Church leaders’ conference to focus on “Resistance, Resilience, Rest”
Published: December 18, 2025
ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — How can leaders best prepare themselves to accompany their communities through challenging times with courage and conviction?
Participants at Pastors & Leaders 2026 will explore together how to nurture rested, resilient pastors and leaders who can lead resistance against the many forms of oppression and violence that they encounter in their contexts. The conference will take place Feb. 23–26 at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana.
According to Julia Schmidt, MDiv, who oversees the planning of the annual conference for Christian leaders, research shows that pastors experience a high rate of burnout, secondary traumatic stress and spiritual distress, which negatively affect their health and well-being. In response, she said the planning group designed the event to help participants gain resources to care for themselves and each other — looking to Scripture for wisdom, strength and inspiration.
“As a part-time pastor myself, I understand the complexity of leading in times of chaos, the challenges of resisting injustice, and the difficulties of taking care of yourself while also attending to the needs of your community,” she said. “We believe that this conference will provide participants with valuable tools to lead successfully in this current moment while attending to their own bodies and souls.”
The conference, which is hosted by AMBS’s Church Leadership Center, will begin at 7 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 23, and conclude at 12:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 26. Participants can attend in person on the AMBS campus or watch via livestream.
Speakers and preachers
The event — which will include worship, prayer, teaching sessions and 28 workshop options — will feature the following speakers and preachers:
Speakers
- Monday and Tuesday: Drew G.I. Hart, PhD, an author, educator and speaker, is Associate Professor of Theology at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where he has directed the Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice program since 2021. He co-hosts the InVerse podcast and is the author of Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism (Herald Press, 2016), Who Will Be A Witness?: Igniting Activism for God’s Justice, Love, and Deliverance (Herald Press, 2020) and Making It Plain: Why We Need Anabaptism and the Black Church (Herald Press, 2025).
- Wednesday and Thursday: Dan White, Jr., MA, and Tonya White are pastors, counselors, authors and co-founders of the Kineo Center in the rainforest of Puerto Rico, where they designed an immersive one-week experience to help weary and wounded leaders recover from burnout. To date, the center has served more than 600 nonprofit and ministry leaders from 14 denominations. The Whites have been pastors for 25 years and hold degrees in marriage and family counseling. Tonya is a certified Enneagram Coach, and Dan is the author of Love over Fear: Facing Monsters, Befriending Enemies, and Healing Our Polarized World (Moody, 2019). Together, they are co-authoring The Mutual Marriage (forthcoming).
Preachers
- Tuesday: Kristin Loeks Jackson, MDiv, serves on the pastoral team of Living Water Community Church in Chicago, Illinois, a multilingual and multi-ethnic congregation.
- Wednesday: Regina Shands Stoltzfus, PhD, is Professor of Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies at Goshen (Indiana) College and the author of Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love: Reflections on Blackness and Teaching Peace (Tehom Center, 2025).
- Worship leader (all sessions): Rashard Allen, DWS, is Director of Music and Worship at Neffsville Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, an evening banquet for conference participants will feature stories of ministry “bloopers” from participants with MC Allan Rudy-Froese, PhD, AMBS Associate Professor of Preaching and Voice.
Workshops
Twenty-eight different workshops will be offered during four time slots, with seven unique workshop options (including one livestream option) to choose from in each slot. Sample titles include:
- Advocacy for Immigrants: Tools for Resistance
- Courage to Enter the Song: Moving Congregations from Quietism to Active Resistance
- Peaceful Practices: A Guide to Healthy Communication in Conflict
- Renewed for the Work: Mental Health and Well-Being in Ministry
- Resistance and Resilience from the Margins
- Sacred Pausing: Resilience and Resistance Grounded in Rest
- Spiritual Practices that Build Resilience in Children
- Walking the Labyrinth in the Quest for Rest
Schmidt noted that the conference will offer participants various opportunities to connect with other leaders and to engage in spiritual formation — such as participating in small groups, taking time for individual and communal prayer, responding creatively in an art room, and exploring mindful movement.
Registration
Registration fees for the event vary for individuals, married couples, and students. Discounts are available for first-time participants, those who bring a friend who has never attended Pastors & Leaders, and those needing financial assistance. An early registration discount is also available for those who register by Jan. 26. The final registration deadline is Feb. 16, 2026.
Participants who attend all plenary, worship and workshop sessions may earn 1.2 Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Information about the conference schedule, meals, lodging, transportation and registration is available at ambs.edu/pastors-and-leaders.
Leadership Clinics
In addition, five daylong in-person Leadership Clinics will be held on Monday, Feb. 23, before the start of the conference:
- Caring for Immigrants and Congregations in Times of Crisis
- Faith Formation for Families in Anxious Times
- Healthy Boundaries 101
- Reflections on Blackness and Teaching Peace
- Your Voice in Worship
Participants can register for a clinic by itself or in addition to the conference.
See: ambs.edu/leadership-clinics
Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu
— AMBS release
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