Inviting Accountability into the Workplace
When I look across the struggle that is the church today, the greatest need I see is a church that is willing to hold each other accountable. We stand by and watch folks struggle with life, with faith, with depression, with … God help us. Jason Sansbury shares with us how to invite accountability into […]
Staff Highlight: Kris Konsowitz, Memphis Regional Director
Two years ago, the Center for Youth Ministry Training made the decision to hire Kris Konsowitz as our Memphis Regional Director. Kris is making a significant impact on the ministry and mission of CYMT. She is responsible for recruiting partner churches and overseeing the coaching program in the greater Memphis region. Kris currently coaches four CYMT graduate […]
Participating in Hope: The Eschatology of Youth Ministry
Editor’s Note: This article stems from the author’s final paper in Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry, a graduate course offered through the Center for Youth Ministry Training and Memphis Theological Seminary, taught by Dr. Andrew Zirschky. by Andrew Mochrie I imagine youth ministry as ministry that invites teenagers to hope. This hope is not a […]
YM Classroom: Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry
Theological Foundations for Youth Ministry is one of our core Master of Arts in Youth Ministry courses. Just one day in Theological Foundations will dismiss the idea that youth ministry is simply about fun, games, and devotionals. This course introduces students to youth ministry as a practical theological discipline and guides them toward developing and […]
How Youth Doubt is Different Than We Expected
by Andrew Zirschky As a junior political science and philosophy major at a Christian college on the West Coast, Laura looked to be the paragon of devoted and vibrant faith: she prayed and read her Bible daily, spent her weekends volunteering at serving ministries and soup kitchens, attended chapel midweek and church on Sunday.[1] But […]
Why I Hate Youth Sunday
by A Youth Minister “Hate” is a strong word. I try not to use it very much, but there are times when it is the only word that conveys the way I feel about something. I hate sin and suffering and death and I hate it when people don’t use their turn signals and I […]
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God's Persistence Brought Second-Year Resident to CYMT
I’ve felt called to formal ministry since I was in high school in Central New York in the early 2000s. I registered for a lay speaking class offered by the United Methodist district where I was living at the time. My intent in signing up for the class was to gain experience in public speaking—I had absolutely […]
Laying the Foundation for a Successful Youth Sunday
by Joanna Bellis When spring rolls around, I renew my love/hate relationship with a tradition that was passed to me in the church in which I serve: Youth Sunday. What’s to dislike about Youth Sunday? There’s always a possibility that anything a youth (and especially a child) does in front of a congregation can turn […]
Inviting Accountability Into Your Life
by Jason Sansbury Want to do an interesting experiment? Create a Google news alert that will send you a message every time the words “youth pastor arrested” show up in a news story. I did this experiment for a few months before I had to turn the alert off. It is disheartening and saddening, and […]