who is this for?

This event was created exclusively for Catholic ministry leaders who work with middle school and high school students, but because it's a unique event, we wanted to help you decide if this event was really for you.If you can emphatically answer yes to all the questions below, then you definitely need to join us for Thriveanooga!

Are you a Catholic youth minister?
This event was specifically created for parish youth ministry leaders (middle school or high school)– if that's not you, this is not the event for you. Paid or volunteer: doesn't matter. Full-time or part-time: you're invited!
Would your pastor say you're in charge?
As much as we love volunteers (or whatever you call them at your parish), this event is for the LEAD youth worker. Most parishes call them the "youth minister", but your title isn't important – if you're the one people are mad at when your teens make a mess, Thriveanooga was created for you.
Are you willing to think outside the box?
We're not looking to maintain, we're ready to dream big and innovate. If you're happy with the way things are, this is not the event for you.
Do you like people?
You will be spending a LOT of time with other people during this event. Introverts are welcome – but we want to make sure you know there is going to be way more group time than alone time. (Don't worry: you'll have time to decompress at night in the awesome hotel.)
Do you work well with others?
This is not a "listen to experts talk at you all day" kind of event. This is a "roll up your sleeves and get to work" kind of thing. You'll be spending a lot of times in collaborative sessions and team-oriented workshops that will actually move the needle in your ministry.
Are you ready to be real?
If you're looking for a place filled with people who have everything figured out and haven't struggled in years – this ain't it. Thriveanooga is the place to come figure things out, which means you need to willing to be real and vulnerable about what's working (and not working) in your ministry (and maybe even your life).
Do you like fun?
We're going to get a LOT done during the day, but when evening rolls around it's all about fun, community, and competition. If you're looking for low-energy and boring, you're going to hate Thriveanooga.
Are you ready to finally play a game?
Most youth ministers love games, but they never get to play them because they're always running them. Well not at Thriveanooga – you better be ready to lace up your kicks and put your game face on because we've got some awesome games ready for you!
Are you down with not knowing all the details?
We're not going to publish the event schedule – so if that will cause you too much stress to enjoy yourself, you might want to sit this one out.

Upgrade your thriveanooga experience

If you're ready to take things to the next level, add the Ultimate Alliance Package during registration to receive:

ALLiance Selection

This year at Thriveanooga, there are four main alliances. Each alliance has three tribes – and each tribe has a color.

With the ultimate alliance upgrade, you'll get to pick which alliance you're a part of!

Thriveanooga GamePack

Each year, we create brand new games for Thriveanooga – and Ultimate Alliance members get the complete digital gamepack to recreate all of the games back home with your teens!

Megaprize Entry

One lucky youth minister is going to win this year's MegaPrize – potentially worth millions of dollars. You'll earn entries to win it by winning challenges and accomplishing tasks throughout the week – but Ultimate Alliance members start off with a free bonus entry!

Ultimate Fast PAss

Ultimate Alliance members don't wait in lines – not for meals, not for drinks at the bar, not for anything.

SPEcIAL AdvantageS

Tribe Challenges are a big part of Thriveanooga, and Ultimate Alliance members get Special Advantage Tokens they can use during those challenges.

Exclusive Swag

We've got limited edition swag that you can only get by becoming an Ultimate Alliance member.

Lunchtime journey

Ultimate Alliance members will head off campus one day for lunch with Michael Marchand – not only will he buy you lunch, he'll give you information about a secret advantage in the challenges.

ADD It For Only $250

The Ultimate Alliance upgrade must be purchased when you register and is only available to the first twelve people who opt in.

so what is it?

THRIVEanooga is COLLABORATIVE.

We're not bringing in big name speakers for this event, the biggest asset of Thriveanooga is you. Every person who comes has their own skills and experience, so we're going to leverage that for everyone's benefit.

Rather than keynotes and lectures, the day is filled with collaborative sessions where we'll work together to create action-oriented solutions to your real world ministry problems. It's all about learning from and challenging each other.

THRIVEanooga is CREATIVE.

We are not looking for cookie cutter solutions, we're ready to push the envelope, challenge conventions, and dream up creative and innovative solutions. To make that possible, we've structured each day to give time and space for creative thinking and group brainstorming sessions.

THRIVEanooga is CROWDSOURCED.

Our team is not picking the topics to be covered at Thriveanooga, you are!

