After the Restoration of Independence the Catholic Church in Lithuania can freely proclaim the word of God and perform ministry in any sphere. Lithuanian youth ministry lacks research and theoretical substantiation of how the pastoral process could be organized practically and could help a young person to develop Christian identity, which would be the foundation of their everyday life. Christian identity comprises a number of topics and aspects; therefore, this study focuses on the effective proclamation of the person and activity of Jesus Christ to Lithuanian youth. The pastoral-hermeneutic method was used to create the theoretical model of the conveyance of Christological message. The model was created in three stages: 1) youth situation survey which encompassed the review of sociocultural situation of Lithuanian youths and their openness to Christological message, measured using qualitative research; 2) method of biblical contextual analysis of Christology was used to identify what Christological message and which aspects of it can be conveyed for the youth in a particular sociocultural context; 3) the assumptions of the conveyance of Christological message as well as certain steps, ministerial attitudes and activities are offered. Christological message is presented from the point of view of the disciples, how they understood the message of Jesus. The young people are motivated to make a personal choice to follow Jesus Christ in their everyday life, join in the community... [to full text] / Atgavus Lietuvos Nepriklausomybę Katalikų Bažnyčia turi galimybę nevaržomai skelbti Dievo žodį ir visose srityse vykdyti pastoracinę veiklą. Lietuvoje jaunimo pastoracijos srityje stinga tyrimų apie jaunimo sielovadą ir teorinio jos pagrindimo, kaip praktikoje galėtų būti organizuojamas pastoracinis procesas, galintis padėti jaunuoliams ugdytis krikščioniškąjį tapatumą, kuriuo jie remtųsi kasdienybėje. Krikščioniškasis tapatumas apima daug temų ir aspektų, todėl šiame tyrime problema sutelkiama į Jėzaus Kristaus asmens ir įvykio veiksmingą skelbimą Lietuvos jaunimui. Todėl, naudojantis pastoraciniu-hermeneutiniu metodu, sukuriamas kristologinės žinios perteikimo teorinis modelis. Modelis kuriamas trimis etapais: 1) jaunimo situacijos ištyrimas, kuris apima sociokultūrinę Lietuvos jaunimo situacijos apžvalgą ir kokybiniu tyrimu nustatytą jaunimo atvirumą kristologinei žiniai 2) biblinės kontekstinės kristologinės analizės būdu formuluojama, kokia kristologinė žinia ir kokiais aspektais gali būti perteikiama jaunimui, atitinkant nustatytą jaunimo sociokultūrinę situaciją; 3) kristologinės žinios perteikimo prielaidos ir etapai siūlo konkrečius žingsnius, pastoracines nuostatas ir veiklas. Kristologinė žinia pristatoma atsižvelgiant į tai, kaip Jėzaus žinią suvokė jo mokiniai, skatinant jaunuolius asmeniškai rinktis sekti Jėzumi Kristumi savo kasdienybėje, jungiantis į bendruomenę ir prisiimant atsakomybę Bažnyčioje ir pasaulyje. Modelį, sudarytą iš penkių pakopų, galima taikyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Atgavus Lietuvos Nepriklausomybę Katalikų Bažnyčia turi galimybę nevaržomai skelbti Dievo žodį ir visose srityse vykdyti pastoracinę veiklą. Lietuvoje jaunimo pastoracijos srityje stinga tyrimų apie jaunimo sielovadą ir teorinio jos pagrindimo, kaip praktikoje galėtų būti organizuojamas pastoracinis procesas, galintis padėti jaunuoliams ugdytis krikščioniškąjį tapatumą, kuriuo jie remtųsi kasdienybėje. Krikščioniškasis tapatumas apima daug temų ir aspektų, todėl šiame tyrime problema sutelkiama į Jėzaus Kristaus asmens ir įvykio veiksmingą skelbimą Lietuvos jaunimui. Todėl, naudojantis pastoraciniu-hermeneutiniu metodu, sukuriamas kristologinės žinios perteikimo teorinis modelis. Modelis kuriamas trimis etapais: 1) jaunimo situacijos ištyrimas, kuris apima sociokultūrinę Lietuvos jaunimo situacijos apžvalgą ir kokybiniu tyrimu nustatytą jaunimo atvirumą kristologinei žiniai 2) biblinės kontekstinės kristologinės analizės būdu formuluojama, kokia kristologinė žinia ir kokiais aspektais gali būti perteikiama jaunimui, atitinkant nustatytą jaunimo sociokultūrinę situaciją; 3) kristologinės žinios perteikimo prielaidos ir etapai siūlo konkrečius žingsnius, pastoracines nuostatas ir veiklas. Kristologinė žinia pristatoma atsižvelgiant į tai, kaip Jėzaus žinią suvokė jo mokiniai, skatinant jaunuolius asmeniškai rinktis sekti Jėzumi Kristumi savo kasdienybėje, jungiantis į bendruomenę ir prisiimant atsakomybę Bažnyčioje ir pasaulyje. Modelį, sudarytą iš penkių pakopų, galima taikyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / After the Restoration of Independence the Catholic Church in Lithuania can freely proclaim the word of God and perform ministry in any sphere. Lithuanian youth ministry lacks research and theoretical substantiation of how the pastoral process could be organized practically and could help a young person to develop Christian identity, which would be the foundation of their everyday life. Christian identity comprises a number of topics and aspects; therefore, this study focuses on the effective proclamation of the person and activity of Jesus Christ to Lithuanian youth. The pastoral-hermeneutic method was used to create the theoretical model of the conveyance of Christological message. The model was created in three stages: 1) youth situation survey which encompassed the review of sociocultural situation of Lithuanian youths and their openness to Christological message, measured using qualitative research; 2) method of biblical contextual analysis of Christology was used to identify what Christological message and which aspects of it can be conveyed for the youth in a particular sociocultural context; 3) the assumptions of the conveyance of Christological message as well as certain steps, ministerial attitudes and activities are offered. Christological message is presented from the point of view of the disciples, how they understood the message of Jesus. The young people are motivated to make a personal choice to follow Jesus Christ in their everyday life, join in the community... [to full text]

In recent years the state of youth work, and more specifically the professional youth worker, has been on the forefront of discussion and concern in South Africa and has been the focus of the Presidency, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), the Commonwealth, and select South African universities. Statistics (Stats SA 2011) discloses that more than 58.5% of the South African population are youth that is aged 1 through 35 (National Youth Policy of South Africa 2008:11) and is, therefore, an important area of interest. In a similar manner, there is increasing discussion and concern in the area of youth ministry in the church. In utilising a case study of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa (BUSA), it is reflected at the annual assembly of churches and its publications that indeed there is an ever increasing concern regarding its youth. The concern for the youth ministry centres on the efficacy of this area of ministry as we observe the exodus of youth from the local church. This particular study has its focus on the youth ministry and specifically the topic of the office of the career youth pastor in an attempt to address the concern of effective ministry to youth as well as addressing the concern of the professional youth worker. This research posits that there is no clear and intentional theological articulation for the office of the career youth pastor. Furthermore, the study will inquire how the office of the career youth pastor will address the problem regarding the professional youth worker as well as an effective ministry to and with youth in the church. This research, therefore, will endeavour to address the theological basis for the call and vocation of the career youth pastor, the cultural as well as the developmental needs of youth in supporting the notion for the career youth pastor, and the purpose of the career youth pastor, by reflecting on the practices and normative texts of the BUSA as a case study through the empirical research of qualitative interviewing. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Practical Theology / PhD / Unrestricted

In critical dialogue with the tradition of American Protestant youth ministry in the 20th and 21st centuries, this dissertation aims to generate novel insights into how congregations influence adolescent development and thriving. Using a mixed-methods approach, I explore recent shifts in the focus of the theology and practice of youth ministry in dialogue with the lived experiences of adolescents in mainline churches in the United States. Questions of adolescents in churches are particularly relevant to mainline Protestant congregations that are declining in membership and cultural capital. The questions are also relevant to adolescents who face complex economic, ecological, and social challenges that are unique to the 21st century. Some of these challenges are due to cultural notions that simultaneously idolize and vilify adolescents. To address these issues, I draw on social scientific resources to reconsider the term adolescent, arguing against G. Stanley Hall’s famous definition of adolescence as a time of universal “storm and strife.” Instead, I employ feminist anthropology, Positive Youth Development, and social constructivism to redefine adolescence as part of a lifelong process of becoming. In the dissertation, I begin by tracing the history of adolescence and American Protestant youth ministry since 1900. I then introduce three churches in which I carried out ethnographic work to gain deep insight into the lives of adolescents while clarifying the stakes and outlining concepts that are developed later in the dissertation. Youth ministry practices and theories are embedded within and intersect with social theories, economic theories, denominational histories, and the realities of life in the 21st century. To understand adolescent experience, therefore, I undertake an analysis of adolescent experiences alongside the broader sociocultural and intellectual currents that shape these experiences. I then approach the same questions quantitatively, developing a shared language to render intelligible the different ways adolescents thrive in diverse contexts. I next place the ethnographic and quantitative research in dialogue with several theological and philosophical thinkers, arguing for a non-essentialist view of both religious identity and adolescents that emphasizes pluralism, intersectionality, and the contestation of meaning. I reconstruct adolescence in congruence with a broader view of human becoming, within which connection, human plasticity, and reciprocity are vital. Finally, I suggest that a kenotic ecclesiology can help churches continue to promote the flourishing of adolescents, and indeed, of all living things.

