Strengthened, encouraged, and empowered, we enter the new school year
September 7th—8th, 2026
The Healthy Youth workers live in a constant tension between who they think they should be, who they want to be, and what the situation demands. Tension in and of itself isn’t bad—it’s the energy that keeps you on your toes. But how can you keep it from tightening and leading to burnout? How can you find your way through? How can you find space for authenticity and growth?
This year’s participation was phenomenal. The conference hall was literally bursting at the seams. Everyone is looking forward to getting together and sharing experiences from their ministry.
The 22nd Healthy Youth Workers’ Conference was held at its traditional location in a beautiful natural setting, and hosted a total of 79 HY workers, friends, and supporters, as well as staff members from the International Needs Foundation and the F-Nadace.
The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny this time, inviting us to take walks in the surrounding area and enjoy the local beauty while chatting with close colleagues and friends whom we don’t get to see very often. Since it’s usually unrealistic to gather in such a large group at any other time of the year, the downtime between scheduled activities is always filled with plenty of conversations, sharing, and prayers.
And it’s worth noting that participants consistently praise this free time in their feedback as something that is exceptionally rare and valuable to them. They always try to use it to catch up with their old friends.
Strength in the Midst of Pressure—a very timely topic. In their contributions and responses to them, the participants confirmed that tension and pressure are simply inherent to our ministry; they cannot be completely eliminated, but are things we must learn to live with. As much as we would love to have all of life’s questions and beliefs resolved, but… Often we cannot rely on step-by-step instructions for life; instead, we experience uncertainty and a “fog ahead” navigating through it by faith, trusting that we will reach our destination beyond the fog.
The Healthy Youth Workers’ Conference 2026 got officially started. The program is hosted by the experienced HY worker and moderator Martin Stavjanik.
First, we discussed the tension between personal testimony and professional expertise: we are expected to be professional, but without a heart for God and for serving children, something essential is missing. Conversely, enthusiasm without good skills is also undesirable in schools. Here are just a few thoughts from the participants:
“When I go to a school for a program, I want to be transparent and relaxed—connected with the children and aware that I’m living out what I’m teaching them.”
“I can’t explicitly talk about God during the program at school, but my goal is for the children to encounter God through my presence and the program itself.”
We began the program with worship and prayers. The leading worship band had been put together especially for this event.
Another tension we addressed was the question of balancing the head and the heart. Through the HY program, we aim to convey important information to children—which is also the promise we make to school prevention coordinators when we come to schools—that we have the tools to explain and demonstrate positive values to today’s young generation.
But what if, in the middle of the program, we get sidetracked by current questions or the personal experiences of individual students or pupils, threatening to derail us from delivering our curriculum?
Once again, to resolve these situations, we drew on each other’s experiences as well as on the Bible itself, where Jesus often paused to devote time to someone seemingly outside the original plan, allowing himself to be interrupted by people with unrelated yet urgent requests. Here are some thoughts:
“The program has a clear structure that provides order and prevents things from getting out of hand. But in the background, there is always what matters most: relationships.”
“During the program, I realized that I also need to be there for a specific child, allowing myself to step away from the plan from time to time.”
“I realized that when I’m well-prepared for the program (reason), improvisation (emotion) doesn’t throw me off balance, but brings a real blessing.”
The panel discussion is in full swing. Anyone can join in.
For the last subtopic, we tried out a new format: a moderator led a discussion with three selected speakers addressing the tension among different roles.
We have many roles in our lives (educator, spouse, parent, manager, colleague, friend…) and place high demands on ourselves when we try to fulfill multiple roles at once while giving 100% to each. The question isn’t whether it’s possible (it isn’t!), but whether anyone actually expects that of us. Excessive demands we place on ourselves and expectations from others are often just in our heads.
Through a therapeutic technique, we experienced how good it feels to be fully present in the here and now focusing on a single role and to giving it our all.
Once again, the program featured an interesting outdoor activity. This year, we also added optional workshops and one purely relaxing social event. We organized a Retro Party, which gave us a chance to take a trip down memory lane through the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. We had a fantastic time.
A total of 79 HY workers and supporters of this wonderful ministry for children and youth took part in this year’s Healthy Youth Workers’ Conference.
We’re already looking forward to next year’s retreat, since we once again experienced the legendary ‘Healthy Youth Workers’ Spa’ here, which—in the best possible way—gave us a boost heading into the new school year!
Martin Stavjanik, the Authorized Supervisor of the HY Program workers
