By Meredith Miller | September 5, 2007
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.
By Kara Powell and Brad M. Griffin | August 24, 2007
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.
By Tod Bolsinger | March 8, 2007
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.
By Brad M. Griffin | March 8, 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.
By Kara Powell and Pam King | March 8, 2007
Dr. Kara Powell and Dr. Pam King lead a workshop discussing the incorporation of an assets-based ministry framework across the ministries of the church. This workshop was part of the Connect For: An Intergenerational Approach to Ministry conference hosted by Fuller and FYI (then CYFM) in March 2007.
By Chap Clark | March 8, 2007
Chap Clark calls the Church to reconsider what we’re doing to kids and families by perpetuating “youth ministry as usual.” In his inaugural professorial lecture at Fuller Seminary in March 2007, Chap argues for a new model of ministering to youth by assimilating them into the life of the congregation.
By Kara Powell and Pam King | March 7, 2007
When you look at the students around you, what do you tend to see—their potential or their hindrances? Their advances or their setbacks? This second report from our Urban Youth Workers in America (UYWA) study takes a closer look at the “full-ness” and “empty-ness” of both urban kids and non-urban kids.
By Mark Maines | January 4, 2007
Many of us would agree that the forms of typical youth ministry are in need of change. But towards what new forms are we turning in order to have greater transforming impact in students’ lives? Mark Maines offers an integrated asset-based model as one opportunity for re-forming our ministries in a holistic way.
By Kara Powell and Pam King | December 13, 2006
Most of us have no trouble focusing our ministries on the spiritual needs of students — it’s what we do best. But how carefully do we look at the “whole kid” in our approach to youth ministry? These findings from FYI’s Urban Youth Workers in America research dig up some powerful truths about the reality of holistic ministry.
By Brad M. Griffin | June 13, 2006
How do the kids in your church know when they have become adolescents? How do they know when they have become adults? As we re-think the value and necessity of rites of passage in our ministries, we may help bring clarity to these life stages and help students through the zones of identity confusion.
