The shifts occur as the El Cajon, California-based company
deals with an internal reorganization that included laying off nearly half its
30 full-time staff members in January.
The biggest change: The 3,000-plus youth workers expected to
attend the conventions—held in Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Atlanta—can expect
keynote speakers to address fewer hot-button issues from the main stage than in
years past.
Organizers promise more unifying "big room" gatherings that
celebrate what the diverse crowds—ranging from conservative evangelicals to
mainline Protestants and Catholics—have in common: the gospel of Jesus Christ,
a belief in God's power to transform lives, and a passion for developing young
people of faith.
"Whether you're a liberal [Methodist] or Presbyterian or
some other denomination like that, or whether you come from a Southern Baptist
church or an independent Bible church, those are things we can stack hands on,"
Oestreicher said.
Typically, Youth Specialties' national conventions have
featured speakers expected to challenge audiences and offer fresh, even
controversial, theological perspectives, said Chap Clark, professor of youth,
family, and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.
"Youth Specialties has been the forum for thoughtful youth
ministry conversations for 30 years," said Clark, a regular speaker at the
conventions. "Youth Specialties' niche has never been to proclaim a certain
slant. ...
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