Whether you’ve spent a lot of time thinking about poverty or only barely entertained its implications for you and your students, this article offers deep insights for rethinking both the ways we view and teach about poverty.
What is social justice, and how do I know if I’m doing it—or doing it well—in youth ministry? To help you evaluate your own ministry, we’re reporting here on a collaborative effort by FYI, World Vision, Community Solutions, Inc., and the Urban Youth Workers Institute to get at the difference between average justice work and deeper justice ministry. FREE DOWNLOADABLE ASSESSMENT TOOL.
Many of us assume that we “get” short-term missions work and its impact on our students. After all, we’ve led plenty of trips on which students experience transformation, right? Perhaps; or perhaps not. FYI recently co-hosted a Think Tank of short-term mission exemplars—youth workers and organizational leaders—to assess the current landscape of short-term missions effectiveness and to survey its future. This article looks at a few of the findings from that gathering.
Few of us actually think suburban kids live risk-free lives, but most of what we hear about “at-risk” relates to kids who live in urban areas, in deep poverty, or in obviously harsh family environments. This article looks deeper into the oppressive forces impacting the lives of suburban kids—no less real or oppressive, but perhaps less obvious.
Theologian and intercultural expert Dr. Stephanie Smith offers insights to some common questions faced by youth ministries discussing and responding to the AIDS pandemic.
How do you get – and keep – students involved in and caring about world concerns, serving others, and engaging in social justice? Take a look at what we’ve been hearing from youth workers around the country, as well as some suggestions on ways to engage the students in your ministry.
What value do our typical short term missions trips add to the communities we serve? What real transformation happens in our students? Does our short-term work help or hinder the work of long-term missionaries? These are the tough questions being asked by researchers and youth workers across the country, and questions worth asking of our own ministries!
Do we get evangelism? Do we even get the Good News? What kinds of disciples are we making in our churches? Statistics suggest that we are in need of a radical rethinking of our evangelistic strategy as gospel-oriented Christians, seeking to follow the Great Commission. Check out these radical thoughts from Brian McLaren.