After you register, you'll get to suggest topics for conversation. Based on upvotes from all the registered attendees, we'll choose the most requested topics and build the content for the event around those.

THRIVEanooga is COMMUNITY ORiENTED.

More than anything else, Thriveanooga is about community. Youth ministry can be lonely at times – we get it. We want Thriveanooga to be about building real, in-person community. We created the schedule and intentionally chose venues that will foster community.

We've built Thriveanooga to be intentionally small. It's far too easy to get lost in the sea of people at a big conference – that won't happen at Thriveanooga. By the end of the week, you'll know everyone's name (or at least their face).

We will be facilitating pre-event and post-event conversations inside of Thrive to make sure that community we build at Thriveanooga doesn't stay at Thriveanooga (though the stories might).

THRIVEanooga is COnstructive.

When you head home from Thriveanooga, you won't be leaving empty handed. Throughout the week, we will be building innovative solutions together. You'll be able to take back these solutions and implement them in your ministry right away and make real change (we're not just talking theory).

THRIVEanooga is CATHOLIC.

At ProjectYM, everything we do is rooted in our Catholic faith – Thriveanooga is no different. We'll have dedicated time to pray, worship, and celebrate the Sacraments together. We're honored to be joined throughout the event by various clergy and Catholic worship leaders.

a few more details

Downtown Chattanooga, TN.
We'll stay, play, eat, and gather in the heart of the Innovation District in beautiful downtown Chattanooga.
Three Night Hotel Stay Included.
We'll be staying in an awesome, apartment-style hotel right in the middle of beautiful downtown Chattanooga.
All Meals Included.
You'll be spending the week in the South – so you can be sure that we'll be feeding you well.
Intentionally Small.
This is NOT a conference. We're creating a different type of event, and we're keeping it small and community oriented.
Very Limited Space.
Because this event is intentionally small, it means registration will sell out quickly! So register early.
Thrivers Only.
Thriveanooga is exclusively for members of our Thrive community. Not a member? Go join for free before trying to register.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

REGISTER NOW

You're ready to secure your spot today before they're gone!

If you're ready to pay in full for your spot at Thriveanooga 2023, you can do so today and lock in your spot!Individual registration guarantees you your own bedroom in our new apartment style hotel, but if you want your own studio apartment, you'll need to upgrade during registration.

Scholarships are available.
Keep scrolling to find out more.

GENERAL REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 23, 2023

scholarships available

PARish Youth Ministers

We get it: youth ministry budgets are often VERY small – and there's never enough money for the professional development you need...

But we don't want money to be the reason you can't join us at Thriveanooga this year. We've put together a scholarship fund to help you get here!

Scholarship funds are very limited – please don't request funds you don't need.

REQUEST PARISH SCHOLARSHIP

Priests and Seminarians

We believe that one of the best ways to impact the field of youth ministry is get priests fired up and on the same page as their youth ministry leader...

So this year at Thriveanooga, we've got a (limited) scholarship fund exclusively for priests and seminarians to be a part of the event!

We prefer you come WITH the youth minister from your parish, but it's not required.

REQUEST PRIEST SCHOLARSHIP

Campus ministry leaders

Youth ministry happens in a variety of contexts – and we want to help the leaders across those contexts to work together and collaborate more...

So this year we've put together a scholarship fund to help get more middle school and high school campus ministers in the room!

Scholarship funds are very limited – please don't request funds you don't need.

REQUEST CAMPUS MINISTRY SCHOLARSHIP

RELIGIOUs SISTERS
AND BROTHERS

We know that there are many religious communities with a charism for serving young people, and we would love to have representatives from those communities be part of Thriveanooga!
‍
If you're a member of one of those communities, we want to help get you to Thriveanooga!

We would love for you to bring two members of your community if possible.

REQUEST RELIGIOUS SCHOLARSHIP

dioceses involved

We've had ministry leaders from over 60 dioceses participate in a Thriveanooga event (including this upcoming year).

