Youth

When pioneering Christian educator Henrietta Mears rewrote the youth ministry curriculum at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California in the 1950s, she couldn’t have predicted how the field would explode during the next 50 years. Today the Christian youth movement is packed with camps, conventions, short-term missions trips, small groups, peer to peer evangelism ministries, after-school prayer sessions, and more. Organizations like Campus Crusade for Christ, Youth Specialties, Young Life, and others have emerged as guides and innovators in leading and discipling young people. Scholarship of youth and religion has also increased dramatically: the groundbreaking 2001 National Study of Youth and Religion was one of the first to track how youth perceive and act on spiritual ideas as they grow up. In many cases, young people themselves have started their own ministries, taking up social justice causes and spurring their peers on to good works.

Welcome to Youth Ministry! Time to Talk about Anime.

Austin Gravley

Japanese animation has become a media mainstay among Gen Z. You may not “get” it, but the zoomers at your church sure do.

A girl praying with a laptop, clock, graduation cap, and planner flying around her head.

Come to Office Hours, Be Humble, and Go to Church

Alan Noble

As a professor, I know you’re under pressure. Let me share what I’ve learned in 20 years in the classroom.

A photo of a woman helping a child on the tail of an airplane

Be Honest About Your Motives for Mission Trips

Matthew Loftus

Short-term missions are complicated and often done poorly. But with wisdom and transparency, a medical missionary explains, they can be hugely helpful.