NextGenKent

Re-Imagining Youth Ministry :a blog mentorship experiment Yesterday I was visiting with a Senior Pastor and Youth Pastor of a church here in a small town in Oklahoma. I am coaching them and will be working with them to train some of their youth workers. These folks desire to be church B. They have a missional approach to ministry that to some, feels less flashy than the average youth ministry. So the youth pastor (let's call him Nate) was talking to the youth pastor down the street, who is in his 50's. As Nate was describing his ministry to this older youth pastor this is what the other youth pastor said to him.  "You send me your kids who want to have fun and I'll send you my kids who want to learn."--posted by Gerald Fees I totally get this. I just turned 50. I was raised under youth ministry professors who tried finding the balance to give to use youth ministry and Christian ed students, but hey, we were college students and we were already all about f...

I read an article recently that put into words some of the things I have been thinking about regarding youth pastors, more specifically, should churches hire "youth pastors" any more. April Diaz's comments were on track with several things I have been contemplating after growing up in church (18 years of embeded ministry) and being involved in youth ministry (volunteer+part-time+full-time ministry) for around 30 years. You can read the article here: http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/articles/redefining-the-youth-worker Here are some highlights from that article: Hiring a "Student Integration Pastor" Changing the title from Youth Pastor of Director of Youth Ministries isn't enough, but one that reflects the "Philosophical Shifts" the church is seeking to make. Integrating teenagers into the life of the church is an "all-church" mentality, project, and overall big idea. Creating a third culture = a “new way” of not doing ministry ...