Text in Afrikaans / The background for this study is a survey undertaken by a cluster of congregations in the Wonderboom area of Pretoria, which revealed that their youth ministries are becoming increasingly ineffective. This worldwide trend is related to the reality that traditional program-based approaches to youth ministry not longer reach modern young people. This study proposes that a choice be made for a relationship based youth ministry that focuses on the communication of faith through the building of relationships of trust between adult mentors and the youth. Churches and the youth would benefit from choosing a relationship-based youth ministry. A relational approach demands enough volunteer youth workers who are qualified to work with contemporary adolescents. The study therefore proposes guidelines for the recruitment, selection, training and utilisation of volunteer youth workers, as well as for the implementation of a relational youth ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church. / Die agtergrond tot hierdie studie is 'n ondersoek van die Ring van Wonderboom wat bevind het dat gemeentes in die Ring se jeugbedieninge toenemend minder effeklief raak. Die wereldwye tendens hou daarmee verband dat kerke se tradisionele, programgerigte benaderings nie meer daarin slaag om die hedendaagse jeug le bereik nie. Die studie stel voor dal daar eerder gekies moet word vir 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening wal daarop ingestel is om geloof te kommunikeer deur diepgaande vertrouensverhoudings tussen die jeug en volwasse mentors daar le stel. Die keuse vir 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening hou besliste voordele vir die kerke en die jeug in. Die benadering vereis genoeg vrywillige jeugwerkers wat geskool en gemotiveerd is om met die hedendaagse jeug te werk. Die studie gee daarom riglyne vir die werwing, keuring, skoling en aanwending van vrywillige jeugwerkers, asook vir die implementering van 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Diac. (Jeugwerk)

Text in Afrikaans / The background for this study is a survey undertaken by a cluster of congregations in the Wonderboom area of Pretoria, which revealed that their youth ministries are becoming increasingly ineffective. This worldwide trend is related to the reality that traditional program-based approaches to youth ministry not longer reach modern young people. This study proposes that a choice be made for a relationship based youth ministry that focuses on the communication of faith through the building of relationships of trust between adult mentors and the youth. Churches and the youth would benefit from choosing a relationship-based youth ministry. A relational approach demands enough volunteer youth workers who are qualified to work with contemporary adolescents. The study therefore proposes guidelines for the recruitment, selection, training and utilisation of volunteer youth workers, as well as for the implementation of a relational youth ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church. / Die agtergrond tot hierdie studie is 'n ondersoek van die Ring van Wonderboom wat bevind het dat gemeentes in die Ring se jeugbedieninge toenemend minder effeklief raak. Die wereldwye tendens hou daarmee verband dat kerke se tradisionele, programgerigte benaderings nie meer daarin slaag om die hedendaagse jeug le bereik nie. Die studie stel voor dal daar eerder gekies moet word vir 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening wal daarop ingestel is om geloof te kommunikeer deur diepgaande vertrouensverhoudings tussen die jeug en volwasse mentors daar le stel. Die keuse vir 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening hou besliste voordele vir die kerke en die jeug in. Die benadering vereis genoeg vrywillige jeugwerkers wat geskool en gemotiveerd is om met die hedendaagse jeug te werk. Die studie gee daarom riglyne vir die werwing, keuring, skoling en aanwending van vrywillige jeugwerkers, asook vir die implementering van 'n verhoudingsgerigte jeugbediening in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Diac. (Jeugwerk)

For Christian professional youth workers, the transition from student to employee positions them at the interstices of convergent and competing discourses. This thesis argues that Christian youth workers can position themselves within these discourses by articulating an authentic faith integrated with professional practice. This positioning is produced and reproduced by performative expectations and the influence of relations of power. The notion of one, unitary professional identity is deemed futile as Christian professional youth workers mobilize a complex range of identities within a range of liminal spaces. Youth workers are suspended within an extended liminal state, which opens up different possibilities for professionalism within Christian professional youth work. This thesis contributes to knowledge particularly for the sociology of the professions and specifically with regard to training and subsequent employment of those within professional occupations. Theoretically, this thesis develops Turner’s thinking in relation to the three phases of separation, liminality and reincorporation and how they apply to the understanding of transition from training to employment. Turner’s phases appear to be incomplete for the understanding of the particular issues that individuals face in the forming of identity in late modern contexts. His thinking on separation and liminality adopt a more nuanced meaning in that the statuses are not as clearly defined as would be initially thought. Likewise, reincorporation is elusive, since Christian professional youth workers are suspended within a permanent state of liminality. This thesis redeems the notion of professionalism from a secular liberal ideal, allowing spirituality to flourish once again. A Christian professional can, and does, express an authentic sense of self within different discursive domains. The crossing of discursive boundaries allows for creativity and experimentation that enriches faith and professionalism. The two influence each other in productive ways. Professionalism as the profane becomes the sacred through the experiences of Christian professionals. Of course, professionalism becoming sacred is not the domain of the Christian only. This is pertinent for a person of any faith belonging to a professional occupation and seeking to express their faith through their work.

