Assignments for MINN 4596 Organizing Youth Ministry:

Assignment 1-A

Read Youth Ministry Nuts and Bolts  and write a 10 page book report on what you read.

Assignment 1-B
Objective: Be exposed to the history and development of youth ministry

Comments: Article: Please review the following articles:
Youth Ministry and Social Change
Back to the Future of Youth Ministry

Assignment: Where We Came From
Please review the two articles linked above, then develop a history of a youth ministry in your sphere of interest. It may be the youth department of a local church, a dedicated youth ministry on a local level, or a national youth ministry.

Your report should take the form of a historical article, 5-7 pages in length. It should address the chronological development of the ministry involved, including its roots, initial motivations, and histories of the people involved. If possible, it should include personal contact with the ministry and its leaders (email interviews are fine). Most important, please report on how your chosen ministry fits within the broader history of youth ministry.

Assignment 2
Objective: Be aware of a variety of strategies employed to reach youth with the gospel

Comments: See Monotyping comments.

Assignment: Multimedia and Monotyping : Are We Really Reaching Youth?
Please use the course Resources, the Internet and other sources available to you to study the use of media and multimedia to reach young people.

Develop a paper entitled "Multimedia and the Youth Stereotype." In it, please evaluate the use of multimedia technologies in youth ministry, in light of stereotypes about young people. Be sure to address the following

• What are the current "best practice" uses of multimedia to reach young people?
• Are those uses of multimedia effective in their outreach?
• Does current "best practice" in the art of multimedia ministry appeal to stereotypes?
• How can multimedia be used to reach individuals, or "monotypes"?

Assignment 3
Objective: Be aware of a variety of strategies employed to reach youth with the gospel (cont'd)

Comments: And a child shall lead them...the role of youth in evangelism
Strategic Youth Ministry: MNN Article: "Young people key to reaching lost in East Asia"
Article: Equipping Youths for Peer Evangelism

Assignment: Teens: Leading The Way
One of the most compelling trends in our age is the role of young people in the spread of the good news of God's Kingdom. From abstinence vows to musical innovations to international Spring Break missions trips, young people are setting the pace for the spread of the gospel in North America and around the world.

For this assignment, please identify the program, movement, or example of this trend that you find most intriguing and report on it. Your report should be specific as to the ideas, people, places, resources, etc. involved.

Assignment 4
Objective: 3. Be aware of youth ministry staffing challenges and opportunities

Comments: Many people have a desire to work with young people in ministry. Some believe that God has placed His call on their lives to do so. Relatively few have much information about how to become involved in the ministry area they desire.

Assignment: Breaking In: Finding A Place In Youth Ministry
Please research employment opportunities in youth ministries and develop a report entitled "Breaking In: Finding A Place In Youth Ministry." Your report's target audience will be new graduates from university and seminary programs seeking employment in youth ministry.

Your report should be thorough and specific, providing enough guidance that a reader could take it and begin a productive employment search.

Please be sure to include the following:

• Opportunities in youth ministry, addressing the range of organizations dedicated to youth ministry, from local churches and ministries to national youth outreaches. (Guidance: you may be general about the local ministries and limited in the scope of national ministries you include. For example, you may list the top 10-15 national ministries, their focus and priorities and some basic info about each.)
• Occupations in youth ministry, addressing specific positions ministries feature, what they do and how they serve young people. (Guidance: you may be general about the positions involved, such as "youth pastor," "youth counselor," "camp volunteer," etc.)
• Sources of information about youth ministry jobs, including Web sites, discussion lists and boards, directories and publications.

Assignment 5
Objective: Be exposed to challenges unique to the youth ministry environment

Comments: In this age, working with young people requires a deft touch that balances their great needs with the realities of the legal, social and political environment. Beyond biblical integrity, a young minister must be aware of the liability and obligations of the youth ministry field.

Assignment: Article Summaries
Please read and summarize 10 articles found at the link below. Your summaries may be brief (1 page or less) and should highlight the 1.) the most important points in each article; and 2.) the insights you have gained from the article and the issues it addresses. (Many of these articles are excerpts from books, which might be useful resources in the future.)

http://www.youthspecialties.com/blog/

Assignment 6 & Final Paper Assignment
Objective: Possess a framework for developing youth ministry from a biblical perspective.

Comments: Youth ministry, like much of the work of the Kingdom, can become susceptible to processes and routines that are driven by organizational standards. Often, our ministries become like businesses in their structures, operations, and priorities.

Is this what God intended?

Assignment: God's Word on Youth Ministry
For this assignment, please search the scriptures to discern God's priority for ministering to young people. Your assignment is to put aside everything we "know" about youth ministry and try to discern God's heart on the issue.

The bible study tools on the course Resource page will be helpful. They will enable you to quickly look up every passage devoted to "youth," "young," "children," "sons," "daughters," etc.

For your report, imagine that you were the first person ever to conceive of a ministry devoted to young people. Further, assume that you wanted only what God wanted for this ministry, not what people want or expect. Make your report reflect what you believe God wants for youth ministry.

The structure of your report should address the following:

• God's Word on dealing with young people, including relevant passages
• The implication of God's Word as it relates to developing youth ministry
• A biblical structure for ministering to young people