Tag Archives: jake kircher

the youth cartel, youth ministry, youth work

Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian Context cohort of YMCP

Leave a comment

At The Youth Cartel, our flagship program–the Youth Ministry Coaching Program–is experiencing some amazing growth. With more than 250 graduates now, we continue to refine and tweak and see massive transformation in the lives of participants and their ministries. Just the other day, a fairly recent grad who has simultaneously jumped into our Level 2 cohort and our Coaching Certification training emailed me, writing:

As I stand waiting to board my flight from Chicago home, I’m struck with an overwhelming appreciation for the Cartel. A little over a year ago I didn’t know The Youth Cartel existed and as I reflect over the past year, I can’t believe how far I’ve come-how I’ve grown in ministry, what I’ve learned, but more importantly how my life has so drastically changed from being bitter and focused on the past to future-focused and hope-filled. Thank you for the role that you and the Cartel have played in that transformation. I am forever grateful!

If you’re not familiar with YMCP, you should read this overview.

If you’re wondering about the 8 cohorts we’re currently filling, click here.

But I’m particularly pumped about the four topic-specific cohorts we’re currently looking to fill. So i’m posting about each of them, four days in  row.

Tuesday, I wrote about the new Ministry Architects cohort co-lead by April Diaz (from the Cartel) and Jeff Dunn-Rankin (VP of Coaching at Ministry Architects).

Wednesday, I wrote about the new Multi-Site Church Youth Ministry cohort I’ll be co-leading with Kurt Johnston of Saddleback Church.

Tomorrow: the THIRD (woot!) Women in Youth Ministry cohort:

And today, some info about the 2nd Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian Context cohort:

This whole-life coaching program is all about developing and equipping you as a youth worker within a Post-Christian context of ministry. How do you know if you’re in a Post-Christian context? Well, have you found traditional ministry strategies becoming less and less effective? Are you finding that it’s getting more difficult to get students to come to your church? Or that when you do, students have little to no church or Biblical context? Well, those are signs that your church or area may be Post-Christian. (You could also check out this post from Barna.)

Ministry within a Post-Christian world isn’t always easy. It’s a whole new world of ministry, which requires blazing a different trail in order to effectively reach students with the gospel. We will learn across a scope of subjects including theology, practical life realities, sociology, and issues defined by this group. Each time we meet is very intentional and structured to provide encouragement, challenge, and transformation. This cohort provides customized attention to your specific context and needs as a youth worker in a Post-Christian context.

Details

This group will launch roughly 3 – 6 months after filling. The group will collaboratively choose meeting dates. This includes:

  • Three 2-day, face-to-face meetings lead by Jake Kircher (author of Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World, and the 4-volume THINK curriculum), with either April Diaz or Marko attending the first meeting.
  • Three online meetings for 3 hours each (via Google Hangout) led by Jake Kircher, and including guest contributors.
  • Participants get seven 30-minute coaching sessions (3 in-person and 4 via phone).
  • Access to a secret Facebook group for ongoing support, connection, and interaction.
  • We’ll do a healthy amount of reading and cross-disciplinary learning, as well.
  • Cost: $2500. We will work out a payment plan with you, if needed.
  • 8-10 people will be accepted.

Some may look at the cost and discount their participation. We’ve come to believe, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” If this is something you’d benefit from, let’s find a way! At the same time, a helpful way to compare the cost is asking: What’s the cost of a job change? a divorce? a moral failure? This cohort is designed to help avoid all of those things and strengthen you as a youth worker, which will only lead to better ministry! That perspective makes $2500 well worth it! It’s one of the best investments you can make in your leadership. The learning you’ll have from the others in the group will be beyond a conference and these detailed bullet points! And you are worth the investment.

Details in summary:

Format: Hybrid cohort – 3 face-to-face meetings of 2 days each + 3 online meetings of 3 hours each. 7 individual coaching sessions (3 face-to-face and 4 phone).

Price: $2500

Coaches: Jake Kircher, with April Diaz or Marko

Launch Date: 3 – 6 months after reaching 10 participants

Location: Grace Farms, New Canaan CT (1:30 Northeast of NYC)

Interested? Questions? Email Jake Kircher at [email protected].

Ready to apply? Apply online at http://theyouthcartel.com/coaching.

books, the youth cartel, youth ministry, youth work

Why We Published This: THINK Volume 1 (Culture)

1 Comment

and finally, this is #5 in a little series explaining why The Youth Cartel chose to publish the five products we’re releasing this week. first up was gina abbas’s amazing new book, A Woman in Youth Ministry. then i wrote about jake kircher’s pot-stirring but pragmatic book, Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World. yesterday i wrote about Sam Halverson’s new book One Body: Integrating Teenagers into the Life of Your Church, a book that is 100% timely and 100% helpful. yesterday, i wrote about the most creative youth ministry resource i’ve seen in a very long time; jake bouma and erik ullestad’s Hypotherables. and today we circle back to jake kircher…

THINK Volume 1: Culture

v4on a long car ride from Open Boston to jake’s church in connecticut, he shared with me how his new england students–unique in how post-christian they are–had completely stopped responding to any sort of traditional curriculum. over time, he’d developed a different approach to teaching times–one that respects teenagers’ ability to consider and process and seek. using something closer to a socratic method held up to scripture, jake had developed lessons that were (as i saw when he sent me samples) very unique–really unlike other curriculum. they aren’t traditional “say this and have students do this” lessons. instead, they are guided discussions, fair in presenting differing opinions and thoughts (and even theologies), while seeking truth in scripture.

i could tell it was an approach that plenty of other youth workers would want to try.

as i wrote a few days ago when i introduced jake’s book Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World, i told him, on that car ride, that i thought the curriculum sounded like it had potential; but that i also felt he should write a short ‘manifesto’ type book that unpacked the theory and approach. so that’s what we did. Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World is both a complementary book to Brock Morgan’s excellent Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World (which is why we chose a similar title), and also an expanded framework and justification for what has become the THINK line of curriculum.

we’re planning on releasing four volumes of THINK, each with an umbrella theme to group the lessons. first up is THINK, volume 1: Culture.

here’s the official product description:

Today’s teenagers won’t accept merely being told information or the party line. They want to wrestle and explore—they want to be contributors and help develop their own set of beliefs. So rather than leave this process of exploration until their young adult years, a time when many of them will have left the Church, what if we purposefully came alongside our teens and helped them explore and own their beliefs while they’re still teenagers? That’s what THINK is all about.

THINK, Volume 1: Culture explores six divisive cultural topics from a biblical perspective: science versus creation, tattoos, alcohol and drugs, media, abortion, and tolerance/absolute truth. THINK is different from other curriculums because the goal is not to teach teens the correct answers. Instead, the intention is to invite your youth into a discussion with Christ, the Bible, and other people (including their peers, leaders, and parents) that will result in the best sort of spiritual wrestling match.

We can’t continue to spoon-feed our youth the answers they “need” to survive college or be a good person. Instead, we have to make the shift toward helping them own biblically informed views and opinions. THINK will deepen and personalize teens’ faith and give them the tools and resources they need to engage issues from a biblical perspective.

THINK, Volume 1: Culture includes:
• A detailed overview of how to use THINK, as well a short leader video to frame your thinking
• 6 lessons that each contain—
• A leader’s guide with a list of resources and Scripture passages you can use to prepare
• Sample emails to parents
• Social media blurbs to promote the topics with your teenagers
• Multiple options to start and end each lesson
• Thorough discussion guides with multiple questions and resources for each Scripture and subtopic
• A handout (which you can revise so it better fits your group) that will help teens continue exploring the topic on their own
• A short video that provides insights and tips for how to facilitate the discussion of each lesson

and here’s what people are saying about it:

I hate it when I read a book that I absolutely love and wish I’d written it myself. This was my experience when I read THINK, Volume 1: Culture. Not only is it full of real-world issues, but at the heart of the teaching is a thoughtfulness that meets a felt need in the lives of today’s students. I highly recommend this book and the whole THINK series. In fact, I’m ordering copies for my team, and we’re going to be using this material with our youth group!
Brock Morgan, Author of Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World

