Special Features
Pre-Summit Intensives
Get the most out of Summit by joining a Pre-Summit Intensive Session. These day-long Wednesday (May 1) interactive workshops are designed to help you dig down deep with experts in the field. Summit registration is required. Is there an intensive for you? Find full Intensive Information here.
oneBIGidea
Hear what’s on the minds of top thought leaders in the business, government, academic and nonprofit sector when they can’t sleep at night: the cutting-edge ideas and insights that carry huge potential to impact lives. Each leader will share a tightly-crafted 7-minute “TED talk”-style presentation on one big idea they believe every orphan advocate should ponder. (See topic and speaker information)
Church Ministry Wellness Center
The Church Orphan Ministry Wellness Center will provide an informal environment for leaders of new and growing church orphan ministries to interact personally with ministry leaders who may be a few steps further down the road. It’s a chance to discuss challenges you’ve faced and ask the hard questions about building an effective adoption, foster and/or global orphan ministry in your church. (Hosted by Hope for Orphans) To participate, please add this option to your online registration.
Conversation & Consulting Rooms
Here’s your chance to consult veterans and form connections for your ministry or family. Throughout Summit, these Conversation & Connection Rooms will include experts on specific themes ready to engage your questions and offer assistance. Come ready to ask questions, find a mentor, or just make a connection. Join for the full hour or a brief conversation anytime during the allotted hour. A schedule of these rooms including topics and hosts will be included in the Summit program. No pre-registration required.
Faith & Art in Music City
Well-made art moves us in ways nothing else can. Hear reflections and music from some of the world’s best songwriters as they reflect on what it means to work their craft with faithfulness and grace. Nashville greats will share stories and sing songs they’ve written, and also offer personal thoughts on what it means to capture in song both the beauty and brokenness of our world. Led by Grammy-nominated songwriter, Lee Thomas Miller, an adoptive dad and follower of Christ whose songs have topped the country charts (Friday, May 3, 4:00pm – 5:15pm). To join, please add this featured breakout session to your online registration.
Blogger Breakfast
Everyone has a story to tell! If you are a blogger (whether you are big time or small potatoes) we invite you to join us for a light breakfast. This will be a casual time to network, talk about blogging and encourage one another as we strive to harness the power of sharing our stories. (Friday, May 3, 8:00am – 8:30am) To participate, please add this option to your online registration.
Movie Screening: STUCK
(hosted by Both Ends Burning)
Every day, communities and governments struggle to care for millions of orphans, trying to replace the most fundamental of human connections: a family. Colliding with cultural identity, human rights, and international politics is the complex yet permanent solution for children: inter-country adoption. Traveling over four continents and into orphanages, living rooms and the halls of Congress, STUCK takes a clear eyed, and sometimes painful look at the realities and conflicts that arise in the process of inter-country adoption, and shares in the intense joy and fulfillment of families not made from blood, but created from love and commitment. (To join, please add this featured breakout session to your online registration.)
Movie Screening: King’s Faith 
Brendan King is on his eighteenth foster home and his last stop after wracking up a laundry list of run-ins with the law. When his past begins to threaten his new-found faith and family, Brendan sets off a chain of events that could destroy everything he’s been building his new life upon. Coming to theaters April 26, 2013! Demand the movie release in your city at www.KingsFaith.com. (To join, please add this featured breakout session to your online registration.)
Orphan Sunday Launch
Orphan Sunday is your opportunity to rouse your church, community and friends to God’s call to care for the orphan. Summit is the place to begin your plans, fill your toolbox with ideas, and gather resources! If you are interested in learning more about Orphan Sunday, or if you are already a volunteer seeking more information, please join us for one of several special Orphan Sunday sessions. READ MORE
Prayer Meetings
Please plan on joining with other attendees in prayer focused on geographical areas of ministry or burden. With so many like-minded hearts in one place, this is the ideal time to lift up requests for every region of the globe with one voice. Organized prayer meetings will be scheduled for Friday morning prior to the general session. Please also plan to spread individual and group
prayer through your own Summit plans. No pre-registration required.
More Special Features…
SPECIALIZED BREAKOUT TRACKS
Specialized breakout tracks include Help for Adoptive and Foster Families, Engaging Effectively for Orphans Worldwide, Engaging Effectively for Foster Youth, Building Church Ministries, Loving Children with Special Needs, Maximizing the Impact of Your Ministry, Art Advocacy and the Orphan, and more! Learn more…
NETWORKING
Meet other orphan advocates and ministries defending the fatherless in your own region! Participate in structured networking opportunities led by regional leaders and alliances from across the country.
VENDORS AND RESOURCES
More than 70 exhibitors will be available to serve you, including adoption agencies, advocacy, foster care, and global orphan care ministries. In order to serve you better the Alliance will also provide a broad range of resources available for purchase, designed for both personal and ministry use for you to purchase.
