“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
Overview
Whether your 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 deal to offer.
Our two-year training 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.
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:
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.
Coaching
Excellence is dependant 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.
Value and Costs
Enrollment in the Youth Ministry Institute includes:
- 11 retreats (meals and lodging)
- 4 conferences (registration fees, meals, lodging, and airfare)
- 20-25 books
- 2 years of coaching
- an on-site youth ministry assessment
- 2 core competency assessments from HUMAN eX Ventures
- 3 years of unlimited consulting.
This represents a $23,000 value!
The reduced enrollment cost of the local church is $5000 per year spread out over three calendar years (7 manageable payments).