GENESIS START UP CONFERENCE

March 31-April 2, 2025 // DAHLONEGA, GA

WHAT IS THE GENESIS CONFERENCE?

We’ve crafted an entire conference with the sole focus of helping you start solid youth ministry in your parish! We’ll be providing you an opportunity to witness first-hand a thriving Life Teen youth ministry program in action. Then we’ll be walking through the essential components for launching or revitalizing youth ministry in your parish. You can expect to receive a systematic, comprehensive introduction to quality youth ministry along with the practical steps to make it happen. And, because youth ministry flows to and from the sacraments, this training won’t just be about the logistics of ministry, but will also provide you an opportunity to renew your own relationship with Christ.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

If you’re brand new to youth ministry or brand new to Life Teen or Edge, this conference is for you! And bring your priest, music minister, and anyone else who is or will be a key player in your ministry. If you’re a veteran youth minister, this conference is a great one to send new staff or new core members to so you can rest assured they’ve received systematic, quality training as they begin to serve. You’re guaranteed to walk away from this training plugged into a vast network of support, knowing that you’re not in this alone.

MINISTRY TEAM

woman
Katie Gray
RANDY RAUS
Raus Randy
woman
Kristin Ables
Jake Martin

LOCATION

The first day of this conference will be held at the beautiful and vibrant parish of St. Ann’s. Accommodations and the rest of the conference will take place at Life Teen Camp Hidden Lake. Splitting our time between these two locations will allow us to create unique opportunities for you to witness and experience ministry while hosting you in our own ‘home’ – keeping your overall cost down to a minimum.

St. Ann Catholic Church
4905 Roswell Rd.
Marietta, GA 30062

They’ve had an active Life Teen youth ministry program for over 30 years, so they know a thing or two about ministering to teenagers! For this reason we have teamed up with St. Ann’s to give you a first-hand look at a thriving Life Teen program.

Life Teen Camp Hidden Lake
830 Hidden Lake Rd.
Dahlonega, GA 30533

Camp Hidden Lake is located in the stunning north Georgia mountains and has been the place of life-changing encounters with Jesus for countless teens around the country through Life Teen Summer Camps and parish retreats since 2014. During the conference you will be able to tour the camp grounds and chat with Life Teen staff to learn how you might incorporate the summer camp experience into your youth ministry program.

INFORMATION AND DETAILS

On Sunday, check-in will take place at St. Ann’s from 3:00-4:30pm. The opening session will start at 4:30pm and flow directly into the St. Ann’s Life Teen Sunday Mass at 6:00pm. After Mass, you will board a bus to take you to Camp Hidden Lake for the remainder of the conference! On Tuesday, the conference programing will end at 12:30pm at Camp Hidden Lake. The bus will immediately depart Hidden Lake to return to St. Ann’s and then the Atlanta airport. 

Click here for the full schedule.

The Sunday conference sessions will be held at:

Catholic Church of St. Ann
4905 Roswell Rd.
Marietta, GA 30062

Accommodations and the rest of the conference sessions will take place at:

Life Teen Camp Hidden Lake
830 Hidden Lake Rd, 
Dahlonega, GA 30533

 

For those flying, the closest airport is the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport. A bus from the ATL airport to St. Ann’s, Hidden Lake, and back to the airport is included with your registration. To ride the bus, your flight must arrive before 1:30pm on Sunday, April 7th, and must depart no earlier than 5:00pm on Tuesday, April 9th. Please let us know when registering if you will be riding the bus or not.

For those driving, please plan to drive to St. Ann’s in Marietta and arrive on Sunday afternoon for conference check-in and the beginning sessions. Bus transportation will be provided for all conference participants from St. Ann’s to and from Camp Hidden Lake. You will be able to park your car at St. Ann’s until we return on Tuesday afternoon. Please let us know when registering if you will be riding the bus or not.

We encourage all participants to ride the bus as we will be having conference content and discussion on the bus ride. However, if for some reason you need to drive your own car to camp, you can do so. Be aware that the drive between St. Ann’s and Hidden Lake is approximately 1.5 hours. 

Accommodations at Camp Hidden Lake are included in the registration fee.

Housing at Hidden Lake is camp-style with a variety of different bunk configurations and people per room and building. Males in your group will be housed near each other and females in your group will be housed near each other. Priests will be housed with other priests.

If your group has special housing needs, please let us know during the registration process and we will do our best to accommodate.

$250 Early Bird // Register by February 15
$350 Regular Rate // February 16 Onward

Conference registration includes all sessions, materials, accommodations, airport transportation, transportation between St. Ann’s and Camp Hidden Lake, dinner on Sunday, all meals on Monday, and breakfast & lunch on Tuesday.

This event is for adults only. No minors or high school youth may attend. All attendees must be at least 18 years old and graduated from high school in order to attend.

A

ll registration fees must be paid no later than March 1st.  Payment can be made by check or credit card.

Checks should be made out to Life Teen and mailed to:

Life Teen, Inc.
ATTN: Spring Genesis 2024
P.O. Box 117299
Atlanta, GA  30368-7299

To submit a credit card payment, click this link to view and pay your balance. You will need your email address and confirmation number to log in. Once logged in, you will be able to put in your credit card information and submit your payment.

  • Cancellation by February 28th: $100 cancellation fee
  • Cancellation between February 29th-March 21st: $150 cancellation fee
  • Cancellation after March 21st: no refund
  • Unpaid registrants who cancel after February 28th will be held responsible for payment. No shows will also be held responsible for payment. Please let us know if you are unable to attend!
  • Registrants who were registered via any type of scholarship, grant, or other complimentary spot who choose to cancel will be charged cancellation fees according to the above listed policies.
  • Registrants who were registered using a premium conference credit who choose to cancel will have the option to forfeit their credit or pay the cancellation fees according to the above listed policies.

We have a limited amount of scholarship money available for youth ministers. Unfortunately, we do not have funds available for core members. If you are in great need of financial assistance, please download this scholarship application and submit it. Priests and seminarians should see the Shepherd’s Scholarship info.

We also have scholarship money available for priests and seminarians. Generous donors have made it possible for all priests to attend any Life Teen training conference for free — because we believe priests are essential for effective youth ministry. This year, this generous offer has been extended to seminarians as well. Simply indicate you are a priest or seminarian when you register and your registration fee will be waived. If you’re a priest or seminarian who has never been to a Life Teen event before, we will also cover your flight and hotel expenses! To receive this portion of the scholarship, please register online for the conference and then submit this Shepherd’s Scholarship application form along with your airfare and hotel receipts.

Please contact Julianna Nett, Events Registration Coordinator, at jnett@lifeteen.com or 800-809-3902 ext. 231 with any questions.

W

e are here to help you!  You can always contact the Events Team with any questions you may have.

Julianna Nett
Events Registration Coordinator
jnett@lifeteen.com800-809-3902 ext. 231 

MaRisa Falkenbach
Assistant Director of Events
mfalkenbach@lifeteen.com800-809-3902 ext. 223