Nazarene Theological Seminary

Prospective and professional urban youth workers may now earn a twelve-hour graduate certificate in urban youth ministry through a month-long summer education program, via Nazarene Theological Seminary. NTS, in conjunction with the Bresee Institute for Metro Ministries (BIMM) and Kansas City Urban Youth Center (KCUYC), inaugurates a special graduate certificate in urban youth ministry this summer. The program, developed through NTS’ Master of Arts in Christian Education program, incorporates new coursework in urban youth ministry alongside the school’s continued strength in urban ministry. The certificate program may be taken either as a non-degree educational resource for prospective and professional urban youth workers, or incorporated as part of one of the school’s three graduate degree programs.

The certificate includes a new core class in urban youth ministry and a diverse array of specialized coursework in urban and youth ministry, all designed to engage urban settings. Dean Blevins, director of the MACE degree program at NTS, noted that the certificate allows students flexibility to explore various urban and youth coursework based on their ministry context. Primarily during summer, NTS hopes to offer a series of concentrated courses in a one-month period that will allow professional ministers the opportunity to complete the certificate in a concentrated and communal setting.

This summer NTS offers the inaugural class in urban youth ministry as a one-week intensive “hybrid” (incorporating online distance education components and intense classroom engagement). This will be followed by two complementary two-week classes in Urban Anthropology and in experiential engagement in urban youth ministry at the KCUYC. The summer will conclude with a one-week intensive urban/youth “immersion” class in Orlando during the Nazarene General Assembly. Blevins notes,

While some assignments will be completed through online learning, prospective and professional urban youth workers can complete the bulk of the graduate certificate in a one-month concentration. Students need not take all four classes; however, youth ministers may choose to begin and reach their academic goals in a short period of time. The month-long, concentrated approach serves as an experiment. We hope to provide a means by which graduates transitioning from college to their first ministry assignments, or where youth pastors responding to a fresh call to urban youth, have the opportunity to explore this important ministry in a relatively short period of time.

Blevins acknowledges that some urban youth ministers may seek a more diversified approach and notes that NTS offers several classes during the year that, through advising, also apply to the program. “Our hope remains that we can create a setting for building a community for urban youth workers through the summer concentration, a place where people can share mutual dreams, and explore alternative strategies for outreach, support, and discipleship in conversation with each other.” NTS plans on offering the one-month strategy every other year.

Blevins also acknowledges that the certificate could not have happened without the resources of the BIMM and KCUYC. “We are fortunate to collaborate with two local programs that combine to provide a strong educational framework for urban youth ministry.” Kansas City offers a range of urban challenges that often affect youth as well as a number of resources for engaging youth through ministry. The two organizations allow NTS to provide an academically sound program grounded in ministry.

Chuck Sailors, the President and CEO of the KCUYC recognizes, as a graduate of NTS, that this practical and intensive approach will create space for a valuable shared learning experience. Sailor notes, “We are thrilled to take this step in our journey with NTS and the many engaged in learning about urban youth ministry. Our hope is that by sharing in this process together we will nurture well the growth of our shared community and passion for serving the city.”

Fletcher Tink, Director of the BIMM observes:

Urban youth are a breed apart. Many come from fractured homes, negotiate difficult economic circumstances, live in cultural diversity, and are often confused or bound by hopelessness. Yet many are responsive to peers who are authentic and transparent, who have street savvy, who understand the issues and the challenges, and yet, at the same time, mirror Christ and his openness to all.

In our church circles, we find altar calls focused only on getting a young person saved to avoid hell receive minimal response. However, if young people are challenged with the fact that God has a plan for their lives to be change agents in society, these same young people are open to turning their lives over to God in salvation to transform the world around them. It is these young people that we wish to challenge to participate in the seminary’s Urban Youth Ministry summer four-week semester.

Dean Blevins notes the Church of the Nazarene has a strong tradition of compassionate ministry both to and with youth in urban settings. Often these programs go through periods of transition based on the passion of local leadership and the resources available. Blevins says “Our hope remains to provide a stable learning environment for a national audience, a place where aspiring urban youth workers and seasoned professionals can meet and learn together. As a cross-roads community, we can strategically network with various regions of the country as needed, or provide a gathering place for urban youth workers with grounded, seasoned, urban leadership in the Kansas City area. We hope to play a steward’s role in fostering and sustaining the rich heritage we already have in urban youth ministry.”

Additional Information on two classes in Urban Youth Ministry

MACE Director Dean Blevins notes the program begins with a new one-week hybrid seminar class in Urban Youth Ministry offered June 1-June 6. This basic course on urban youth ministry theory and practice includes advance reading and online discussion two weeks prior to the seminar portion of the class and subsequent online discussion the month following seminar to allow students opportunity to engage ministry ideas in their local context or in other experiential settings. The second course, CED 775 Innovations in Urban Youth Environments, will be offered June 8-19 during the day with a specific focus on local urban youth strategies in the Kansas City area. This second course, offered in conjunction with KCUYC, may only be taken by students completing the Urban Youth Ministry class or Issues in Urban Anthropology (see below). Students must apply for admission to NTS prior to coursework. For additional information contact the Admissions Office or Dr. Dean G. Blevins at Nazarene Theological Seminary.

Additional Information on two classes with Tink

Two special modules are being offered by Dr. Fletcher Tink, in sequence during the summer as part of the Urban Youth Ministry emphasis. The first is a ten-day (evenings and weekends) focus on Issues in Urban Anthropology, the study of urban culture with focus on youth, featuring field visits, resource personnel, urban youth engagements, and formal anthropological theory as applied to urban ministry.

The second module takes place simultaneously with the General NYI Convention and Assembly in Orlando, Florida and will consist of observation and participation especially in encounters that directly affect both strategically and legally, ministries among youth and in the field of compassionate ministries, as seen in the denominational processes. Interviews with denominational urban youth leaders, compassionate ministry “movers and shakers,” and urban youth ministry opportunities will be provided. Also featured will be an exploration of youth and compassionate ministries around the Orlando area as field visits. There will be add-on costs, to cover expenses for the time in Orlando as offered. Please contact Dr. Tink at 816-268-5496 or at fletcht@aol.com for further elaboration concerning these add-on costs.