When entering into any field of work an individual is faced with many vocational challenges, either ethical, relational, or even technical. A new work environment requires adaptations and preparedness. As I look to a future working as an international student minister, hurdles of all varieties stare back at me, be it economic or cultural barriers. Yet looking beyond my personal challenges and into the needs and requirements of the job itself, one challenge stood out as the pivotal question to all missional operations overseas I may be a part of. How can a student ministry be adapted to address the specific needs of youth in the 12/25 generation in different cross-cultural contexts? Narrowing this inquiry down to a specific region of interest, …show more content…
This primary ideology impacts the perception of the gospel and the reality of religion among youth. For instance, one primary challenge in missionary work in the Czech Republic can be seen in another observation by the Luasanne conference report as “Czech youth cherish their freedom above all else. As a result, their greatest fear is losing this freedom. Young people do not want anyone to tell them what to do. They dislike advice from outsiders” (Werner 33) Their weariness toward outsiders greatly impacts the evangelistic opportunities foreign missions and youth programs have in this area. The use of local believers and leaders is key in developing a strong student …show more content…
In regards to student ministry in this context, S. Steven Kang submits that, “it is critical for the church and its leaders to not only guide [students] in terms of helping them discern their paths but, further, to lead them to locate, and thus, situate their vocational themes and life 's trajectories in the context of God 's larger purposes, i.e., the unfolding of his redemptive drama in the world” (Kang 326) Therefore, if I was working in this field currently I would address this problem by engaging multiple aspects of youth culture in this region. It is not enough to simply tell of the gospel, but rather to implant the truth of God’s word and His plan into these student’s lives through discipleship and mentoring. By using intellectual lectures and content to initially reach students and then relationships to help create a culture of spiritual growth, the gospel can be spread to youth in this context more
...s is a concept which should resonate with the teenage mind. The title of the book is the same title of a movie a few years old, yet he applies it to a plan which was set forth within the early church. To quote Steir, the outbreak, “spreads like an epidemic. It infected the general populace so quickly that no one was safe.” With a few emendations of word choices and phraseology, this is indeed a unique way of viewing and considering how to do youth ministry.
Secondly, the Church can insist on its identity as an inter-generational community. It can do this structurally, by refusing to segment congregations by age, and temperamentally, by recovering a biblical respect for maturity and rejecting popular culture’s infantilism, thereby offering to children a goal of growing up. Popular culture exalts perpetual adolescence.
After a car accident three years ago, God used the recovery period to hone my old skills and birth new. Over the course of the process, He repositioned me for a different journey. The new path led to a transition from a secular K-12 setting to Christian higher education; yet, still within the context of supporting a diverse student population. My purpose became preparing and teaching ministerial leadership in a multi-ethnic church, “bridging the gap leadership.” In fulfilling God’s will and direction, I was led to me apply to graduate school.
This book has been my interpreter, into the mired maze of youth ministry. From a logical perspective this is a must read for every one not only involved in youth ministry, but the church as a whole. If possible I would like to revisit this book in a year as kind of a case study to see how much I have learned for this course and how my views, out look, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors towards youth ministry have changed or no
Going to a Christian college, and eventually seminary calls for moral uprightness, but that does not always translate into doing God’s will. For example, I can pray every day for at least ten minutes, but when that becomes a chore rather than a joy, I am no longer fulfilling my own calling. Fields calls this “being a spiritual loser,” because one is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons, which is the opposite of how God originally intended us to be (Fields 71)! One good measure of how successful one will be in student ministry is to allow God to work in people’s lives instead of micromanaging them. God can do amazing things through us, but by ourselves we can only do so much; without Jesus in the picture, ministry is just a dead end job with low pay, stressful work, and a whole lot of problems. By doing this, Fields has allowed me to see that developing my ministry is of vital importance, and this helps the book by allowing the reader to understand that God does have a plan for my life, as long as I submit to His
In Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew records Jesus’ last words to His disciples these verses have become known as “The Great Commission.”Since, the giving of the Great Commission followers of Christ has left their own culture in order to engage another with the saving message of the Gospel. Numerous books, articles and blogs have been written on the subject of World Evangelization or Missions. One such book on missions is called, “The Changing Face of World Missions: Engaging Contemporary Issues and Trends” this book was written by Michael Pocock, Gailyn Van Rheenen, and Douglas McConnell. All three men are experts in the field of missions; the writers have served overseas and are now currently engaged in equipping the next generation through teaching at Dallas and Fuller Theological Seminary. The authors bring a wealth of personal and academic excellence to their particular chapters as well as a passion to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The balance between academia and real world application make “The Changing Face of World Missions”, an informative and exciting read.
