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Register Online! Register by Phone: Building Healthy Youth LeadersTBA , Elkhart, Indiana Cost: $395.00. Facilitator: Ben Stoffel What is the goal of our youth ministry? Is it to fill our seats so we can have good attendance and awesome events? Most of us would say that we are more spiritual than merely counting numbers, and of course we are, but how do we measure success? What outcome do we hope to achieve with/in our students? That leads to some core questions all relating around one main point: What do our students do in the five years after they graduate high school? What do they become in 10 years? Jesus was successful in training his students. How do we know this? Because after Jesus was gone his students turned the world upside down with the gospel and established the early church. That is how we know that what Jesus did was effective; by looking at the lifestyle of his students, by seeing what they became. If that is how we know that the ministry of Jesus was effective, then how should we evaluate our own ministries? Jesus had twelve students, that’s not very good attendance considering all of the people that he taught and ministered to, many left when they heard his teaching. I wonder if Jesus would have been fired from some of our jobs? Perhaps the true test of effectiveness in our ministry to youth is not whether or not they come to our events and meetings; rather our success is measured by what they become as a result of our influence and impact. If we accept this as the goal of our ministry then it immediately puts youth ministry in a long-term focus…how do we know what we are doing is working if the results are not seen until many years later? The current state of our youth and ministry to youth demands our attention. Are we raising a generation of world changers? How do we know? What strategy are we using to build our kids and students into healthy leaders that are capable of leading the transformational church of Christ? What is the percentage of youth in your church that grows up to be firm in their faith and live it out in practical and radical ways? What percentage of youth will leave your church after graduation? Where do they go? What do they become? Some will go to college, many to the work force and some will endure something called the “gap” year. Most will not have a strong sense of direction or calling at this point in their life and even though they may have grown up in a Christian home, they may not really understand how to live a life worthy of the calling they’ve been given. This course presents an alternative approach to youth ministry, a paradigm shift. It is based upon the teaching found in Malcolm Webber's books on leader development. For a detailed description of the paradigm shift and the specific models this course will be presenting, please see our models. Core Questions that we will explore:
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