2024 Montreat Youth Conferences

Name: 2024 Montreat Youth Conferences
Start: 2024-06-02
End: 2024-08-03
Location: Montreat Conference Center

Planting Peace

June 2–August 3, 2024 SummerYouth

A Montreat Conference Center program

2024 Dates

Week 1	June 2-8
Week 2	June 9–15
Week 3	July 7–13

Week 4	July 14–20
Week 5	July 21–27
Week 6	July 28–August 3

Montreat Youth Conference affirms youth in their calling to be and to shape the church of Jesus Christ. Our desire is to help youth come to know and believe that they are the beloved of God and to be a place where authenticity, community, connection, and God’s truth thrive. We seek to be an inclusive space where each voice can be heard and where each heart can be molded; where change is invited, challenge is expected, and where all are embraced.

This summer, we will build an accepting community of unconditional love where every story matters. Through engaging worship, lively music, and practices of gratitude and fun, we will offer youth different opportunities to cultivate their spiritual faith journeys and practice sabbath. We will provide a secure space that is loving, holy, and authentic so that we may glorify God in all that we do, inspiring and equipping a lifetime of faith.

Youth leave Montreat knowing that:

Their faith matters.
They are loved as they are.
They are part of a community of faith.

Check out the MYC Guidebook!

Feeling overwhelmed? Need some clarification about something? Check out the MYC Guidebook! We’ve collected lots of information we think you might need all in one, easy to access place.

Visit the MYC Guidebook

Montreat Youth Conference Email Sign-Up

Need to talk to a real person?

Have questions about registering? Contact Hope Barker at hopeb@montreat.org or by phone at 828.419.9828.
Have questions about housing? Contact Meggie Anderson at meggiea@montreat.org or by phone at 828.419.9809.
Have logistical questions or need resources? Contact Susie Burns at susieb@montreat.org or 828.419.9814.
Are you a new group or a group who hasn’t come in a few years? Contact Susie Burns at susieb@montreat.org or 828.419.9814.

Leaders

Youth Conference Weeks 1 & 2

Dawn Martin Hyde – Keynote Leader

Dawn is the pastor of Downtown Church in Columbia, SC. She's married to Tim, and together they parent the coolest kids, Lincoln and Stella. She's fluent in Spanish, and her life goal is to see Whitney Houston in concert!

Gail Henderson-Belsito – Preacher

A New Yorker by birth, Gail has spent the past 20+ years in Charlotte, NC, with her husband and two children. Gail loves to travel (especially in Spain!), read, go for long walks with her husband, write in her journal, and talk to people about their belovedness in the eyes of God.

Phillip Morgan – Music Leader

Phillip Morgan has served as director of music at Central Presbyterian Church in Louisville, KY, since 2012. He is also the artistic director of the Louisville Gay Men’s Chorus. Phillip has had the privilege of leading the choir at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium and being a member of the Montreat Worship and Music Conference planning team. Phillip currently sings with the Louisville Chamber Choir.

Omayra Gonzalez-Mendez – Recreation Leader

Omayra is a media producer, and from news to television programs, her thing is to create, organize, and manage people. She's super passionate about the church, and takes advantage of every free minute to work in different organizations of the Presbyterian Church, both locally and internationally. As an elder of the Presbyterian Church in Hato Rey, she directs different committees and supports youth work. She understands that all parts of the church are equally important. Laugh, play, create is her motto for life!

Mason Thomas – Recreation Leader

Mason is heading into his senior year at the University of Tennessee to study environmental and soil science. He has been coming to Montreat since he was an infant, and leading rec has been a lifelong dream of his.

Youth Conference Weeks III & IV

John Molina-Moore – Keynote Leader

John is the general presbyter of National Capital Presbytery where he provides faithful and innovative leadership through developing a vision and carrying out the presbytery's mission to be agents of salvation, reconciliation, and justice. He loves mountain biking with his kids, working on his homemade sourdough recipe, 90s hip-hop, and accepting challenges that are outside of his current limitations.

