Back when Spiderman was a cartoon on TV, I can’t remember a single episode where he didn’t catch the criminal in a web. Youth ministers can learn a lot from Spiderman and spiders about how to get youth to stick to their youth groups. We must build a web of relationships that positively trap and […]
by Lesleigh Carmichael A coach is someone who cares that people create what they say they want and that they follow through. The coach is there to hold people accountable and keep them moving forward toward their dreams and goals. —Co-Active Coaching, p. xxi Over the last nine years the Center for Youth Ministry Training […]
One of my mentors, Mark DeVries, told me a few years ago that if students are not leading, then they are leaving. The more I thought about it and the more I viewed the ministry through that lens, the more I realized he was right. Even now as I think about my own faith journey […]
What would it mean to envision youth ministry as healing and restoration—to see youth ministry as grounded in a theology of restoration between oneself and God, others, and even the cosmos? The youth worker in this understanding would accept the role of holistic healer, participating as an agent in God’s movement of restoration in a […]
The changing possibilities for the profession of youth ministry “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” (1) The Issue: Could it be that the purveyors of youth ministry education are becoming more and […]
The church faces the same issue as many public schools: Who helps with the homework when the student goes home? How much of it gets lost or forgotten by the next day of school because there is no reinforcement within the family? The challenge for youth ministry is to consider how we equip the “home” […]
We sat down with graduate residents Erin Hicks and Mitch Toler to talk next steps, time with CYMT, and what they learned during their three years in the program. How has CYMT helped you and your ministry at your church? Erin: When I started CYMT, I moved to a new state and a new city […]
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you locked youth ministry thought leaders, academics, and practicioners in a room and asked them, “What will be the big issues in youth ministry five to 10 years from now? And what should we start doing now to get ready?” The articles below contain the overall findings of the […]
By Center for Youth Ministry Training 5/28/19 How do you prepare for your summer ministry trip? What will youth remember from summer experiences? Will they remember the messy games, staying up all night with friends, the closeness of a group of believers, an encounter with the living God? This summer youth ministries will set off […]
by Samantha Hassell 90 = percentage of pastors who report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. 90 = percentage of youth workers who are classifiably work-a-holics 14 = the number of real actual Sabbath days the average youth worker takes in a year I could go on with a few of the other […]
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