Youth Ministry In A Multifaith Society

In simpler, more homogenous times, youth ministry was a relatively straightforward activity. The church's youth gathered (occasionally inviting their unchurched friends from school), played together, sang together and listened together to a message from a bright, engaging youth minister, selecting from a relatively defined set of topics: "What does it mean to follow Jesus when it comes to _______?" Now Christian youth must make sense of their faith, with its exclusive claims, in light of their close friends who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist, "other" or even "none." And increasingly other religions are taking their cues for rooting and establishing their youth from Christian ministry practices, so that our kids are being invited to outreach events sponsored by other faiths. Veteran youth minister and researcher Len Kageler digs into the data surrounding this exciting multifaith era and offers surprising confidence that our kids can be guided into mature Christian faith while simultaneously learning to love their neighbors of other religions.

How do we ground our young people in the faith while encouraging their relationships with friends of other faiths? Veteran youth minister and researcher Len Kageler digs into the data surrounding this exciting multifaith era and offers surprising confidence that our kids can be guided into mature Christian faith while simultaneously learning to ...

Youth pastors in other countries have things they can teach us. It can also help open our eyes to see how God is working in other nations. This second edition of Youth Ministry Across the Continents now features local church youth pastors from all six continents, a compilation of stories and insights from youth workers who have been ministering to young people for many years. New contributors include people from Japan, Chile, and a large church in Ohio, USA that has grown as a home group-based ministry for more than 30 years. Readers can compare and contrast the advice of seasoned youth pastors across the globe on the same youth ministry topics. Some of the differences in approach and style reflect personality, and some reflect culture; others are to do with the church or denomination the youth worker belongs to, be it Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Anglican, Baptist, Independent Evangelical, or Assemblies of God. Core issues covered include how to look after your own soul, evangelism, schools work, parents, and the youth pastor's vital relationship with their supervisor, often the senior pastor, minister or associate pastor. In addition to being organised by topic and not contributor, end-of-chapter discussion questions better enable readers to personally reflect, or share their thoughts with others, on the key issues. Read alongside a book like Operation World by Jason Mandryk and Patrick Johnstone, youth workers can also consider what God is doing in each of the countries they are reading about. The book would make informative compulsory or additional reading for a youth ministry or missions class, helping to expand the students' view of the world. It offers wonderful nuggets of wisdom and supplies a broad range of perspectives while reinforcing principles common to youth work across the globe. Inspiring, practical and educational, this book provides readers with ideas and situations they may have never considered. As veteran youth worker and professor, Len Kageler, writes in the foreword, "I had several 'I never thought of that' moments as I read along." So, grab yourself 150 years' worth of international youth work experience - all in one book!

"This book is a place where failures are allowed. This is a book about the decisions we made that we'd like to take back." [THIS IS FROM THE AUTHOR's INTRO. Might be nice to have it separate and above the rest of this, like a quote would be?] But this book about more than failure, it's a book of help and hope as well. In a ministry world where "success" is demanded, it's important to remember that our creative ministry programming ideas won't turn out perfect every time and the relational proficiency expected in youth work almost always requires learning the hard way. "Perhaps you have heard the saying that 'only one idea out of ten succeeds' ...This is a book about the other nine ideas." These stories, told first person from youth workers across the continent, include failures in the fundamentals of youth ministry, with youth themselves, with parents and volunteers, and with church and parachurch leadership as well. You'll also find questions for personal reflection or group discussion, as well as youth ministry class assignments for college and seminary use.

Research in youth ministry has excelled and developed rapidly over the last four decades. Youth ministry is not just a church practice, but has become an emerging academic discipline, with a variety of methodological, theoretical, and contextual approaches. This academic handbook offers an assessment of contemporary youth ministry research to assist students doing bachelor, master, and doctoral research, and youth ministry scholars, in their studies of youth ministry. By examining youth ministry research through the lens of the following five fundamental questions, the reader is challenged to engage with state-of-the-art theory, methods, and findings from current youth ministry research: • Who are the youth in youth ministry? • Where is God in youth ministry? • What is the purpose of youth ministry? • Who is the youth minister in youth ministry? • How to research practices in youth ministry? The academic handbook is a must-read for everyone who is interested in systematic reflection on youth ministry and youth ministry research.

Churches today face unique challenges as they seek to help young people engage with the Christian faith and youth workers, whether employed or volunteer, play a key role in supporting this process. This book provides a comprehensive overview of Christian youth work, drawing together practice, theory and theology in a format which is both engaging and informative.

This book explores youth ministry and the role of the youth minister by looking at a range of various metaphors for the youth worker, such as 'flawed hero', 'visionary architect', 'party planner' and 'guardian of souls'. Each chapter takes one of these metaphors as a central theme, offers biblical and/or theological reflection on this aspect of youth ministry, explains the relevant theory and the necessary skills, uses real-life stories from practitioners to bring the metaphor to life, summarizes the key principles and values, gives questions for reflection and makes suggestions for further reading.

Join the conversation as experts propose, defend, and explore Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church.In a dialog that often gets downright feisty, four youth ministry academicians delineate their distinct philosophical and ecclesiological views regarding how youth ministry relates to the church at large--and leave a taste of what’s profound and what’s not in these four typologies:Inclusive congregational (Malan Nel). What happens when a church thoroughly integrates its adolescents, making them full partners in every aspect of congregational life?Preparatory (Wesley Black). Why and how should a church consider its teenagers as disciples-in-training and its youth ministry a school of preparation for future participation in church life?Missional (Chap Clark). What does a church look like, whose youth ministry does not necessarily nurture "church kids" but is essentially evangelistic? Whose youths and youth workers are considered missionaries?Strategic (Mark Senter). How feasible is it for a youth ministry to become a new church on its own--the youth pastor becoming the pastor, and the new church planted with the blessing of the mother church?In Four View of Your Ministry and the Church, solid academic writing and an inviting tone and design create a compelling text for both in-the-field, practicing youth workers and undergraduates and graduate students.