Anchorage
Juneau

Atlanta

Austin

Baltimore

Baton Rouge

Belleville

Birmingham

Brooklyn

Chicago

Cleveland

Dallas

Davenport

Denver

Des Moines

Detroit

Evansville

Fort Worth

Grand Rapids

Green Bay

Indianapolis

Jackson

Joliet

Knoxville

Lansing

Las Vegas

London
(Canada)

Los Angeles

Louisville

Madison

Memphis

Metuchen

Miami

Milwaukee

Nashville

New Orleans

New York

Oklahoma City

Omaha

Orlando

Owensboro

Portland

Raleigh

Sacramento

Saginaw

Saint Augustine

Saint Paul Minneapolis

Salina

San Angelo

San Bernadino

San Diego

Saskatoon

Seattle

Shreveport

Springfield
Cape Girardeau

St. Louis

Steubenville

Toledo

Tucson

Tyler

Venice

Washington

Wichita

Wilmington

the 2023 team

For Thriveanooga 2023, we had an amazing team of Catholic youth ministry leaders. We'll be announcing the new team soon!

Here's a quick look at some of that awesomeness:

Bob Ferretti

Saint Joseph HILLSBOROUGH, NJ

Carol Wiget

Diocese of BIRMINGHAM

Fr. Casey Floyd Jones

ST. ELIZABETH SETON Naples, FL

Charlie Hardesty

Diocese of owensboro

Chenele Shaw

BEFORE GETHSeMaNE INITIATIVE

Chris Bartlett

Ablaze Ministries

Colm Leyne

Saint Anne Saskatoon, SK

Crystal Marchand

PROJECTYM

Edgardo Juarez

Diocese of San Bernadino

Fernando Torres

Agnus Dei

Jacque Szczepanski

YDISCIPLE

Mandi Whittaker

PROJECTYM

Marcia Lane-McGee

Plaid Skirts
and Basic Black

Michael Marchand

PROJECTYM

pricing

This YEAR, ThRIVEANOOGA IS BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER, BUT WE'VE KEPT THE PRICE THE SAME!

JANUARY
18

THRIVEANOOGA ALMUNI

If you attended Thriveanooga in 2021, you'll get first dibs! But the window is short: only 48 hours!

JANUARY
20

THRIVE Diocesan Partners

If your diocese is a Thrive Partner, you've got a 24 hour head start to sign up for Thriveanooga!

JANUARY
21

THRIVE Pro Members

You have to be a Thriver to attend Thriveanooga, but if you're a PRO MEMBER, you'll get early access to register.

JANUARY
24

PRIORITY LIST Members

Enter your email address below to join the "Priority List" to make sure you get a chance to register before it sells out!

JANUARY
25

ALL Thrivers

If there's still spots available, registration will open on January 25th to the whole Thrive community!

Individual REGISTRATION is $689.

Registration includes lodging, supplies, all breakfasts, and all lunches.

REGISTER NOW

You're ready to secure your spot today before they're gone!

Scholarships are available.
Keep scrolling to find out more.

GENERAL REGISTRATION OPENS JANUARY 23, 2023

ADD YOUR EMAIL BELOW TO GET added to the priority list and be NOTIFIED when you're able to register for THRIVEANOOGA 2022!

If you sign up for Thriveanooga before 11pm EST on Thursday, January 19th, you'll get over $900 in bonuses!
AVAILABLE FOR FULL PRICED REGISTRATIONS ONLY

Ultimate Screen Game Bundle

Download all 145 screen games from the ProjectYM Games digital library.

$725 VALUE

Three Months of Thrive Pro

Get access to weekly mastermind groups and over 25 hours of video training content.

$120 VALUE

YDisciple Connect Deck

52 photo cards carefully curated to jumpstart the conversation in your small group.

$10 VALUE

The E Word Course

A 5-part video course that breaks down Catholic evangelization.

$29 VALUE

The E Word Book

A short, easy to read book that answers the important questions about evangelization.

$10 VALUE

SockReligious Socks

A pair of super Catholic-y socks from our friends at SockReligious.

$16 VALUE

Mystery Gift

We've also got an additional bonus gift for you!

??? VALUE

ADD YOUR EMAIL BELOW TO GET added to the priority list and be NOTIFIED when you're able to register for THRIVEANOOGA 2022!

JANUARY
18

THRIVEANOOGA ALMUNI

If you attended Thriveanooga in 2021, you'll get first dibs! But the window is short: only 48 hours!

JANUARY
20

THRIVE Diocesan Partners

If your diocese is a Thrive Partner, you've got a 24 hour head start to sign up for Thriveanooga!

