Theology's Influence In Relational Youth Ministry

When people sign up for the ministry; or better stated, when people are called into the ministry, they often assume that most of their time will be spent studying the bible, conversing with lost souls about the good news of Jesus and seeking God in prayer. However, successful ministers and ministries are the result of effectively executed administrative duties. According to Robert Welch and his book Church Administration, a study of pastors revealed, “about 57 percent of their ministry was tied up in strictly nonpastoral administrative duties.”1 What is more, many ministers admitted, “counseling, visitation, family time, prayer and personal devotions suffer in too many cases.”2 Is this simply a case of misguided expectations, poor leadership

Earley & Gutierrez (2010) “Ministry Is…How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence” (Nashville: Broadman & Holman).

For this paper, I choose to interview Jean Proll, Elijah Purnell, Alex Synder, Zach Perry, and Cynthia Bring. Jean Proll has been working with children ministries in her church for many years. I thought that she would be a good choice because she grew up in a completely different American culture than I had, so I thought she would have some good advice on how to deal with things changing, and different types or kids. I then decided to interview Elijah Purnell, because he lives in New Zealand and I thought it would be interesting to see how they lead the ministries and work in groups. I also thought it would be a good idea because I don’t know who God will bring into my path or where he will take me, so I would have some insight into another country’s culture when it comes to leadership in groups. Alex Synder has started a lot of groups around the community to help many people and she has also helped her brothers find Christ. She also has helped out the Christian students in our high school and help them start a before school Bible Study. Zach Perry was one of my choices because he led many small groups in his church and he helps many people get back on track with God. Cynthia Bing has been a devoted Christian from a very young age. She has started a women’s ministry at her church to bring the women of the church together.

In chapter one, Cannister claims that when teenagers matter, student ministries will thrive. Cannister begins by showing what most churches are doing by outlining the “good enough” principle, a mentality and form of organization that states that 80% of youth/parents will be satisfied with only 20% of the effort, much like a consumer. Cannister, however, advocates for a comprehensive youth ministry or a ministry that does not just focus on safety, what the parents want, or only

This paper is the final results of my internship ministry practicum II experiences reflection in my church organization work settings and training. My experiences from different areas of exposure sharpened my skills for my professional role of the Doctor of Ministry Program in the theological field of counseling and teaching. My ministry practicum consists of direct involvements with hands-on, real-life interactions under the supervision of my Supervisor, Chaplain Andrea Fletcher. This Comprehensive Written Review analyzes the full spectrum of my observation and participation in tasks from my Ministry Learning Agreement Form. The opportunity allowed me to view other leaders in ministry exercising their gift and in turns

Even though I heard whispers of my call in my early twenties, I had disregarded any thoughts of seminary as passing notions or fleeting whims. I worked various positions prior to my medical career for the simple purpose of funding my education. However, one thing remained constant. Children. Even as a child myself, I was always volunteering for children’s activities within the church, from nursery attendant to VBS crafts, Sunday school teacher to Education Committee member. Jobs which did not consist of interaction with youth, left me craving a connection. Even as my medical career began, I found myself volunteering at the local YMCA as a soccer coach. Looking back at my gifts and passions, it finally became clear to me that God was calling me to youth

In Student Ministry for the 21st Century, Bo Boshers urges his readers to reevaluate, minister, structure, and program with a purpose in order to reach the lost as well as develop and send out the church. Boshers first encourages readers to reevaluate their purpose. The first manner by which he suggests reevaluating one’s purpose is by leading with authenticity and remaining “REAL with Christ” (19). The acronym stands for “Recognize your fatal flaws,” “Experience God daily,” “Adjust your gauges,” and “Learn discipline.” Boshers claims that unless a leader is authentic, he or she will not be able to effectively minister to others.

