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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.
Models and Methods for Youth and Young Adult Ministry is a rare book on young adult and youth ministry in that it weaves sound theology and solid pastoral practice. It invites pastoral practitioners, scholars in the field, and university-ministry students to envision various models and methods for doing youth and young adult ministry in a collaborative and ecumenical way. Through rich, concrete examples and strategies, the reader will grasp the significance of each model and the various methods to integrate and implement these robust approaches. The result is this book will empower readers toward a more meaningful understanding of youth and young adult ministry, which will in turn engage the young church of Christ.
This Handbook draws together leading social scientists in the world from multiple disciplines to articulate what is known and needs to be known about spiritual development in childhood and adolescence.
Before we can reach today's youth with the turth of the gospel, we need to see what they see and hear what they hear. We need to catch the messages encrypted in their culture and understand what's really being communicated. In Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture Walt Mueller, founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, helps us to navigate the troubling and confusing terrain of teen worldviews so that we can effectively and compassionately pass along good news: our God is their God, our Savior can be their Savior.
Ministry with Youth in Crisis is a comprehensive treatment of major adolescent crises related to life themes including self-identity, faith formation, family life, social relationships, sexuality, suicide, substance abuse, and eating disorders. The distinctiveness of this book is that it offers a fine blend of solid research, workable theory, and specific strategies for successfully ministering to and with youth in crisis. Furthermore, it emphasizes the caring and sensitive side of working effectively with adolescents experiencing both normal and extreme crisis situations. This volume, therefore, is both descriptive and prescriptive in nature, in that it describes the world teens live in and offers biblical responses for ministry.
Filled with relevant, expert, and practical child-rearing information, this invaluable guide also helps parents understand and utilize parenting resources ranging from scientific research to Internet sites to the popular press. Taking up where the 2004 edition of The Educated Parent left off, Child Rearing in the 21st Century is a must-have guide to parenting best practices. Author Joseph D. Sclafani, a psychologist and family therapist, highlights the different approaches to child rearing and provides practical advice about which approaches work best and why. Topics covered range from the role of the parent as supporter/protector to the efficacy of daycare and the ways parents can prepare f...
Practical applications, theological foundations, and valuable information for the student beginning a youth ministry.
Did you know that we’re battling an epidemic* . . . ? • Almost one-third of all high-school students fail to graduate with their class; among minorities, the dropout rate is almost 50 percent. • Dropouts are more likely than their peers to be unemployed, live in poverty, have poor health, depend upon social services, and go to jail. • The combined loss of income and revenue to the American economy from a single year’s dropouts is about $192 billion. *From The Silent Epidemic (Bridgeland, Dilulio, and Morrison, 2006) But there is a solution to the dropout crisis that is proven, effective, replicable, and sustainable! Communities In Schools (CIS) reaches more than one million at-risk...
Adolescence is a time of individuation--children are slowly finding their identity as adults, separate from their parents and other adult influences. Such a critical time of psychological development is complicated by cultural influences that shape their expectations of adulthood and color how they relate to other people and even God. The task of the youth pastor becomes to help adolescents navigate this often treacherous journey, helping young people reconcile their experience of childhood to the reality of their impending adulthood, and rooting and establishing them in a faith that can sustain them through their adult journey as well. Drawing on the insights of sociology and psychology, Jacober reveals youth ministry to be an act of practical theology, and helps youth pastors find their footing as they guide young people through adolescence.