JANUARY
21

THRIVE Pro Members

You have to be a Thriver to attend Thriveanooga, but if you're a PRO MEMBER, you'll get early access to register.

JANUARY
24

PRIORITY LIST Members

Enter your email address below to join the "Priority List" to make sure you get a chance to register before it sells out!

JANUARY
25

ALL Thrivers

If there's still spots available, registration will open on January 25th to the whole Thrive community!

EARLY BIRD BONUS AVAILABLE FOR

Days

Hrs

Min

Sec

FAQs

While we aren't giving out ALL the details about Thriveanooga, we do want to give you the information you NEED to know.If you have other questions, click the red chat bubble in the corner and ask – we just might answer them!

When does it start and end?
Thriveanooga starts at 4pm Eastern on Monday (September 22nd) and ends before lunch on Thursday (September 25th).
How much does it cost?
The cost for Individual Registration is $987 – this price will go up as we get closer to the event, so register early!
Why did the price increase from previous years?
We do our very best to keep the price for Thriveanooga as low as possible, but there's three big reasons why the price went up this year:
(1) Inflation. Everything we have to pay for has gone up in price, so it's simply more expensive for us to host this event.
(2) We're including all meals this year. In some previous years, you had to pay for your own dinner – this year we're covering that.
(3) We want to keep doing it. We believe in Thriveanooga and the impact that in has in the ministry of youth ministers across the country – but as a small nonprofit, we can only continue to host the event it is self-sustaining. We've priced Thriveanooga to ensure that this isn't the last year.
How many people will be there?
Thriveanooga is intentionally small. Registration for Thriveanooga 2024 will be limited to 72 people (plus tribe leaders, clergy, and ProjectYM staff).
Where do I fly into?
You can fly directly to the (awesomely small) Chattanooga airport – it's only a $14 Uber ride from the airport to the venue. Atlanta, Nashville, and Knoxville are all two hours away if you prefer to fly in there – but you'll have to arrange transportation to and from those bigger airports.
Do I need a car?
Nope. All transportation during the event is taken care of (it's mostly walking). You'll need to grab an Uber from the airport, but that's it!
What meals are included?
Your registration fee covers breakfast, lunch, dinners, and snacks during the event. Alcoholic drinks are on you.
Do I get my own room?
Yes, everyone gets their own bedroom! You can even upgrade to have your own apartment (includes your own kitchen, living room, bathroom, and dining room).
Can I bring my baby?
No. As much as we love babies (and we really do), the format of this event is not conducive to having that much cuteness in the room.
What's the cancellation / refund policy?
Because this is a very limited registration event, there are no refunds if you cancel. However, your registration is fully-transferable up until one month before the event.

If we have to cancel the event for some reason, everyone will get a full refund.
Are their scholarships?
Yes, we have a very limited scholarship fund available. Applications for scholarships will open in March.
Can I pay by check or in installments?
This year, we're offering a split payment option – allowing you to split your registration into two payments. We'll even invoice you for the second payment so you can pay it by check. A couple important things to know about split payments: (1) Your first payment must be at least $200; (2) There is a 10% installment fee on the balance; (3) Your balance must be paid no later than July 15th.

COMING FALL 2024

Registration Opens Soon

Join the Priority List below to get access to early registration when it launches.

A one-of-a-kind, in-person event exclusively for Catholic youth ministry leaders.

Stop just surviving in ministry, it's time to Thrive!

EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT FOR CYMC ATTENDEES

ENTER COUPON CODE CYMCAT cHECKOUT TO SAVE $50!

September 22-25, 2025

in chattanooga, tn

don't call it a conference.

SERIOUSLY, THRIVEanooga is Not a conference.It's ALSO Not a retreat, seminar, or LECTURE.

"Everything about Thriveanooga felt exactly right. The conflab model that allowed for real expertise to be engaged and shared was perfect. Not once did I find myself being talked at or unseen. This experience was intimate and wonderful."Carol Wiget (Birmingham)

it's built different.

We built Thriveanooga from the ground up to be a unique experience like nothing else you've ever been to. You will leave poured into, fed, and fired up to go back to your parish and build the Kingdom!But don't just take our word for it, listen to whatMegan had to say after attending Thriveanooga:

OVER THE Last 4 yearS, we've had youth ministers from over 60 dioceses take part in Thriveanooga!

who is this for?