Being an international student is exciting. It offers a lot of exposure and scope for improvement. Canada has a lot of institutions that accept foreign students, but before that, the practical difficulties an international student might face in the country should be noted.
The desire to be accepted is prevalent among youth today. In a world that is currently suffering from a famine of love that is intended to be given to today’s youth, more and more we see students that desire to be accepted, yet feel accepted by no one. Because of this we see them decide to reach out, and as they do they become accepted into a group that is not a good influence on them, or simply is wasting their time. Here we will look at what exactly the bible tells us in the issue of acceptance, and how it would look in the average youth ministry today. We will then look into how we will follow up with students past their fist visit and finally what utilizing the idea of acceptance to its full potential will do for a ministry.
....” This scripture is consistent with the growing youth movement. Young people are receiving salvation, witnessing and praising God with a passion that has not been seen in the recent past. All of this seems to point to the Second Coming of the Lord, which makes the work of the ministry all the more urgent. Take a look at your own church. Does it have a passion for young people or has it written them of to being a condemned generation? Jesus said in John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Review your every day world and see if there is a young person that you could influence and share the news that Jesus loves them. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:37 “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
LaRue, Jr, John C. "A Glimpse at Christian Teens | YourChurch.net." ChristianityToday.com | Magazines, News, Church Leadership & Bible Study. 31 Mar. 2009 .
I have been in youth ministry for 6 years. I am currently 24 years old and serve over 700 students in our high school and junior high ministries. I feel as though I am pretty connected and up to date with what most of our students go through and are experiencing, yet Mueller’s information and research surprised me. Muller begins with discussing the interpersonal rift that students are experiencing and the ever-changing culture. He writes, "There is a developmental difference between teenagers and adults. We live in two different stages of the life cycle. Consequently...
There are many certificate and diploma programs in Religious Higher Education, but there has not been any research done into these programs and their effectiveness. There has been research into other educational certificates, such as vocational certificates, but not specifically religious educational certificates (Bosworth, 2010; Clark, 2002). It is the goal of this study to determine the ultimate applicability of religious education certificates and diplomas to the real world and the job market. The Certificate in Ministry and Diploma in Ministry at the South Texas School of Christian Studies will be the focus of this study. This institution has offered an 18-credit hour Certificate in Ministry (18-hours of Bible, Theology and Practical Ministry courses) for thirty years. They have recently added a 60-credit hour Diploma in Ministry to their degree offerings. It is the purpose of this study to determine if this degree has any practical applicability for gaining employment in the area of the degree as compared to those without any formal education or students with a bachelor, master or doctoral degree in the field of Religion or Theology.
Jones, Marge, and E. Grant Jones. Psychology of Missionary Adjustment. Springfield, Missouri: Logion Press, 1994.
Parents should teach their children to have a missionary spirit. They should mold their children’s mind to interest in the work of God. It is important for the parents to shape their children’s interest toward the spreading of the Gospel. Let us see the counsel:
Bom between 1945-1964 (2). They are considered to be in the middle adult category, ages 24 through 50. Often described as generation that refused to “grow up.” Still others describe them as the generation that changed the world in this century. Their receptiveness to the Gospel and sharing of the same makes them a fertile field for evangelism. Often called “Millennials”, their “practice” of evangelism is on the rise. In a 3 year period form 2010 to 2013, millennials had a +9% increase when compared to other age groups in the same survey time frame. (57% to 65%). This is in many ways attributed to the fact the Boomers are very family oriented and gear their lives around social government and education, bonding and fellowship. Effective evangelism in today’s church has to cross age groups and social lines as well as economic salary differences per house hold. Thee appeal of the Gospel in today’s church has much to do with presentation and communication. Witnessing individually and corporately. The most unreached Americans are Millennial youths. So it comes as no surprise that youth ministry is a priority for many churches. Six in 10 (61 %) senior pastors say youth ministry is “one of the top priorities” of their church’s ministry, and 7 percent say it is the single highest priority. However, despite a clear majority, one-third of pastors (32%) say it is either somewhat, not too much, or not at all a priority.