Joann Lee – Preacher

Joann is an associate pastor at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, CA. She was born in New York City to Korean immigrant parents but soon moved to Houston, TX, where she grew up. She studied English and psychology at The University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘em Horns!). After quitting law school, she was nudged to start seminary and eventually earned a MDiv from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. Joann and her partner, Mike, live in San Francisco with three rambunctious and rather silly kids. She loves to read, drink boba milk tea, and walk in nature...and, yes, that’s walk, not hike, because hiking feels too sporty.

Howard Dudley – Music Leader

Howard Dudley is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Dunn, NC, where he’s served since 2016. He’s a life-long Presbyterian and a North Carolina native, and plays guitar, banjo, and loves to sing and lead worship. He’s married to Meg, who is also a pastor, and father to Lindsay and Julia. When he’s not preaching and strumming a guitar, he loves playing golf.

Allen Amos – Music Leader

Allen has been the director of music at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, NC, since 2015. He grew up in Jacksonville, NC, and began playing piano for worship services at his home church at the age of ten. He is currently a band teacher at Durham School of the Arts in Durham, NC, and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Allen is married to Leah Amos, and they have two daughters. In his free time he enjoys hiking, drinking good coffee, and spending time with his friends and family.

Alex Collier – Recreation Leader

Alex is a native of Western NC, lived in Seattle for 15 years after being a part of the YAV Program, and now calls Lynchburg, VA, home. He and his wife, Becky, have two sons, a dog, and a 150 year old house. His passions include mobilizing the Church to service, fly fishing, UNC basketball, theological debates, and playing whatever games his sons come up with day to day.

Skylar Hull – Recreation Leader

Skylar is originally from Montreat, NC, but she went to Samford University in Birmingham, AL, and fell in love with the area. She teaches English to some awesome 9th and 10th graders, and she loves coming home to the mountains to relax and experience all the fun activities!

Youth Conference Weeks V & VI

Ashley-Anne Masters– Keynote Leader

Prior to campus ministry, she was a hospital chaplain in Chicago, IL. During 2020-2021, she served as a COVID chaplain alongside her role as campus minister since there was a great need for more frontline support. Ashley-Anne’s favorites include her rescue dog, Savannah, lavender, goat yoga, and when others join her to watch the sunrise.

Damon Williams – Preacher

Damon P. Williams is the supportive husband of the Rev. Dr. Khalia J. Williams and they are the proud parents of two sons, Master Thomas Christian Williams (7) and Master Ethan Miles Williams (5). Rev. Williams also loves his church family where he is honored to serve as the senior pastor of the historic Providence Missionary Baptist Church in southwest Atlanta.

John Lee – Music Leader

John is a spiritual director and consultant with LeaderWise in Minneapolis, MN. When not absorbing vitamin D in the three-month window that is spring and summer, he loves exploring the boundary waters with his family and playing music with almost anyone he runs across. John has been coming to Montreat in some way, shape, and form for over 30 years.

Maggie Johnson – Recreation Leader

Maggie is a seminary student at Columbia Theological Seminary and the director of youth ministry at Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA. A native of Little Rock, AR, and a graduate of the University of Tulsa (OK), she has been raised in Church spaces and loves to encounter God through communities and connections. In her free time, Maggie loves to practice hot yoga, read books from her Goodreads list, or go hiking with her fiancé, Sam, and her dog, Charlie.

Cade Johnson – Recreation Leader

Cade is from Little Rock, AR, and was raised at Second Presbyterian Church. He is currently a sophomore at the University of Georgia studying journalism and pursuing a minor in criminal justice. While in Georgia, he works as an intern for First Presbyterian Church, Athens, GA. When not in the mountains of Montreat, he loves spending time with his friends, calling the Dawgs, and practicing energizers.

What Is MYC?

Worship & Keynote

Worship and keynote engage youth in the theme and challenge all in attendance to faith exploration and growth. Using scripture, Reformed theology, and song, youth are affirmed and united as children of God. During keynote, everyone gathers for group building, announcements, and song. During worship, youth hear the Word of God proclaimed in word, song, and action.

