By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary
Crowds have been a part of Youth Ministry culture since Youth Ministry began. The Christian Endeavor Movement found itself with 50,000 attending its 1895 meeting. Denominations started their own fellowships in response, and many still hold large events that are a fixture in the youth ministry calendars of their churches. With large events come celebrities, people who excite the crowd. Large churches
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By Derek Tronsgard
Earlier this month the Christian blogosphere exploded when news came from the
Pew Research foundation
stating that the fastest growing religion in America is, in fact, “no religion”. This self-identifying group of the “nones” are young (18-29), uninterested in joining a church (even after kids!), and evenly distributed between men & women, economic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, and even - to some extent - ethnic backgrounds. …
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary
You can't be in youth ministry very long, and not have both experienced and been the beneficiary of this phenomenon: The faith of adolescents. When you see expression that raw, passionate, "deeply connected to Jesus" kind of faith that comes from an amazing collision of the Holy Spirit and the unique playing field that is the phase of life called adolescence, it is nothing short of a gift. Obviously for
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By Derek Tronsgard
Luke Skywalker had Yoda. Harry Potter had Dumbledore. Batman had Alfred and Morgan Freeman.
Mentors are important. And I'm sure all of us can name teachers, coaches, pastors, music directors, and other adults who made a significant impact in our own lives. Study after study has shown the importance of positive adult mentors in the lives of teens. As the adolescent brain continues to develop, a mentor relationship has a significant and irreplaceable
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By Andy Sahl
Sunday mornings can sometimes be a scramble in our youth ministry. Our (Episcopal) Parish has a large youth center that gets used for a number of events every weekend. This means we do a lot of setup on Sunday mornings. Sometimes that setup can lead to us being distracted from being fully present from our youth and adults because we’re pulling a table out of the closet for donuts or setting up the projection when we could be chatting with someone.
Inspired
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Review by Tagg Wolverton, Greater Europe Mission, Netherlands
Excerpt:
In recent years some tough criticisms have been leveled at modern youth ministry. While evaluation and critique are to be expected with youth ministry coming of age as a profession, many of the rest of the concerns can be traced back to the lack of readily identifiable measures of the nuanced process of adolescent discipleship. How can one adequately judge the effectiveness of youth ministry from a perspective that includes
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By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary
Here at First Third we're taking time once again to celebrate the Exemplary Youth Ministry study. Because we now have our
Spirit and Culture of Youth Ministry
book available as an
e-book
. But also because we feel compelled to keep the things we learned from this study in front of the church. Welcome to the conversation.
And as you are starting your program year, I'm sure you are getting (and tempted
…
Which is Why We Need it All the More
by Andy Root
"Youth ministry doesn't exist; it is not a biblical or theological concept. Rather, youth ministry is simply ministry, ministry human person to human person in search of God."
YM_Doesnt_Exist.pdf
Related link:
Terence Fretheim
, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary, talks about prayer and relationship with God.
"God understands what a healthy relationship entails, and that means communication on the part of both parties. . . What people have to say to God in this relationship counts!"
Fretheim says that biblical understandings of prayer can show us what it means to be connected, and how to make that connection.
Fretheim will be one of the presenters at "
A Faithful Future: A Conversation
…
Many parents feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the digital wizardry of their own children. Kids as young as 8 and 9 can master an iPod and download apps that their parents haven’t even heard of, not to mention the popularity of the Wii, PS2, and various other gaming platforms. The almost immediate embrace of every new technology by children and youth leaves parents struggling to keep up.
The digital age raises particular challenges for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth workers,
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