Research into Resources
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 Peter…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brad Griffin and Dr. Linda Wagener lead a workshop discussing the fragmentation of the church that has resulted from trends in both the church and culture over the past 50 years. Workshop participants share practical ideas for re-engaging congregations and facilitating cross-generational ministry opportunities. This workshop was part of the Connect For: An Intergenerational Approach to Ministry conference hosted by Fuller and FYI (formerly CYFM) in March 2007.
