This article was originally posted on 8/7/2012 on FirstThird.org. We hope if you didn't catch it then, that you would find it useful presently!
As you live into the Messy Reality of Young People and Faith, here's a resource for meeting your youth where they are at.
John Roberto's book, Faith Formation 2020: Designing the Future of Faith Formation, includes this chart of four scenarios. See the strategies for engaing in faith development for each person, no matter where they are coming from.

Further …
A blog post by Aaron Fuller
Question for ya: Are you a leader or a manager?
Before you answer, take a minute to hear me out -- while we often will acknowledge that leadership and management are not the same things, if you pick a part your role in ministry, there's a good chance you'll discover some pretty significant contradictions.
Let me put in this disclaimer: leadership and management are linked to some degree. It's not like you're one or the other. But here's what I've found in my relatively …
Here's two video resources featuring Dr. Andy Root of the FirstThird Team.
Youth Ministry: Now is a monthly lunchtime lecture series bringing leading theologians and practitioners to Yale Divinity School.

Here's two video resources featuring Dr. Andy Root of the FirstThird Team.
Youth Ministry: Now is a monthly lunchtime lecture series bringing leading theologians and practitioners to Yale Divinity School.
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 spiritual, …
The Story of Stuff
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us to create a more sustainable and just world.
www.storyofstuff.org
Youth Energy …

By Rachel Schwenke, Children, Youth and Family Program Assistant
How can the language of faith be communicated in a relevant way for gamers? Can the truth of the Bible intersect with the gaming language many use on a daily basis? Here's a few ideas of how to use this lingo IRL (that's "in real life" for you newbs).
"Jesus said, 'I am the REZ and Cheal. If you are on my team, you will never Perma D.' "
(John 11:25, translated to game-speak)
- REZ: Short for resurrect
- Cheal: Complete …
For more ways to expand your thinking about pushing forward Karen Gieseke's ideas about the vocation of parents as leaders in the faith of their children, be sure to order:
It is filled with both helpful content/reading and also applicable praxis.
Parents are the most important factor in the healthy development and faith formation of their children and adolescents.
The Fall 2011 issue …
Interview of Andrew Kellner, CYF MA graduate and CYF Prize Winner 2012
Read Andrew's full paper:
- See Andrew's Blog Post Here