Moving Away from the Kid Table A Bigger Vision of the Church
What’s so bad about the kid table? Kara explores a theology of church and youth ministry that might challenge your assumptions.
Category: Intergenerational Ministry Back to Main Page
Meet the Parents Plus an Interview with Walt Mueller
I could spend weeks talking about my own challenges in working with parents during my 25+ years in youth ministry. For example, one time a parent called on a Saturday night at dinner time to let me know of her…
Making Peace In Our Families
Bill Cosby once tried to explain to a nine-year-old boy named Peter what Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount by turning the other cheek. “If somebody hits you, you don’t hit him back,” Cosby said.
A visibly confused…
Journeying Together Creating Walls of Support and Feedback for Students
This final sample from our new short-term missions curriculum Deep Justice Journeys includes both theory and practical ideas for ways to surround students with support while they serve.
A Church in the Intergenerational HOV Lane A Ministry Case Study
While we have heard from a lot of churches who are in the initial steps of merging onto the road of intergenerational ministry, some wonder, “What do we do after those first few miles?” How do we make intergenerational youth ministry not just an experiment but a long-term part of our DNA? David Fraze explores a case study interview with pastor and author Tod Bolsinger.
Something is Not Right Revisiting our Definition of Family
Have our youth ministry practices and philosophies sold kids and families short by focusing on a too-narrow definition of “family”? Pulling from family ministry guru Diana Garland’s work, Fraze challenges us with some helpful reframing of our understanding of family in Christ and its implications for youth work.
A Reminder of an Often-Forgotten Reality Parents and Adults Matter in the Spiritual Formation of Kids
Continuing our series on intergenerational ministry, Fraze explores Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton’s work in their Soul Searching research as it relates to the roles parents and other adults play in adolescent faith formation.
Theological Principles Behind Intergenerational Youth Ministry It’s Not Rocket Science
Challenging the assumptions behind most youth ministry models, Fraze researches the Old and New Testaments for a theologically-grounded perspective on intergenerational ministry as a core task of the Church.
Justice Hits Close to Home A Roundtable Panel on Inviting Parents into Our Service
In light of recent research and our commitment to the importance of parents in youth ministry, FYI invited a handful of youth pastors and short-term missions experts to help us better understand how to invite parents to walk with their students in the justice journey.
Family Ministry Good Things Come in Threes
When faced with the question, “How do you minister to families?” many of us balk, stutter, or change the subject. While we care deeply about the families of our youth ministries, we cannot always articulate or strategically plan for the ways we care for, equip, and encourage them. This article will help put some language around three of the most common approaches to family ministry, in addition to giving you some tools you can use right now to assess your approach to families.