Cohort Learning

THE BEST DECISION YOU WILL MAKE!

Whether a youth minister is a recent college graduate, starting a second career, or is a seasoned youth ministry specialist of many years, the Youth Ministry Institute has a great ministry to enhance and grow your youth ministry.

Our two-year cohort learning program is more than a short course on how to lead a Bible study or organize a retreat. Instead, all elements of the YMI training program work together, building a mutual commitment for excellence in youth ministry among clergy, congregation, and youth ministers at each local church.

Throughout the two-year program, YMI emphasizes the creation of processes that lead to the robust youth ministry that the church and youth minister envisioned when they first began. On-the-job training and coaching is integrated with individual and corporate assessment tools in order to focus the church on its desired youth ministry outcomes. To apply for the Youth Ministry Institute, a youth minister must be currently serving actively in a paid or volunteer role in a local church.

Youth Ministry Training

“YMI is an innovative means of delivering high-quality substantive theological training for those on the front lines of ministry in our culture. YMI prepares women and men to serve well in this Kingdom-strategic work.”

-Brian Russell, Dean at Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida

INSTRUCTIONAL TRAINING

The two-year curriculum consists of over 325 hours of classroom instruction on a variety of topics taught by expert faculty in the following settings:

Workshops

Offered monthly in a two-day or one-day format, workshops are two hours each. Each is taught by a different faculty member skilled in that particular area, sometimes focusing on a pre-assigned text. Workshops include:

Orientation Retreat Workshops 

Teaching 101: Developing a Vision for Learning
Program Design 101: Building a Ministry Vision and Structure
Leadership 101: Becoming Self-Aware, Authentic, and Intentional
Organizing for Success
Recruiting and Equipping Volunteers
Stewardship: Budgeting and Fundraising

Workshops in Year A

Adolescent Developmental Theories
Application of Developmental Theories
Student Leadership Development
Family Systems
Youth in Crisis
Learning Styles
Classroom Management
Theology in Youth Ministry
Missions
Social Media and Electronic Communication
Delivering an Effective Message
Storytelling Analysis and Critique
Personality Temperaments
Recognizing Your Call to Leadership
Leadership of Organizations
Conflict Resolution and Effective Communication

Workshops in Year B

Moral and Spiritual Development
Practice of Moral Development in Ministry
Youth Cultural Anthropology
Youth Culture Application
Counseling Foundations
Engaging Scripture and Teaching the Bible
Youth with Learning Disabilities and Special Needs
Evangelism
Worship in Youth Ministry
Parent and Family Ministry
Discipleship
Recreation and Retreats
Self-Care and Spiritual Disciplines
Leadership and Self-Management
Leadership and Self-Awareness
Ethics in Youth Ministry

The Intensive

Each semester, a theology professor will teach one of four core theological courses (Old Testament, New Testament, Church History or Theology).  Each course consists of 30-35 hours of instruction.  Some courses are offered in a web-based format.

The Conference

The Youth Ministry Institute travels annually to the Youth Ministry Academy.  The Academy brings together professors, practitioners and researchers to lead dynamic, thought provoking workshops and general sessions.

This format encourages the immediate application of learning in each local church. In traditional schooling, graduates might remember and apply 20% of their learning to a new job, forgetting 80%.  YMI graduates are applying 80% of what they learn as they learn it.

 

YMI Youth Ministers Oct 2014  Commissioning

COACHING

Excellence is dependent upon relationships. The Youth Ministry Institute utilizes relationships with individuals and organizations to encourage different perspectives that develop the youth minister and the youth ministry in the local church. While participating in the Youth Ministry Institute, each youth minister is assigned a coach who has at least ten years of youth ministry experience.

Participants meet with their coaches monthly and are able to contact them with questions or concerns at any time. The supervising clergy also has direct access to the coach, with scheduled interviews taking place once per quarter.  In addition, the Youth Ministry Institute utilizes two assessment tools developed by respected partners in order to encourage self-awareness and professional development.

Professional Assessment

Coaching also takes place in small cohorts once per month.  A trained facilitator will lead a small group of youth ministers through an intense examination of their application of youth ministry core competencies. An objective assessment interview at the beginning and end of the two-year period measures the capacity with which youth ministers are utilizing each core competency.  This tool is developed by HUMAN eX Ventures.

On-Site Needs Evaluation

YMI staff and assigned field coach will spend one day on-site listening to your youth, families and leaders to help you build a customized strategic plan designed to impact your youth ministry.

The coach will work with the youth minister to address all of the needs in the strategic plan so the church can attain all it ever hoped in its youth ministry. Outside the formal bounds of coaching, there are multiple impromptu coaching sessions with the regional director and staff, oftentimes addressing those issues needing more immediate attention.  In all, youth ministers experience 120 hours of coaching from seasoned veterans in a variety of settings.

Personal Connections

The Youth Ministry Institute values personal connections with other youth ministers in their region and all over the country. Participants in YMI will establish connections with each of their instructors and fellow YMI participants (past and present), expanding their network of support exponentially.