The Parable of the Sower as illustrated in Hortus deliciarum compiled by Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace (12th century).
Youth ministry experts with decades of experience are learning the benefits of engaging youth in theological reflection that isn’t dumbed down, writes the coordinator of the Lilly Youth Theology Network.
Photos courtesy of Try Pie
Apple, pumpkin, blueberry or pecan, sometimes a pie is more than a pie. To a group of teenage girls in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, pies mean jobs, education, faith development and reconciliation.
Bigstock / Billion
Young people are vulnerable, and churches must experiment with more holistic approaches to youth ministry, writes the director of Duke Youth Academy.
Last spring, the Rev. Matt Overton (center) supervised teens doing yardwork. Overton founded Mowtown Teen Lawn Care to provide mentoring opportunities as well as job experience for youth. Photo by Adam Guggenheim
It’s important for youth and adults to have relationships that are consistent and natural. One way to do that is through shared work, writes a youth pastor.
Illustration by Jessamyn Rubio
A pastor charged with teaching a third-grade VBS class realized she was learning not only from the children but with them, by openheartedly engaging in the activities meant for kids.
Via their avatars, children and teens gather for worship in the sanctuary of The Robloxian Christians.
Founded and pastored by a Tacoma teenager, The Robloxian Christians is a real -- albeit virtual -- church where young people gather to worship, pray and connect. And it has important lessons for those who lead traditional churches and church-related institutions.
BigStock
A white youth pastor says it’s important to go beyond diversity when leading youth in the work of racial repair. Admitting failure, fostering careful listening, and paying attention to the local context are all important parts of the process, he writes.
The Rev. Matt Overton clips bushes while Ethyn McLaughlin mows a lawn on a Saturday morning as part of Mowtown Teen Lawn Care's work. Photos by Adam Guggenheim
Jobs, skills and mentoring are just some of the benefits of this lawn care business, operated under the auspices of a Presbyterian church in Vancouver, Washington.
Bigstock/Goodluz
The church should be at the vanguard of a much-needed revolution in caretaking and the raising of children, says a young mother of four. We own the groundwork, the history and the theology of care.
Bigstock/dolgachov
Youth want to do more than participate in ready-made service opportunities, and the work of youth ministry should be to help them experience their own agency, writes the director of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary.