor Photo Release Form or fill out the online form HERE

Youth Leader/Chaperone Clearances

The state of Pennsylvania places high importance on having background checks and clearances for those who are working with you and children. All youth leaders and chaperones must have up-to-date clearances at the time of YouthCon this June.

For Leaders/Volunteer Chaperones Who Reside WITHIN Pennsylvania:

• Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check
• Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Child Abuse Clearance
• FBI Criminal Background Check* – Fingerprinting must be done at a designated location in your State; use the hyperlink to find a location and schedule

For Leaders/Volunteer Chaperones Who Reside OUTSIDE Pennsylvania:

• Criminal and Sex Offender Check
• FBI Criminal Background Check* – Fingerprinting must be done at a designated location in your State; use the hyperlink to find a location and schedule

*FBI Clearance Exception: If you are a volunteer who has resided in your state for the last ten years, then you DO NOT need to complete an FBI Check. Instead, read and sign the attached FBI Clearance Waiver and include it with your other background checks.

Additional Information

At Assembly and YouthCon, Dawn Landes, Chair of the Assembly Steering Committee, will serve as event supervisor and ensure all confidential forms and information related to child safety are properly stored in a locked filing cabinet and only accessible as needed. Any questions or concerns related to child protection requirements can be directed to Dawn’s attention at assembly@lmcchurches.org.

For a PDF explaining all of the above in more detail, please see the Child Protection Procedures pdf.

Speakers

We’re working on confirming all our speakers for YouthCon. Here’s what we have confirmed so far!

Jesse Blasdel, Youth Pastor at Journey Mennonite Church

Ken Wettig, Director of SLAQ

Joshua and Raquel Rivera, Pastors at East Gate

Al Motley Jr., Campus Pastor at The Resurrection Center

YouthCon Service Project

At YouthCon, youth will have the opportunity to pack relief kits with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). These relief kits provide valuable supplies to families whose lives have been disrupted by conflict or disaster; it sends them a tangible message that their needs are not forgotten.

To support this project, we are inviting you to help donate towards this service opportunity! We are hoping to raise $10,500 to buy the kit materials. Any amount you’re able to give is greatly appreciated!

To donate, use the button below. Or, write a check to MCC, with “LMC YouthCon Kits” in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to MCC, 21 South 12th Street, PO Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500.

Resources for Youth Leaders

We get it—being a youth leader is important yet challenging work. Our team is working on putting together some resources to help make preparing for YouthCon ’26 a little bit easier. If you have any recommendations on what kinds of resources may be most helpful to you, please email assembly@lmcchurches.org.

Fundraising Ideas

Not every church is able to budget for the cost of YouthCon, so we’ve put together a list of fundraising ideas to help get you started. Fundraising is a great way to get the youth involved and help them grow in their faith as they see the Lord provide. Access the PDF here.

Digital Assets

YouthCon Slides; 4:3 and 16:9 Ratios

YouthCon Facebook Graphics

YouthCon Instagram Graphics