Yale Divinity School

Youth Ministry Institute

Events

Creating Communities of Belonging for Youth With and Without Disabilities
November 2, 2022
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Many faith communities still struggle to welcome and weave youth with disabilities into the ministries and relationships that make up the life of their congregation. Yet we are called to be communities without asterisks. Dr. Carter will share a powerful framework for reflecting upon and fostering belonging within youth and other congregational ministries. Together, we will explore the implications of this work on the ways we support youth with disabilities and on the ways we spur our own churches to be more inclusive and welcoming.

Video from the event is here: Creating Communities of Belonging for Youth With and Without Disabilities

Slides from the event are here: Creating Communities of Inclusion and Belonging for Youth with Disabilities PowerPoint Presentation

Talking about Sex, Tech, and Faith with Teens
October 5, 2022
Kate Ott
Dr. Kate Ott
Yale Divinity School and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
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Digital innovation has rapidly changed the landscape of sexual experience in the twenty-first century. Moral mandates, uncomfortable avoidance, or simple silence by faith communities on these issues leave teens ill equipped to bring their faith values to sexual and digital decision-making. This event will provide a nuanced approach that prioritizes honesty and discernment over fear and judgment. In addition to raising participants digital and sexual literacy, faith leaders/youth ministers will be resourced with curricular practices that draw on core values of the Christian tradition to help teens develop a just and flourishing sexuality in the digital age.

Video and clips from the event are here: Talking about Sex, Tech, and Faith with Teens

Slides from the event are here: Talking with Teens about Sex, Tech, and Faith

The Storm Isn’t Over: Ways to Support the Social Emotional Needs of Youth
September 7, 2022
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While everyone is eager to get “back to normal”, the social emotional needs of our youth tells us we must recalibrate our expectations. In this presentation, we will discuss the key social emotional impacts of the public health pandemic and social cultural epidemic we’ve all been experiencing and witnessing. Concrete strategies to foster resilience and help our youth thrive in the current climate will be presented. Following the presentation, participants will engage in an interactive learning opportunity to put skills into immediate practice in their work with youth.

Video and clips from the event are here: The Storm Isn’t Over: Ways to Support the Social Emotional Needs of Youth

Slides from the event are here: The Storm Isn’t Over: Ways to Support the Social Emotional Needs of Youth

Why Ministries Innovate and How to Start: Knee Deep in Flotsam
May 7, 2022
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We’re all innovators now. Only a year ago, “sustainability” and “innovation” described extracurricular activities for churches – mostly niche projects that had minimal impact on the daily work of ministry. As of 2020, innovation is what we all do–ready or not.

We’re exhausted and disoriented by this newness, not just because innovation is unfamiliar to us, but because the shackles of normalcy are off, allowing us to hear God in new ways. As our institutions, practices, and assumptions about ministry (and ourselves) shed unnecessary weight in order to stay afloat, we’re suddenly a much more nimble church than we were a year ago. We are awash in more possibilities than we can process.

In this seminar, we’ll consider how the events of the past two years are changing how we think about the church—and how it is surfacing new and long-forgotten possibilities for the work God calls us to. Come explore compelling stories of innovation, new tangible experiences from around the church, and the theology that undergirds healthy and passionate praxis in this new frontier!

Video Clips and Interview clips are here: Why Ministries Innovate and How to Start: Knee Deep in Flotsam

Conversations with Colleagues: Looking Ahead
August 25, 2021

No results found.

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“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” -Proverbs 27:17

As you look ahead to the new church year, are you feeling excited? Are you feeling tired? Do you have your youth group schedule ready to go? Or, are you still tweaking? 

Do you yearn for meaningful conversations with fellow youth workers who “get” it? Might your tools need some sharpening?

Come join us on Wednesday, August 25th, for a peer-led resource-sharing opportunity! This will be a space for colleagues to connect, and speak about what has worked for their churches in the past year. We will also look towards the fall, and together sharpen our tools for the year to come.

Belonging
November 3, 2021
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As youth leaders, we strive to be welcoming towards everyone. We want every young person to feel like they belong.

But what does “belonging” actually look like? What might it mean to prioritize actual belonging in your youth group?

We all want to belong to a community and that sense of belonging is elemental to our well-being. Join Dr. Margaret Clark for a conversation about just how much young people want to belong, how they strive to belong and what really makes people feel that they belong.

Video from the event is here: Belonging

Slides from the event are here: Belonging

Past Events

Yale Youth Ministry Institute