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 Back to Main Page
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…
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.
God of the Generations Raising Up Leaders in the City
What is the city’s greatest hope? While God works through all sorts of leaders, perhaps the greatest hope for the city comes from those who grow up in the city and and choose to stay there as indigenous leaders. Urban practitioner and researcher Jude Tiersma Watson explores the model of urban leadership development as a way to raise up leaders in your—and their—context.
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.
Why Ecclesiology? Imagining a New Theology of Youth Ministry for the Church
What do we really think about the church, and does it make a difference in the way we do youth ministry? Kara Powell and Brad Griffin argue here that our ecclesiology matters immensely for youth workers, and make practical suggestions for working out a new theology of youth ministry for your church.
How God Works in the World Through Kids Connect For Intergenerational Ministry Conference
Tod Bolsinger, senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church in Southern California, shares insights on intergenerational ministry from the perspective of a senior pastor and parent of adolescents. Tod gave this keynote address at the Connect For: An Intergenerational Approach to Ministry conference hosted by Fuller and FYI (then CYFM) in March 2007.