By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary I saw a job description last week for a Children’s Ministry Leader, which listed as “able to write curriculum” at the top of the list of other capabilities this church was looking for. Have you noticed how common it is when times get tough, and there …
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary You’ve all heard that definition of insanity: When you keep doing the same thing over and over, and this time expect a different result? Could it be that we might just be there (insanity) when it comes to our churches and the vehicles we use …
Dr. Nancy Going writes about The Faith of Adolescents and how young people must be integrated and central to the life of the congregation. But how do you DO that? Assessment How would you rate your efforts in developing a youth-friendly and youth-involving congregation, building intergenerational connections between youth and the congregation? Have your whole team take the assement here Reflection …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary Every now and then, one comes across an idea or a piece of work that reorients one’s way of thinking. For us, at Luther’s Center for First Third ministry, the EYM study has done just that. Ten years later, the Exemplary Youth Ministry study is …
The Exemplary Youth Ministry Study results indicate that churches seeking to develop an effective formation focus make three distinctive shifts. SHIFT I They emphasize personal and community transformation understanding that, though programs are a necessary dimension of congregational life, they are a means toward an end and not the end itself. Christian formation is about turning believers into disciples of …
While it may sound like the Exemplary Youth Ministry study was just about these 121 congregations who have it all together, that’s far from a complete picture. The EYM study is really all about your church. In the years since the study was completed we’ve discovered that all-important transferability factor. Churches who take on these Faith Assets and focus their …
The term “sweet spot” is often used in sports. It is that place on the face of a golf club that creates the best possible shot or on the baseball bat that sends the ball over the center field fence. Have you ever thought of having a “sweet spot” in ministry? I can think of a few times when a …
One of the key ingredients to effective youth ministry is that the ministry is supported by the senior pastor. I have found this to be so true. I will never forget the time I was sitting in worship listening to my pastor’s sermon. I don’t remember the text he was preaching on, but I do remember that he was preaching …
When I first started in professional youth ministry, I simply wanted to create an environment of relationship and “church fun” that mirrored my own experience as a teen. While that worked on some levels, I was pretty sure something else was happening that I could not name — I had no language for it. After a number of years in …
Exemplary Youth Ministry is really about leadership on multiple levels — your leadership as the youth minister, your adult leaders. One of the key findings of the EYM study is that the pastor is the chief youth minister. A senior pastor who champions and keeps youth ministry central to the congregation’s culture is critical. Now in case you are nodding …
In Disconnected: Parenting Teens in a MySpace World, Chap and Dee Clark take on a popular cultural myth that, sadly, most of us in youth ministry buy hook, line, and sinker: simply, that teenage youth do not want to spend time with their parents. We often run into the smokescreen when recruitment for small groups comes around. We think, “I …