Small Group

Small group is a place where youth can share their journey of faith with peers through respectful conversations. Small group sessions are led by trained adult leaders who facilitate honest discussions about the themes presented in keynote and worship. It is an important time where youth can dive deeper into the conference theme, while forming bonds and making dear friends with youth outside of their congregation.

Recreation

We engage youth physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in events that build up the Christian community while having fun! We believe that people who can play together can pray together; people who can sing together can talk together; and people who can dance together can walk together.

Back Home Time

Back Home Groups are the people you come with to Montreat. Each evening groups gather together to connect through prayer and conversation. Our hope is that experiences in keynote, worship, small groups, and recreation will provide all the content youth need to have some meaningful conversations with their back home group. Materials are provided to help adult leaders debrief the amazing events and emotions of each day with their youth.

Mission

We are all invited to participate in God's mission in the world by serving our neighbors. In addition to collecting offerings on behalf of different mission partners each week, Montreat Conference Center builds mission opportunities into the weekly programming with opportunities are as varied as packaging meals for food insecure communities to educational opportunities to bring change to your home communities. Montreat also partners with local organizations for optional add-on mission programming for groups attending the Montreat Youth Conferences. For more information about those opportunities, please visit the Ways to Participate menu.

Conference & Housing Rates

We want you to be as informed as possible before you register! We've created a page with a lot of information pertaining to registration, conference participation, and things to know while you're here. We highly encourage you to read it before filling out the registration form. It should answer a lot of your questions. Below is information about scholarships, the cost of conference registration per participant, and the combined cost of conference registration and Conference Center and College housing.

Click For MYC Guidebook

Scholarships

We think Youth Conference is an important and formative part of a young person's faith journey and understand that it's not something affordable to everyone. As such, we have a limited number of scholarships available for this conference.

Conference Cost

Registrations made before April 15 require a $100 per person deposit paid to the conference registrar no more than 10 days after registering.

Registrations made after April 15 require the conference fee balance to be paid in full within 10 days.

On or Before April 15
($100 deposit)

After April 15
(paid in full)

Conference Registration

Housing & meals not included.
Includes $5 community services fee

$314

$364

Conference Center & College Housing Options

Montreat Conference Center Housing Info

Rates are PER PERSON and include room for six nights and meals in Assembly Inn’s Galax Dining Room (Sunday dinner through Saturday breakfast). Linens are included. A $50 per person non-refundable housing deposit is required (this is included in your $100 registration deposit).

Weeks 1 & 6	Single Occupancy	Double Occupancy	Triple Occupancy
Assembly Inn Private Bathroom Limited Availability; goes quickly	$767	$497	$407*
Assembly Inn Shared Bathroom Limited Availability; goes quickly	$647	$437	---
Winsborough Shared Bathroom Modest Housing	$557	$392	---
Glen Rock Inn & Apartment Shared Bathroom Modest Housing	$602	$414.50	$352
Weeks 2, 3, 4 & 5	Single Occupancy	Double Occupancy	Triple Occupancy
Assembly Inn Private Bathroom Limited Availability; goes quickly	$827	$527	$427*
Assembly Inn Shared Bathroom Limited Availability; goes quickly	$707	$467	---
Winsborough Shared Bathroom Modest Housing	$557	$392	---
Glen Rock Inn & Apartment Shared Bathroom Modest Housing	$602	$414.50	$352

* A limited number of triple occupancy Assembly Inn with private bath rooms are available.

Montreat College Dorm Housing Info

Rates are PER PERSON (regardless of how many are in a room) and include room for six nights and meals in Montreat College's Howerton Hall (Sunday dinner through Saturday breakfast). Linens are not included. A $50 per person non-refundable housing deposit is required (this is included in your $100 registration deposit).

View pictures of the dorms here.

