Young Married Metro
2023 Young Adult & Family Ministers Metro Association Conference
As you begin making your 2023 Ministry Plans, I hope they include joining myself and other Young Adult and Family Minsters for three days of equipping, encouragement and networking at the 2023 Young Adult and Family Minister METRO Conference, April 18-21, 2023.
This year’s conference will be held on the beautiful, white-sand beaches of Ft. Walton Beach, FL at the Ft. Walton Beach Holiday Inn Resort.
Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach
1299 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
The Holiday Inn Resort Ft. Walton Beach is a full-service beach-front hotel just 25 minutes from Ft. Walton/Destin Airport (VPS) and just 20 minutes from Destin. It has all of the same beach access and amenities you would expect from a vacation resort, including large private pool and deck area with lazy river and direct access to the Gulf of Mexico.
Event Schedule & Details
The 2023 Young Adult and Family Ministers Metro Association Conference will be held Tuesday – Friday, April 18-21. Our first session will begin with lunch at 12pm on Tuesday, April 18. The event will conclude on Friday, April 21 at 12:30pm.
Here is a tentative overview of our Conference Schedule (schedule subject to change). We are still coordinating times and schedules with several Speakers & Sponsors:
- Tuesday, April 18
- 12pm: Lunch* & Introductions
- 1pm – 4pm: Afternoon Sessions
- 6pm: Group Dinner
- Wednesday, April 19
- 8am: Breakfast & Morning Devotional
- 9am: Morning Sessions (Session Updates Coming Soon!)
- 12pm: Lunch*
- 1pm – 3pm: Afternoon Session (Session Updates Coming Soon!)
- 3pm: Free Time
- 6:30pm: Group Dinner (location TBD)
- Thursday, April 20:
- 8am: Breakfast & Morning Devotional
- 9am: Guest Speaker: Ted Cunningham
- 12pm: Lunch*
- 1pm – 4pm: Guest Speaker: Ted Cunningham
- 4pm: Free Time
- 6:30pm: Group Dinner
- Friday, April 21
- 8am: Breakfast & Morning Devotional
- 9am: Morning Session | Vote on 2024 Chairman & Location
- 12:30pm: Conference Concludes (lunch not provided)
*Lunches will be sponsored by vendors
Guest Speaker: Ted Cunningham
Ted Cunningham will be one of the featured guests at the 2023 Young Adult Minister’s Metro Conference. Ted is the founding pastor of Woodland Hills Family Church in Branson, Missouri as well as a speaker and headline comedian for Date Night Comedy Tour. A graduate of Liberty University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Ted is the author or co-author of numerous books, including Trophy Child and Young and in Love and his new marriage devotional book, Greater Joy Twogether. He and his wife, Amy, have been married for 26-years and have two children.
Registration Information
The cost for this year’s METRO Conference will be $375 for each Minister and $187.50 for their spouse (if applicable). These fees will help cover the cost of:
- Meeting Space
- Conference Materials
- Select Meals (breakfast)
- Travel Expenses for Guest Speakers
If you are ready to commit to the 2023 Young Adult Ministers METRO Conference in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, please click the link below to register. The METRO dues will be paid to First Baptist Dallas. From there, we will cover the expenses outlined above
Accommodations
Each attendee will be responsible for booking and paying for their own room. The room rates for the conference are as follows:
- 2 Queen or 1 King Standard Guest Room Rate (non-ocean view): $329/night
- Beachfront Room – 2 Queen Bed or King Suite: $359/night
- Beachfront Room – Kids Suite: $369/night
- Tax on all rooms is 16.25%
To book your room, please contact the Holiday Inn Resort Ft. Walton Reservations Desk at 850.301.9000 #1 and ask for Young Adult Ministries Conference group block to receive the group discount.
If you need any additional assistance, simply click the link below to contact the Hotel Booking Coordinator, Ivana Coteat.
2023 Metro Host
For those of you I haven’t met yet, my name is Barry Ford and I will be your 2023 Young Adult and Family Ministers Metro Conference Host. I serve as the minister to Young Married Life at First Baptist Dallas. I oversee Sunday School, Special Events, Pre-Marital Training, Marriage Enrichment and Marriage Counseling for seriously dating, engaged, newlywed and young married adults ages 18-40.
I have been in ministry for 25-years and have served in multiple church roles including Sports Outreach, Small Groups, Family Camp, First Impressions Ministry, Men’s Ministry and Marriage Ministry. My wife Ellen and I have been married for 21-years and have 16-yr old twins.
Contact Barry
If you have questions about the 2023 Young Adult & Family Minister’s Metro Conference on April 18-21, feel free to email me using the button below or call me on my personal cell phone at (469) 939-2948.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Ricky Chelette
As Executive Director of Living Hope Ministries, Ricky Chelette’s vision, leadership, compassion, and passion for truth has helped LHM grow and expand amidst a culture often antagonistic to its mission. Before joining LHM, Ricky served the Lord as a single adult/outreach pastor, youth pastor, and education minister, and even used his gifts of singing and teaching, traveling the US to perform gospel concerts. Ricky was one of the founders of LHM’s online support forums and was instrumental in establishing satellites of LHM in Denton and Houston. Ricky holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Pre-Law, a Master of Arts in Religious Education, is an ordained minister, and has taught at seminaries, colleges, and universities in addition to speaking throughout the US and abroad. While serving as executive director, Ricky concurrently serves on the pastoral staff at First Baptist Church, Arlington, TX as an ordained pastor.
Over his more than 30 years in ministry, Ricky has vast experience speaking to and journeying with thousands of men, women, and friends and family of those struggling with gender and identity confusion. Ricky enjoys traveling, cooking, painting, writing, reading, and seeing people’s lives transformed by Jesus. His real passions are teaching the word of God, serving the church and her people, and hosting folks at his house for his personally prepared gourmet meals. Ricky was joyously married for 30 years to the late Merlinda Allen Chelette, who went to be with the Lord in April 2019.