There are

-6

-6

SPOTS REMAINING

tribes and alliances

Community is the most important part of thriveanooga

BASIC

Registration

ALL MEALS

Lodging

POWER PACK

Basic Registration

Three Power Tokens

Priority Meal access

MegaPrize Entry

Limited Edition shirt

Color Veto Power

Pro Bundle

Power Pack

A Year of Thrive Pro

sign up now

Registration for Thriveanooga 2025 Is Open!

$987 / PERSON

OUR ALL INCLUSIVE PRICINGINCLUDES YOUR MEALS AND LODGING!

BASIC

Registration

ALL MEALS

Lodging

POWER PACK

Basic Registration

Three Power Tokens

Priority Meal access

MegaPrize Entry

Limited Edition shirt

Color Veto Power

Pro Bundle

Power Pack

A Year of Thrive Pro

Upgrade your thriveanooga experience

If you're ready to take things to the next level, add the Ultimate Alliance Package during registration to receive:

ALLiance Selection

Thriveanooga GamePack

Megaprize Entry

Ultimate Fast PAss

SPEcIAL AdvantageS

Exclusive Swag

Lunchtime journey

ADD It For Only $250

other add ons

You can add on any of the elements below during registration.Pricing is per person.

After Party

Thursday afternoon (after the "official" event ends), we're throwing the best After Party we've ever had!Includes lunch and fun.Details TBA.

$50

Studio Upgrade

Thriveanooga is held in an "apartment-style" hotel – that means while everyone has their own bedroom, you'll be sharing your apartment with up to 3 roommates.Unless you upgrade to a private, studio apartment:

$300

Extra night

If you need to come in a day early or stay an extra night, we can make that happen – you'll even be able to stay in the same apartment!

$200

don't Let money to be the reason you don't come to thriveanooga

We've got two ways we can help:

SCHOLARSHIPSThere are a limited number of partial scholarships available for this year's event.

‍CROWDFUNDINGWe can set you up with a "GoFundMe" style fundraising page to help you raise money to cover your registration fee and even your travel!Email us at hello@projectym.com to get one setup.

early bird discount

ENTER COUPON CODE CYMC
AT cHECKOUT TO SAVE $50!

SERIOUSLY, THRIVEanooga is Not a conference.
It's ALSO Not a retreat, seminar, or LECTURE.

We built Thriveanooga from the ground up to be a unique experience like nothing else you've ever been to. You will leave poured into, fed, and fired up to go back to your parish and build the Kingdom!
But don't just take our word for it, listen to what
Megan had to say after attending Thriveanooga:

OUR ALL INCLUSIVE PRICING
INCLUDES YOUR MEALS AND LODGING!

You can add on any of the elements below during registration.
Pricing is per person.

Thursday afternoon (after the "official" event ends), we're throwing the best After Party we've ever had!

Includes lunch and fun.
Details TBA.

Thriveanooga is held in an "apartment-style" hotel – that means while everyone has their own bedroom, you'll be sharing your apartment with up to 3 roommates.

Unless you upgrade to a private, studio apartment:

‍CROWDFUNDINGWe can set you up with a "GoFundMe" style fundraising page to help you raise money to cover your registration fee and even your travel!

Email us at hello@projectym.com to get one setup.

Our team is not picking the topics to be covered at Thriveanooga, you are!

After you register, you'll get to suggest topics for conversation. Based on upvotes from all the registered attendees, we'll choose the most requested topics and build the content for the event around those.

We get it: youth ministry budgets are often VERY small – and there's never enough money for the professional development you need...

But we don't want money to be the reason you can't join us at Thriveanooga this year. We've put together a scholarship fund to help you get here!

We believe that one of the best ways to impact the field of youth ministry is get priests fired up and on the same page as their youth ministry leader...

So this year at Thriveanooga, we've got a (limited) scholarship fund exclusively for priests and seminarians to be a part of the event!

Youth ministry happens in a variety of contexts – and we want to help the leaders across those contexts to work together and collaborate more...

So this year we've put together a scholarship fund to help get more middle school and high school campus ministers in the room!

RELIGIOUs SISTERS
AND BROTHERS

We know that there are many religious communities with a charism for serving young people, and we would love to have representatives from those communities be part of Thriveanooga!
‍
If you're a member of one of those communities, we want to help get you to Thriveanooga!

Anchorage
Juneau

London
(Canada)