We are excited to welcome you back to Concordia University Irvine in Irvine, CA for our kickoff conference. For travel recommendations and more information, please click here. For information about the Hilton Garden Inn hotel (group rate), please click here. 

Our schedule is currently being updated for the Welcome Home 2021 Conference. We can't wait to share it with you! For an example of a past conference schedule, please click here. 

You are not required to bring anything with you. However, if you enjoy taking notes, we would recommend that you bring something to take notes with. Please also keep in mind that you will have homework each night and will therefore need to access blackboard.

Graduate education is a professional and relational environment. We recommend maintaining respectable standards of dress. Most attendees, staff, and faculty are in the “nicer casual” description of clothing.

This is a two week course, which includes our 4-Day Kickoff Conference.  The 600 course will also be your first introduction to what the Townsend Institute is about - Character, Competency, and Connection. 

Be prepared to meet for a virtual class the first week of the course. You will have assignments leading up to the conference that help prepare you mentally, emotionally, and relationally for the conference, time with your process group, and your overall program.  There will be some wrap up items after the conference.

Process groups are the relational component of TI and will be those people that journey alongside you personally and academically throughout your program. You will meet them at the conference. 

First off, know that any nerves you have are normal. We all can get uneasy with new experiences, new people, and forced interactions. The best advice we can give is...

• • Limit distractions
  • Show up as genuine and vulnerable as you can
  • Take off your roles and the hats you wear of mom, dad, pastor, supervisor, etc. because you won’t be those to people in your group
  • Give yourself over to the experience and you will see breakthrough
  • Know there will be plenty of tissues and support if the time ends up heavier than you thought

Since the conference experience is a part of your 600 course and foundational for your time in the program, we do ask that you make arrangements to be present at all meetings (whether the conference is virtual or in person). This helps set you up well for time in the program and helps to set the tone for your cohort that you’re willing to be present to them during your time together. Part of your grade in the course is dependent on your attendance at the conference. If you absolutely cannot attend a piece, you can submit an Absence Request Form to be considered by your program director.

Yes! Though most of your time is spent with your cohort, we do encourage process groups to pair up for a meal or two. Your process group will be paired with another process group for most of your core courses throughout your program. (ex: Blue 1 process group and Blue 2 process groups will take classes together in the program)