Yale Divinity Videos Yale Divinity School

Good preaching is good preaching - to any age group, but bringing a message to young people requires particular attention to several fundamentals of effective communication. One of the nation's leading preachers and teachers of preachers will help us reflect on the importance of crafting messages that are fully embodied, that engage multiple intelligences and that are attentive to the different stages of cognitive development among our listeners.

For more information on Youth Ministry Initiative programs please visit us online at www.youthministryinitiative.org

When ministries look at how they discus sin with young people it frequently gets framed as doing bad things. When sin is framed in this way we try to bend their will and push them towards obedience turning youth ministry into sin management and an attempt to make young people be better. Andy Root encourages us to look at sin as a state of brokenness and isolation rather than just "bad things". Sin is a state of being and loss of relationship whereas sinning is the bad things that we do.

At its best, youth ministry develops generative, intergenerational Christ communities that cultivate transformative faith and life in each other and make a difference in God's beloved world. Roland Martinson speaks on how to create intergenerational practices that work. We'll explore together how to bridge the generational divide in our ministry to our youth.

Youth don't so much want to be lectured about God as they want to experience God. This experience comes from walking with God each day, not just on Sunday mornings. What are the spiritual disciplines, practices and traditions that help bring us closer to God and how do they work for today's youth? We'll explore ways to support our youth in developing and following their own "rule of life."
Michael Bird, Rector, Christ Church, Bronxville, NY
A dynamic leader with over 15 years of experience in youth work, Rev. Bird's ministry has emphasized helping young people incorporate worship, spiritual practices and covenantal rule into their weekly lives.

Youth long for experiences that will take them outside of their cramped, every day experience and connect them with something larger than themselves, with the transcendent love of God. Skip Masback will guide us through the nuts and bolts "best practices" that prepare the ground for mission trips in which our young people are "pilgrims not tourists, learners not teachers, listeners not talkers and receivers not givers."

Rodger Nishioka speaks in a youth ministry lecture series on experiential Bible studies. He addresses the strengths and weaknesses of Bible studies and techniques to enrich the class.