Jake Kircher has done a masterful job of exposing the weakness of a teaching model that relies solely (or primarily) on the presentation of a series of beliefs that are to be taken at face value, rather than discussed, chewed on, and argued about. Jake offers us a better alternative in the THINK curriculum. Granted, the facilitator model of teaching is often more uncomfortable and definitely not as “neat and tidy” as a more traditional style. But, as those of us who’ve been in youth ministry for many decades can attest, teenagers who haven’t been challenged to think deeply about their personal beliefs and struggle with them on some rational level probably won’t hold on to them very tightly—or for very long. THINK will help them do both!
Mark Orr, Founder and Executive Director, REACH Youth New England

THINK is a much-needed resource for working with today’s teens. It gives youth leaders direction in discussing some of the hard questions our students ask, and how to do it in a way that gets them thinking about their faith and why they believe what they believe. Teenagers are grappling to know how to live for Christ when some issues seem hard to discuss. THINK provides ideas for how to show teens what God says in His Word about these tough topics, while providing the space they need to hear Him for themselves.
Leneita Fix, Co-Founder, FrontLine Urban Resources; Coauthor of Urban LIVE Curriculum (Simply Youth Ministry)

i really encourage you to check it out. download a free sample, or buy the whole downloadable volume 1 here. this isn’t your mama’s curriculum!

books, the youth cartel, youth ministry, youth work

Why We Published This: Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World

1 Comment

uh… a week ago i posted a ‘why we published this’ about gina abbas’s amazing new book, A Woman in Youth Ministry. and i said i was going to post every day that week a “why we published this’ about one of our new resources. but then i didn’t post again. my bad. weak internet during my travels conspired with a schedule that was more full than i’d planned to result in a goose egg. so, now, i resume this li’l series with…

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World: Cultivating Exploration and Ownership

teaching teenagers in a post-christian worldlast fall, jake kircher drove me from Open Boston to his church in CT, where i spoke to teenagers, then taught a parent seminar. we had a bunch of time on the road; so when he told me he had a product idea for me to consider, i told him to take his time. jake wove a story about the need he’d discovered with his post-christian teenagers for a different approach to curriculum. as he shared what he’d developed, and why, i responded with something like,

“jake, i think this sounds great; but i think there are two separate resources in this: a curriculum line using this approach, and a short ‘manifesto’ book describing the approach in more detail than a curriculum intro allows for.”

jake considered that for a few weeks, and we were off to the races. later this week i’ll post about jake’s THINK curriculum. but here’s the manifesto–an articulate, challenging, pithy-but-practical book about a teaching approach closer to the socratic method than a propositional throw-down. i’d imagined jake’s book as a sister book to brock morgan’s exceptional book Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World, as they’re addressing some similar contextual realities. so we titled jake’s book with a ‘companion’ title to brock’s.

here’s the back cover description:

Youth workers are in a tough spot these days. On the one hand, we’re finding that teenagers who have little to no church background and Bible literacy tend to be hyper tolerant of all religious views except for Christianity. On the other hand, students who grew up in the church and have heard all of the “right answers” are still struggling to articulate their beliefs and live them out day to day.

When these two realities combine in youth ministry, they can make teaching teenagers about spiritual things an infuriating experience. It can feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall.

It’s been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So maybe it’s time we try something different when it comes to teaching theology to our students. That’s the hopeful change that Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World addresses.

