Thousands of Youth Workers Trained, Challenged for Ministry
Thousands of diverse youth ministry workers, from the traditional to the trendy and the newbies to the veterans, recently gathered in Nashville to be trained, empowered and challenged at the National Youth Workers Convention.
"This place is a virtual smorgashborg of different approaches, philosophies, theologies that hover around the wonderful world of youth ministry in a postmodern age," Greg Stier, founder of Dare 2 Share and a speaker at the convention, wrote on his blog. "There are right wing reformed, devoted denominationalists, egalitarian emergent and eager evangelicals here. But, regardless of the these differences, there is an over-riding unity through Jesus Christ that trumps everything…for the most part."
Youth Specialties, which serves more than 100,000 youth workers worldwide each year, hosted its third and final youth workers convention for the year on Nov. 21-24. Some 5,000 people attended to renew their spirits, connect with other fellow youth workers, hear sought-after speakers, find resources to jumpstart the new year, and receive training on some of the basics of youth ministry, including "How to Be a Youth Worker" and "How to Communicate to Middle Schoolers," as well as on the latest and most creative tools for ministry.
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"Rookies were wide-eyed with wonder about this resource, and the feeling of belonging to a tribe of people who understand them. Vets who skip lots of stuff to make room for connecting with friends and taking care of their souls talk about the reality that there is no other place that provides this for them," said Mark Oestreicher, president of Youth Specialties, in his latest blog post.
The convention's 80 seminar tracks also addressed tougher issues such as "The Perils of Teen Sex and Dating," "How to Productively Answer the Tough Questions about Sexual Identity" and "Theological Topics to Address with Students for Their Post High School Years."
Dan Kimball, pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, Calif., taught the theological topics seminar, hoping to equip youth workers to know how to prepare their students before they leave high school and face questions and challenges that will inevitably arise.
Three critical topics Kimball believes youth workers should be teaching are: the trustworthiness and inspiration of the Bible, world faiths and pluralism, and human sexuality and marriage.
Acknowledging that the issue of human sexuality is currently "heightened" with the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California, an amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, Kimball still felt it was an important issue to "adequately address with youth" before they graduate high school, he indicated in his blog.
"I suggested that we teach teenagers to be able to begin getting a grasp of what the 'covenant' of marriage is. Also that we go beyond just a surface level on how we teach on homosexuality by usually quoting a few Bible verses in isolation and then ending it there. How we need to be intelligently teaching more in depth about why we believe what we do and examining the entire biblical narrative in regards to sexual ethics and God's design," Kimball wrote. "We must create a loving and safe and trusted culture in our youth ministries (and churches) so youth have trust to talk to leaders as they grapple with sexual issues. Leaders must set the example of how to be loving and compassionate about this. But at the same time, confidently and sensitively teaching what we know from Scripture."
Youth Specialties held the National Youth Workers Convention in Sacramento, Calif., and Pittsburgh, Pa., in October before hitting Nashville this year. The annual conference draws thousands of youth workers every year for training and connection and features a large exhibit hall with hundreds of exhibitors showcasing their latest youth ministry resources.
