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Our Mission:Leveraging RESEARCH into
RESOURCES that ELEVATE
leaders, kids, and families


What Others are Saying about FYI

What kind of impact is the Fuller Youth Institute having on youth ministry? Read these thoughts from a sampling of youth workers and ministry leaders who are benefiting from our research and resources:

The establishment of this important Institute at Fuller Seminary has been a dream come true for me.  Fuller has a long history of commitment to serving young people and their families.  FYI, however, has added something quite new to this mix.  Under the leadership of Dr. Kara Powell we have now made significant progress in integrating all of the strands—ministry, psychology and intercultural studies—into a coherent and coordinated focus on the needs of young people and their families.

I can think of no more urgent need for the cause of the Gospel than reaching the younger generation for Christ.  Youth around the world face unprecedented challenges and opportunities, but they are also threatened by destructive forces—spiritual and physical—that were unknown to previous generations.  The needs are complex, and they require the combined talents of scholars and practitioners who are dedicated to the goals of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  FYI is an important instrument for the Kingdom.

—Richard J. Mouw
President, Fuller Theological Seminary

The Fuller Youth Institute has a special and unique place in the world of youth ministry: they bring consistent and regular scholarship and research to regular, in-the-trenches youth workers. This isn’t just one-off stuff designed to bring grant money into the seminary; this is best-practices research, designed to root out urban legends and spread the word about what is true. What an amazing resource for those of us with a calling to reach teenagers for Christ.

—Mark Oestreicher
President, Youth Specialties

With a history of innovative education, Fuller Theological Seminary is in a position to reach leaders in urban centers throughout the United States.  Fuller’s Urban Youth Ministry Certificate provides a contextualized learning experience that is strengthening such urban leaders.   As an organization, Urban Youth Workers Institute is committed to collaboration in this strategic program of FYI because we believe that it is a strategic asset for educating urban leaders.

—Kirk Scott
Director of Learning Communities for Urban Youth Workers Institute
Instructor for FYI Urban Youth Ministry Certificate

The Fuller Youth Institute suffers from a severe case of thinking big. Every effort is well thought out about how youth workers can make the greatest, most tangible and caring impact with hurting and disconnected kids. And they are just a click or call away! They’ve become friends.

—Megan Hutchinson
Life Hurts GOD HEALS Minister, Saddleback Church
FYI Advisory Board Member

As a youth worker who’s in it for the long-haul, I want resources that are beyond fun and games.  I want resources that are tested, researched, and thoughtfully designed for my ministry.  FYI is unlike any other ministry resource Institute I’ve seen.  They do the hard, significant work of uncovering what’s going on under the surface in students, families, and youth ministry across the country.  I can trust the resources they produce.  I couldn’t be more excited about the impact of FYI!

—April Diaz
Student Ministries Pastor, Newsong Community Church
Irvine, CA

Fuller’s College Transition Project will provide the research-based answers we need to set students on a trajectory of Christian faith and service that lasts throughout their lifetimes.  Our Guiding Coalition has now grown to 25 member organizations, including InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Chi Alpha, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Navigators, the National Network of Youth Ministry, Mission America, Young Life, and Youth for Christ.  We estimate given our current members that Fuller’s findings and resources will impact the leadership philosophies of 53,000 high school and college adult leaders, who work with 2,800,000 high school and college students.

—Jeff Schadt
President, Youth Transition Network

As part of the national leadership for Urban Young Life, I work with a team that helps serve and empower Young Life’s 300 paid urban staff as well as our 2000 urban volunteers nationwide.  We consistently hear from these dedicated youth workers that they are hungry for more training.  While there is no shortage of resources for suburban youth workers, very little exists that was written by urban youth workers, for urban youth workers.

Several key Young Life executive leaders and I have been in dialogue with Kara Powell and the Fuller Youth Institute for the past five years.  Given Fuller’s vast expertise in theological, psychological, and cultural issues and Fuller’s partnerships with ministries like Young Life, the Urban Empowerment Project is making a unique and needed contribution to the field of urban youth ministry.  FYI research and resources are meeting many of the training and support needs of our Young Life staff.  We are eagerly circulating Fuller’s research findings and implications to our urban staff and volunteers nationwide.

—Jim Dyson,
Vice President for Urban Ministry, Young Life

In our ministry context, we have had a difficult time finding resources that are useful and speak to the needs we are facing… FYI has been incredibly helpful in our pursuit of relevant and intelligent ministry resources for students who are urban and suburban, rich and poor, churched and unchurched. They do not just present great information, but also great relationships. FYI has become one of our deepest ministry partners who know and care about us.

—Jeff Mattesich and Albert Tate
Lake Avenue Church, Southern California

I envision FYI becoming the premier youth ministry training Institute in the world. Fueled by the best learning emerging from all three of Fuller Seminary’s schools (School of Theology, School of Psychology & School of Intercultural Studies), FYI is proving its ability to translate the best scholarship into transformative ministry resources.

Working alongside other leading organizations, FYI’s commitment to partnering relationships also helps ensure its resources can be accessed by any youth worker—anywhere. As a Fuller alum, it is exciting to be apart of a such a collaborative and innovative effort. As a youth worker it is exciting knowing I am receiving the best training that is available.

—Mark Maines
Youth Worker and Fuller MDiv alumnus
FYI Advisory Board Member

The information that I am learning in this program has been invaluable to me.  I have received so much more than I could have imagined.  I have received a completely new perspective on how to apply the word of God in a way that is good news to the marginalized youth that I serve.  Thank you!

—Sahaan McKelvey
Urban Youth Ministry Certificate Student, Irvington Covenant Church, Portland OR

I’ve been in urban youth ministry for about 10 years.  There is an importance in learning and growing in spiritual community and this program has brought new people into my life that experience similar struggles as me.  I no longer feel alone or unsupported.
—Leona Suegay
Urban Youth Ministry Certificate Student, Oikos Church, Los Angeles CA

I started the Urban Youth Ministry Certificate Program knowing that there is always more I can learn in regards to ministering in the city, especially to youth. I have been so grateful for the ways my thinking has been challenged and expanded, and as I sit in class I can think about all of the youth I work with in Chicago who I can go back to, refreshed and re-energized and re-envisioned for my ministry to them. I am so excited to think about the ways that this time could bring more fruit to bear in their lives for their own walks with Jesus and their service in the world. Thank you for helping to make that possible!

—Aimee Tucker
Area Director for Hyde Park Urban Young Life, Chicago IL

The Urban Youth Ministry Certificate Program is very relevant—it made me think more holistically in our ministry approach. We’ve been looking more deeply at the student as a whole. Personally, the training has allowed me to grow inner strength—to step outside of my box and do more things than I would have imagined in youth ministry.
—Theresa Willis
Youth For Christ, Compton, CA

I found FYI’s Short-Term Missions Think Tank wonderfully encouraging and affirming. The timing of the think tank was particularly helpful to me personally, as I have just taken a new position at a church that has incredible passion, commitment and focus on missions, both short and long term. There is great openness to evaluating what we are doing and why with an eye toward increasing our effectiveness for the Kingdom. Not only did FYI’s work provide greater credibility to my input, but it also provided some of the language.

I believe FYI has facilitated a potentially significant catalyst for the Kingdom for the next several decades of short-term missions, and, I pray, for eternity. I believe the concurring testimony of the participants was clear. Thank you for making it happen.

—Hal Hamilton
Youth and College Team Leader, First United Methodist Church
Tulsa, OK

FYI’s Short-Term Missions Think Tank was encouraging and challenging for me personally and for our organization as we try to evaluate our effectiveness in serving the Church and communities through short term missions. I particularly appreciate the leadership, thoughtfulness and focused intentionality that you each brought to both the preparation for and interaction during our time together. I am confident that our meetings will have a significant impact on how YouthWorks engages in short term mission efforts as we have already begun discussions based on many of the themes that were addressed.

Thank you again for your leadership in creating a forum for this important conversation!
—Todd Bratulich
Mission Director, YouthWorks!, Inc.