Thesis (MTh (Practical Theology and Missiology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Young people, teenagers and children are members of various communities. These communities include their families, society, their schools and their churches or, more appropriately, their parents’ church. These various communities impact their lives in significant ways: they provide the frameworks which determine who they are and what they are going to become. Through their interaction within these communities, life is given meaning. All of these communities operate according to a “liturgy” i.e. an order or style that allows each individual to discover his or her purpose in life. Parents, as the primary community, should provide a healthy and positive environment in which the young life is shaped. However, this is not the only community in which the young person interacts. The church is another and has an enormous influence and vital responsibility in helping to facilitate this shaping process. If, however, the church does not identify fully with young people and their needs, it will become irrelevant and their young lives will be shaped by other communities of influence that are not necessarily positive. A new liturgy i.e. “New Wine” is required to be effective with today’s postmodern generation. The institutionalized church faces a very real danger of being complacent and apathetic in terms of “doing church” in a way that is relevant and attractive. The purpose of this dissertation is to propose a different form of faith community i.e. a “New Wineskin”, a wineskin that is elastic and flexible. Along with the positive nurturing and influence of the family, the church as a new faith community must become creative and authentic if it is to reach postmodern youth. Central to this new liturgy is relationships: relationship with God, with parents, with family, with friends and others. As the Godhead is made up of three “Beings” in relationship with each other, so we have been created to be in relationship firstly with God and then with each other. Thus in a postmodern society, relationships within the family and the church are essential in order to lead young people into a real, authentic and healthy relationship with God.

This thesis examines the role of Melodi Ya Tshwane Christian Youth Ministry (MyT CYM) in the context of what is increasingly observable environmental crisis with a view of developing a contextual approach to ecological mission. The research does not focus primarily on the environmental crisis itself except to note that its scope incorporates not only environmental issues, but has some important implications for social justice as well. The research recognises the role that MyT CYM must play as part of their contribution towards addressing the environmental crisis. Such a role is based not on a pragmatic response to the situation, but flows from the missional nature and theology of the church. Therefore, the missional church has an obligation to address this issue, through Christian mission that takes seriously the biblical call to care and preserve the integrity of creation. Finally, this research aims to assist MyT CYM to understand the theological basis for contextual action towards developing an appropriate ecological mission. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th.(with Specialisation in Urban Ministry)

Thesis advisor: Jane Regan / This dissertation argues that adults need to develop a potential ecclesiology of youth such that adults envision, anticipate, and empower adolescent contribution to the faith community. A potential ecclesiology begins when adults see adolescents for what he or she may contribute and invite them to join the church's work in the world for the reign of God. Relationships are understood as the primary location for Christ's transforming activity among people and communities. Christianity is an ecclesial faith, and the mark of maturity includes learning to move from being with others to being for others, a shift from me to we. Therefore, belonging to a community where adolescents can learn to live as Christians with others, cultivating both knowledge and competence, is vital to a maturing faith in Christ. In light of this, a potential ecclesiology compels adults to invite adolescents into the unfolding drama as growing contributors to God's redeeming work in the world. A potential ecclesiology is somewhat antithetical to a service-based youth ministry, which is a dominant model among contemporary Protestant churches characterized by adults providing a service (both content and experiences of faith) for adolescents to passively receive. Individual faith formation is the primary objective. Research verifies a disparity between increased efforts and resources allocated to support adolescent faith formation and the high attrition of post-high school participation in faith communities. When reconciled, this assumed problem of retention is actually a problem of integration, revealing that the service-based model resists inviting adolescents to join with a local community of faith as contributors to God's redemptive purposes in the world. Built on a biblical and theological foundation, this dissertation argues that fostering a maturing Christian faith is bound to the vital relationship between the person and the community where maturity is both personal and communal. Positive Youth Development literature affirms the central role of others in adolescent development broadly, which includes changes in knowing who I am (independence) alongside who I am with others (interdependence). Adolescents who are "thriving" are those who contribute to the larger purposes of the community. Additionally, a social theory of learning takes seriously doing the faith with others as a means of learning, which includes exposure to and engagement with the larger purpose of the faith community. Faith communities support a maturing faith by contextually enacting five values: communal memory, responsible mutuality, burgeoning maturity, generative relationships, and imaginative contribution. Attending to the adolescent's experience with the community and creating avenues for authentic contribution should guide a church's vision and practices and thus enact a potential ecclesiology of youth. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.