As a follow-up to Brock Morgan’s exceptional Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World, this book will help you shift from being a content dispenser to a conversation cultivator. It’s time we stop treating teenagers like consumers—even when we really believe in what we’re selling. Instead, let’s create learning environments that lead to faith exploration and ownership.

and here’s what others are saying about it:

In Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World, Jake Kircher calls us to reset how we communicate the truth of Scripture to teenagers. We need to clear our memories and adapt our approach to their real world. It’s not the world many of us grew up in. Jake’s style is transparent and humble. He advocates an organic style of ministry that acknowledges and draws on the worldviews and learning styles of students. What he says should be carefully considered by youth leaders—especially those of us whose faith was nurtured in the “God said it…I believe it…that settles it” era. It’s a helpful and provocative read.
Doug Clark, Director of Field Ministries, National Network of Youth Ministries

As you read this book, you will hit bottom with Kircher and then begin to see youth ministry from a new perspective. It’s a tough perspective. You can’t just pour the essence of this book into your cup of ministry, add water, and stir. This is a call to leaders to give up all the superficialities, competitions, and idols of our present ministries and accept a radical relationship with Christ, with the intention of showing young people the difficult cost and high value of discipleship—a radical relationship with Jesus. Only this way can young people escape the limitations and bondage of a post-modern, post-Christian age. It is a self-critical approach to ministry—one in which we need to learn and determine our goals through self-reflection and out of deep relationships with youth, discovering with them what life is all about and how true, loving relationships grow. This book might be too searing and personal, a little too radical and honest for you—though I hope not; because it’s also disarmingly practical.
Dean Borgman, Charles E. Culpeper Professor of Youth Ministries, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Founder and Director, Center for Youth Studies

How refreshing to get advice from someone who’s right in the thick of the challenge of sharing faith with young people. Jake writes from the perspective of an experienced youth pastor who knows that the old methods of teaching teenagers are increasingly ineffective. The goal remains the same: for teenagers to develop a deep commitment to God that will last a lifetime. But standing up front at a youth meeting and telling teens what to believe isn’t working. Instead, Jake gives us inspiration and practical guidance to teach teenagers who are immersed in modern culture and, of course, the digital world. This is a place where having the space to explore and ask questions is a critical element of the journey to truth, and Jake’s advice will ring true to anyone wondering how to help young people find faith in a postmodern world.
Chris Curtis, CEO, Youthscape

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World is a quick but important read for far too many of us youth workers who declare we have a plan for ministering to youth, but deep down we aren’t really sure that what we’re accomplishing will last. Jake Kircher is not afraid to be honest about his youth ministry past and what he believes today.
Mike King, President, Youthfront, Author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry

I loved this book and I highly recommend it. Jake Kircher understands today’s culture and gives us wonderful insights on communicating with teenagers. This book is well researched and no doubt will give you many effective tools to speak to this generation.
Jim Burns, Ph.D., President, HomeWord; Author of Teenology and Confident Parenting

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World is a must-read for youth workers who are in the trenches. Jake Kircher has written an honest and practical book full of thoughtful and deliberate strategies for guiding teenagers’ spiritual formation in today’s very complex, post-Christian world. Kircher can do this so well because he is immersed in this paradigm shift as he ministers to teens in the Northeast. His personal accounts resonate with my own and, most likely, with those of any youth worker who is passionate about leading students into life-giving faith. My recommendation is that you buy a copy of this book for yourself—and then buy six more!
Brock Morgan, Author of Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World

Teaching is often missized in youth ministries. We either give it grandiose value, or we’re entirely too dismissive of the power of the spoken Word. Jake Kircher is clearly a gifted practitioner, and he does a skillful job of right-sizing the importance of teaching in our ministries. This work is a masterful combination of stating the inaccuracies of our theology and practices, while offering creative, practical insights for how to do it better.
April L. Diaz, Author of Redefining the Role of the Youth Worker; The Youth Cartel’s Director of Coaching

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World is an engaging and compelling journey of ministry transformation with huge kingdom implications. I enjoyed Jake’s personal, even vulnerable, approach as he moved his youth ministry to one characterized by “exploration and ownership.” My favorite chapter is chapter 5, “Why We Discourage Exploration.” We don’t mean to, of course; but we end up, as he aptly describes it, making our students listeners, not livers of the Christian faith. I love how Jake’s book is filled with fresh hope for youth ministry—and the whole church!
Len Kageler, Ph.D., Professor of Youth and Family Studies, Nyack College; Author of Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society

download a free sample and/or buy the physical book from The Youth Cartel site
buy kindle or physical copies from amazon