	Per Person Rate
Anderson Hall Private Bathroom All rooms have two twin beds* Available Weeks 2 and 5	$465.33
McGregor Hall Shared Bathroom Rooms have a mix of two and three twin beds* Available Weeks 2, 4, and 5	$435.33
Howerton Hall Mix of Private and Shared Bathroom Rooms with private baths have three twins beds Rooms with connecting baths have two twins beds* Available Weeks 2, 3, 4, and 5	$435.33
Davis Hall Hall Bathroom All rooms have three twin beds Available Weeks 2, 3, 4, and 5	$405.33

*Third person in a room must bring their own sleeping bag, air mattress, or cot.

Private Housing

Make your own arrangements directly with a private cottage owner or rental agency. A private cottager list can be acquired by emailing Meggie Anderson at meggiea@montreat.org.

Refunds & Cancellations

Please view the Youth Conference Guidebook for information regarding refunds and cancellations.

Registering "Extra" Adults

You will have an opportunity to purchase Keynote and/or Recreation wristbands upon arrival at conference check-in. The prices for each wristband are listed below.

Wristband	Price
Keynote/Rec	$150
Recreation Only	$20

Ways to Participate

Montreat Youth Conference is for graduated 8th grade to graduated 12th grade young people and their leaders. Participation in MYC includes access to Keynote and Worship, Conference Recreation,—like late-evening energizer parties, scavenger hunts, and other activities—and Small Groups where you’ll unpack the message of the day and build bonds with other Youth and with God.

Opportunities for Youth

Jeremiah Project (JP) More information will be provided to Back Home Leaders at a later date.

Opportunities for Group Leaders

Small Group Leaders (SGL) Small Group Leaders provide critical guidance for the heart of the Youth and Middle School Conferences by leading small groups. The application will be available after the first of the year.

Learn more about SGL

Back Home Leaders (BHL) are the people that bring youth to Montreat. They often help plan the trip, serve as chaperones while the group is onsite, and guide evening discussions and debriefs in the Back Home Groups.

Chaperones are important to the MYC experience. Chaperones act as drivers, cooks, and covenant protectors. We recommend 1 registered adult per every six (6) youth that attend.

Other Opportunities

MYC wouldn’t be able to exist without the important work done by our wonderful volunteers. As such, there are always opportunities to participate in MYC in support and planning roles! You can register to be a part of a Planning Team or become a Small Group Leader to lead our young people in discussion. For all opportunities, visit montreat.org/get-involved.

Montreat Mission Experience with Asheville Youth Mission

Description: Want to begin your group’s MYC experience with a mindset of mission? Sign up your group to spend Sunday with Asheville Youth Mission (a program of Youth Mission Co). AYM leaders will host a “pre-conference” experience from 9am to 3pm that includes mixers, interactive simulations, guest speakers, group discussion, artistic reflection, and exploration of our call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. Groups will consider their home context and how they can live differently in it when their week at Montreat is over.

Sunday Montreat Mission Experience is $25/participant. Sunday MME does not include lunch, but you may pre-order and purchase box lunches from Montreat for $13 per person.

Wednesday Montreat Mission Experience will still be offered, and includes your group volunteering at a local agency from 1-3pm on Wednesday afternoon. Cost is $15/person

You can learn more about Asheville Youth Mission at youthmissionco.org/asheville-youth-mission. You will receive additional participation details in your Youth Conference confirmation email.

Resources

MYC Guidebook

We want you to be as informed as possible before you register! We've created a page with a lot of information pertaining to registration, conference participation, and what to expect once you're here. We highly encourage you to read it before filling out the registration form. It should answer a lot of your questions.

Click here for the MYC Guidebook

First Youth Conference?

Is this your first time bringing a group to Montreat? Contact Susie Burns to walk you through the process at 828.419.9814 or email her at susieb@montreat.org.

Back Home Leader Information

Back Home Leaders are super important to the Montreat Experience! The link at the button below will provide you with resources and the necessary information to help your youth conference experience be a success.

Click here for Back Home Leader Info