Wednesday, October 3, 2007
- NTS
How do you stay on the leading edge of youth ministry? You explore innovative ministry through partnerships with leaders in the field. Nazarene Theological Seminary and MidAmerica Nazarene University demonstrated the power of innovative collaboration by joining with NYI USA/Canada and YouthFront, a leading evangelical youth ministry, to host a regional conference on the best of youth ministry practice. Hosted on MNU’s campus September 20-22, the conference included Tony Jones, nationally known author in youth ministry, as well as additional seminars by Nazarene and evangelical youth leaders. NTS professor and conference co-chair Dean Blevins notes these partnerships energized the event.
Tony Jones, the keynote speaker and director of Emergent Village, challenged conference attendees to pay serious attention to the changes in culture, particularly due to global and cultural shifts affecting the young. Jones noted that youth “rearrange the furniture,” challenging traditional church structures and processes while still living committed Christian lives. Jones reminded audiences that the gospel, like molten lava, often breaks free in dramatic fashion, as it did with the beginnings of the Nazarene church in Los Angeles. Jones urged youth workers and ministerial leadership to take seriously models of collaborative, creative, ministry that emphasize egalitarian leadership where youth can express their gifts.
Mike King, director of YouthFront, in an inspirational message on Friday night, pressed for creativity and openness to a ministry re-imagined in the engagement of youth. King, a leader in spiritual formation and youth ministry, noted how people do not often recognize the power of artistic expression at first, but that innovation often provides fresh expression for ministry.
The conference also included moderated sessions by Mark Hayse, associate professor at MidAmerica Nazarene University, and Dean Blevins, professor of Christian Education at NTS, with representative youth pastors from around the country, including the Pacific Northwest via webcast through Northwest Nazarene University. In a roundtable panel discussion, Blevins, Hayse, and Dave Curtiss, (NYI USA/Canada) noted where they saw new ministry taking shape in local youth groups, particularly in extending the gospel through compassionate service. The panel discussion, which included Jones and King, reflected the robust conversations occurring throughout seminar sessions. Over twenty seminars offered both insights and best practices into youth ministry. One special seminar for senior pastors included a “surprise” guest conversation partner, Tim Keel pastor of Jacob’s Well Church, one of the premier congregations in the new emerging church movement.
Dean Blevins noted that the entire conference was built around the theme of conversation. Blevins commented to the audience, “Tony Jones comes to us as an interlocutor, someone who raises questions and draws us into a conversation. Some of those questions may have been provocative, but they are always in the spirit of partnership and ongoing conversation.” The event marks the beginning of a series of future youth ministry conferences supported by NTS.
NTS students use conference for graduate credit.
The postmodern conference also served as a resource for graduate theological education through NTS. “We have students at graduate and doctoral levels utilizing the conference as part of their academic studies,” noted Blevins. "Doctoral student participation reflects a resurgence of interest in youth ministry in postgraduate studies. We have students in doctoral programs, including those at NTS, deeply interested in youth ministry.” Currently there are several former NTS students in leading post-graduate programs including Garrett Evangelical, Boston University, Princeton, and Claremont School of Theology. NTS DMin students also benefited from the conference. Blevins teaches Ecclesial Ministry as part of the NTS DMin degree with Dr. Dan Copp, director of Nazarene Clergy Development. Blevins noted that several current NTS students are using the flexibility of the NTS program to pursue youth ministry and Christian education emphases. “I have two current Doctor of Ministry students who are focusing their programs around aspects of youth ministry,” remarked Blevins. “This conference gave them fresh opportunities to explore how their doctoral projects will serve a broader youth ministry constituency.”
Graduate students also utilized the conference as part of a course incorporating both Postmodern and Youth Specialties conferences this fall. “Attending conferences is not something new at NTS, and reflects what many of our undergraduate schools also engage in,” shared Blevins. “Our approach, however, remains unique as we attempt to understand not only the content in the conferences, but also the role such conferences play in professional development. We wanted a course that gave a comprehensive view of professional youth ministry education.” Brian Hull, the class facilitator, served as conference coordinator for the 2007 Nazarene Youth Congress. “Brian brings a unique perspective to both the changes occurring within youth ministry, the challenge of conference planning, and the need for professional development. He was the type of class facilitator that could understand both academic and professional concerns” says Blevins.
The course, which incorporates online conversations as well as conference attendance and discussions, represents a new array of innovative classes focused on the professional development for the local youth minister. NTS offers both certificate and diploma programs for professional development in Christian discipleship and age-level ministry. Recently NTS added a new emphases on family-based ministry. New coursework provides opportunities for local ministers to blend opportunities to break away from ministry for short periods of local study while also utilizing their new knowledge immediately when they return to congregational settings. “Last summer we unveiled a new model for theological education that incorporated the best of campus and online education,” remarked Blevins. "The course allowed students to concentrate in the classroom for a week and then apply their learning in local churches. This class structure reflected the course focus which emphasized missional leadership and discipleship in local congregations."