Nouwen shared that one of the struggles a leader faces in ministry is low self-esteem and even self-depreciation. Many people in the church struggle with seeing the results and feeling like they are making a difference in the world or making an impact. Nouwen said a sad truth that, “Christian leaders feel less and less relevant and more and more marginal” (Page 33). Nouwen encourages however, that when we stop trying to be relevant and we accept that may not be “in the loop”; it is there that God can use us. And it is there that Jesus can be seen. Nouwen advises Christian leaders to be in constant contemplative prayer. That is to say that our prayers should be thoughtful, mindful, and

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Mathew 19:14 highlights Jesus’ love of children and His desire that they be able to come to Him unhindered. Unfortunately, with many children attending public schools where there is a general intolerance of all things Christianity, it is becoming more and more important that both families and churches are able to fill this gap. Enter Christ Church at Grove Farm’s Kid’s Ministry. CCGF offers Sunday School, Sunday Morning Childcare and Awana weekly, as well as Summer Day Camp once a year. This ministry is headed up by the family ministry pastor* followed by the director*, associate director*, employee*, child care staff, and volunteers. Every summer CCGF also hires one summer intern to assist in the planning and running of their Summer Day Camp. Although CCGF has been able to accomplish a great deal considering how shortly staffed they are, there are still many problems largely in the inner-workings of leadership that need to be improved in order for the ministry to better succeed. Christ Church’s Kid’s Ministry would improve with better communication, specifically in the areas of conflict and clarity, recognizing employee’s level of competence and placing them in an area where they can best use their abilities, and by focusing more on collaborating with parents. This paper will specifically document the ways in which these changes could be made in hopes of

In OMG: A Youth Ministry Handbook, Kendra Creasy Dean goes over several different ways on how to do youth ministry in today’s world. Through reading this book and evaluating Grace United Methodist Church, I have noticed several things that need to be fixed. One of the main things is the youth group lesson focus and the way the youth relate to one another.

Young Life is an organization that is very near and dear to my heart and one that I believe has had a huge impact on my life personally. So, what is it? Young Life is “a non-denominational Christian ministry group that reaches out to young kids through volunteers, staff, club meetings, and camps by building meaningful relationships” (Younglife.org). There are multiple branches of ministry that includes everything from college students through middle school, all the way to ones in other countries. They are accepting of absolutely every walk of life, through Young Lives which helps young girls that are pregnant raising their own children, to Capernaum which helps youths with mental or physical disabilities. The idea behind it is to have a ministry

The authors’ main purpose for writing this book was to provide information and strategies on how to develop ministry done by teenagers, and not just ministering to teenagers. Mckee and Smith ask the hard question “Are we creating spectators of the kingdom or participants and servants for the kingdom?” (12) Mckee and Smith believe that an effective youth ministry needs youth that are actively leading in their ministry not just sitting on the sidelines. The authors do a great job of communicating their purpose for writing the book. The way the authors communicate their purpose is by walking the reader through practical examples of how ministry by teens works. They also give step-by-step instructions on how to facilitate this kind of ministry.

A sentiment common to almost any organization is that the one fact that remains constant is change. As society changes, and human understanding grows, any organization that maintains a static posture, assures its demise. Churches and Christian organizations are no exception. The gospel may remain the same, but the method for communicating it must speak to the audience to assure understanding. The Christian leader must be prepared to meet this challenge by incorporating an effective model for change into his theology of leadership in order to keep the ministry relevant and effective. Searching for such a change agent can prove to be challenging as well. To aid in this search, four

It is not an easy task to carry out public leadership, you have to know almost everything, counseling marriage on the verge breaking down, baptizing dying babies, administering Holy Communion for dying individuals, leading marriage ceremony with unusual and complicated scenario. It is also not easy to accept ministry as God calling rather than as job placement or vocational opportunity. It is tough to accept the people, their culture, tradition and the whole identity. God called us to ministry so that we will be able exercise his full authority (Matt 28:16-18) with full humility (Philippians 2:6, 2Cor 8:9, Rom 5:6-8). We have to deny ourselves and follow the footsteps of Jesus our Lord (Luke 9:23).

“Simon says, if you’ve lived your entire life in Sioux Center, eat some of this cat food.” Yes, this is in fact a verbatim quote I used when leading youth group a few weeks ago. Believe it or not, this daring venture led an understanding of much deeper concepts than just grasping the repulsiveness that is Purina. Although I would have been perfectly happy to go my entire life without knowing what cat food tastes like, this experience has created a better understanding of the developmental stages. Perhaps the term “healthy wrestling” would be more suitable expression than “better understanding.” Even though I can respect and agree with the research of Fowler, Loder, Kohlberg, Erikson, and Piaget, I must hold to the notion that youth ministry should be compatible but not directly correlate with the social sciences of the developmental stages.