We continue our series of downloadable audio files with this month's free resource! 

Kara Powell asks Dr. Tony Campolo for his honest reflections on social justice and youth ministry, and receives some provocative input from the widely-acclaimed spokesperson for recasting youth ministry in light of concern for the poor and oppressed around the world.

FREE RESOURCES accompanying the Newly-Released book by Chap Clark and Kara Powell with fresh insights into tough questions about youth ministry

Information about and application materials for the Urban Youth Ministry Certificate program

Developing resources for youth workers who minister in urban areas

Responding to the AIDS pandemic in Africa on multiple levels here and abroad

Discovering what's missing in youth ministry to prepare students for the college leap

One Life Curriculum Guide

by Kara Powell and CYFM
In conjunction with Youth Specialties and World Vision, we are excited to release this 100-page research-based, theologically-grounded, youth worker-tested, and entirely FREE curriculum hosted on our website! CYFM has spent much of the past year developing this resource for you, collaborating with youth workers from around the country who gave valuable input along the way and even used this curriculum in their own ministries to help us in the refining process. What results is a highly-adaptable guide that we hope will be usable for you no matter what the size or context of your youth group. On the new One Life page on our website, you may download either the entire curriculum or one module at a time, starting now!

What Type of Students Are We Developing?
The State of Our Seniors

by Kara Powell
Do you wonder what kind of impact youth ministry actually has on students by the time they graduate from high school? So do we. As reflected in the lead story in The New York Times on October 6, more and more denominations and youth workers are wondering what types of students we’re developing, and what happens to them after they graduate.  Our CYFM College Transition Project is trying to address these questions through a three-year study following a group of students from around the country who finished high school last spring and are off to college this fall. This article is our first report on the data we've been collecting in this important and revealing study.

FAQs & The Low Down Dirty on Hip Hop Culture Fo Yo Ministry!
Part II

by Dan Hodge
In part 2 of this series, Dan again tackles some of the questions he most often receives as an expert on Hip Hop culture, and the questions you may be receiving as a youth worker trying to navigate the waters of Hip Hop's impact on students you know. Pull up a seat and join the dialog, and let us know what questions you would add to this list!

October Update from CYFM and Kara Powell

Thanks to our partnership with World Vision and Youth Specialties, we are thrilled to announce the debut of our One Life curriculum. Designed to increase your students’ engagement in the AIDS pandemic worldwide, this FREE 100 page curriculum for your youth ministry represents a culmination of 60 interviews with youth workers and extensive research and reflection on what it means to be part of the Kingdom of God. So check out the four FREE modules and remind your students, “You have one life. Do something.”

Many of you have contacted us to ask about the launch of our next Urban Youth Ministry Certificate cohort. The actual cohort will begin in spring 2007 in conjunction with the Urban Youth Workers Institute Conference, but applications will be available online starting November 15th and those applications are due February 23rd. Click here to access other Frequently Asked Questions about our Urban Youth Ministry Certificate.

In order to share these and other research-based resources to you more effectively, we’ve re-designed our CYFM website and CYFM E-Journal. We hope you like our new look.

Thanks for all you’re already doing for the Kingdom. May we be more effective together,

Kara Powell

Kara E. Powell, PhD, 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 many articles and books including Deep Ministry in a Shallow World (co-authored with Chap Clark, Zondervan, 2006)Help!  I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry (Zondervan, 2004) Mirror! Mirror! (Zondervan, 2003), and the Good Sex Curriculum Guide (co-authored with Jim Hancock, Zondervan, 2001).

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.