This Issue's Resources ...

Ministry Conversations: Fund Development
An Interview with Larry Acosta

We continue our series of downloadable audio files with this month's free resource.
Kara Powell interviews Larry Acosta, president of Urban Youth Workers Institute, on developing strategies for ministry Fund Development.

Urban Emergent: An Oxymoron?

Wondering about crossover between “Emerging Church” issues and “Emerging Urban Church” issues? CYFM hosted a panel discussion on the interface of both circles of conversation. While this dialog has remained mostly an undercurrent, moderator Jude Tiersma Watson, Associate Professor of Urban Mission and CYFM Executive Committee member, hopes this panel will expand the conversation. Panelists included Dan Hodge, Ryan Bolger, and Ken Gates. Listen in on the discussion here, and watch the CYFM site for written responses coming soon.

persuasion theory

The Art and Science of Persuading Teenagers:
Chap Clark's Perspective on Communication Theory and Youth Ministry

by Mark Maines
What does it mean to persuade students with the Gospel? When do we cross the line to manipulation? What can we learn from persuasion research to help sharpen our communication practices with students? Mark Maines utilizes some of Chap Clark's work from the newly-released Deep Ministry in a Shallow World to offer a new look at our persuasion.

Through the Zone: Creating Rites of Passage in Your Church

by Brad Griffin
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.

A New Perspective on At-Risk Youth:
Positive Youth Development and Violence Prevention Research

by Maria Bjørdal
When you see youth facing certain challenges, do you begin labeling them "at-risk"? Or do you focus on the potential assets and resources available to them? Maria Bjørdal recently interviewed two Fuller faculty researchers about Positive Youth Development and its influence in their study of violence prevention.

Learning From the Experts: Insights From Youth Workers
Effectively Engaging Students in Service and World Issues

by Cheryl Crawford
How do you get - and keep - students involved in and caring about world concerns, serving others, and engaging in social justice? Take a look at what we've been hearing from youth workers around the country, as well as some suggestions on ways to engage the students in your ministry.

June Update from CYFM and Kara Powell

We just finished the first 2 courses of our 6-course Urban Youth Ministry Certificate program. In order to keep learning and improving, we've already conducted extensive evaluation of the impact of these first two courses. In the empirical assessment, we discovered that students’ reported level of preparation went up in 10 out of 12 core ministry areas, with statistically significant increases in the areas of volunteer recruitment and "applying theology to daily ministry issues."

At the invitation of World Vision and Youth Specialties, we have spent much of the last year developing a research-based One Life Revolution Curriculum. We've tested this Kingdom-of-God-focused curriculum in seven youth ministries in the last two months. Below is one of the comments we've heard back from one of those youth workers:

This series definitely helped stir our students' thinking and evaluation of the issues we need to be thinking about. Some nights afterwards as our team reflected on the discussions, we said, 'This was a conversation that was worthy of our time and of the Church. This is why we do what we do.' Having the raw conversations together with students made it so valuable.

You can read about some of the research that influenced this curriculum in the "Learning From the Experts" article above by Cheryl Crawford. Be on the lookout for the entire curriculum available for FREE in September here at www.cyfm.net.

- Kara Powell

Kara E. Powell, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Center for Youth and Family Ministry and an Assistant Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. She has been in youth ministry for 18 years and is the author of several articles and books including Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry (Zondervan, 2004) Mirror! Mirror! (Zondervan, 2003), and co-author of Deep Ministry in a Shallow World (Zondervan, 2006) and the Deep Sex Curriculum Guide (Zondervan, 2001).

Now Available for Order: Deep Ministry in a Shallow World: Not-So-Secret Findings About Youth Ministry, by Chap Clark and Kara Powell. Due to be released July 27th, you can order the book now online! Check out additional Deep Ministry resources for free here.

Please PASS ON this e-journal to your ministry team and youth worker friends!

Our Mission: Working alongside frontline leaders, Fuller Theological Seminary's Center for Youth and Family Ministry (CYFM) exists to turn research into resources that transform youth and family ministry. To read more about how we work and the leadership of the Center, visit www.cyfm.net.