Youth ministry as a sub-discipline of practical theology has traditionally always had an ecclesial focus. The focus was often based on the practices of proselytisation and discipleship, a sort of ‘reach and teach’ model whereby Christian believers would do the ‘reaching and teaching’ of the ‘lost’ youth. This is most true in an evangelical context and is further undergirded by a Western concept of personal salvation nearly devoid of any communal responsibilities and context. The traditional model, therefore, (...) in evangelical churches was reaching the ‘lost’ with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the aim of personal salvation for the individual who would eventually become a member of the faith community through a discipleship programme. Thus, the beginning and end of the entire process were the focus on personal salvation devoid of any contextual consideration. Youth ministry as practical theology must move into the area of public theology to engage the practices inherited from the western model by engaging with the public (youths) as public theologians (those who influence the theologies of the youth), and the public faiths and spiritualities (the expression of the youth’s theologies) to be relevant to the majority and developing world.Contribution: In this study, the author suggests that this ‘reach and teach’ paradigm with an ecclesial focus in the context of the majority and developing world is no longer suitable to meet the needs of youth. In addition, the author recommends a more appropriate framework with youth ministry as public practical theology for consideration. (shrink)

Anyone involved in youth ministry will be able to testify to the fact that no perfect youth ministry model exists. Youth ministry models employed should consider the vision, mission and needs of the contexts in which they are to be used. Although not new, the term 'decolonise' has become a prominent part of African discourses after the 2015 and 2016 student protests at various university campuses in South Africa. A strong call to decolonise theology (...) and how we do church has been included in these calls. Students have argued against a theology and ecclesiology that is exclusively based on European and other international foundations. My challenge with all these discussions has been discerning the difference between decolonisation and contextualisation within theology. I have often wondered whether those calling for a decolonised theology are actually referring to problems connected to a theology that is not correctly contextualised. When I ask whether youth ministry models in Africa should be decolonised, I do so in the awareness that these models have brought with them both challenges and opportunities for ministry on this continent. Youth ministry models employed in Africa need to stem from the contextual situations and readings of the biblical text in which they find themselves. This article is aimed at exploring the work of Scripture Union as a mission-based youth ministry model in Africa in view of the present call to decolonise theology. (shrink)

Research on youth ministry in Africa and specifically South Africa traces its origin to much research conducted in America and Europe. Many African scholars also draw on research and practices within these international spheres. Empirical research on youth ministry in Africa is however of great importance. For this purpose, comparative analysis research provides a research methodology in the social sciences that aims to make comparisons across different countries or cultures. A major problem in comparative research is (...) that the data sets in different countries may not use the same categories, or define categories differently. This article makes use of a faith formation case study conducted in South Africa to highlight the value of this methodology when reflecting on international research from an African perspective. The main argument of this article is that international research on youth ministry is valuable in an African context but this research needs to be culturally contextualised through using comparative analysis as a research tool. This will reflect that there are many similarities between international youth ministry and the African context but there are also many cross-cultural disparities. After comparison, differences that are unique to the African context are noted. The article focuses on South Africa as a reflection of youth ministry within the broader African context. (shrink)

Since the recognition of youth as a social category, several approaches to youth ministry developed. One of the approaches, namely the inclusive congregational approach to youth ministry, will be critically reflected on in this article. The aim of this article is to indicate what the implications of this approach are for congregational ministry. It is argued that the inclusive congregational approach to youth ministry could lead to certain creative tensions in youth (...) ministry as an integral part of congregational ministry. Therefore the article identifies and discusses specific creative tensions that could be present in youth ministry where the inclusive congregational approach to youth ministry is taken as the point of departure. Creative tension is here understood as a source of creative energy that informs and guides ministry. Although the different tensions may cause uneasiness, with the spontaneous response to release them, it is argued that it should rather be kept intact in order to inform and maintain a creative process of ministry. (shrink)

Resumen El artículo se sitúa ante los nuevos contextos que los jóvenes viven en América Latina, especialmente, considerando las estructuras de corrupción ante lo cual los jóvenes son más vulnerables por su condición de búsqueda de espacios de desarrollo y crecimiento social. Esta situación, plantea nuevos retos para la Pastoral Juvenil latinoamericana teniendo en cuenta que la misma institución eclesial no ha estado ajena a situaciones de corrupción. A través de un análisis documental, desde las Escrituras, pasando por cuatro de (...) las Conferencias Episcopales Latinoamericanas, el artículo pretende desarrollar la tensión entre jóvenes, sociedad y pastoral juvenil, para finalmente presentar una propuesta que se fundamenta en un proceso juvenil de cinco décadas que transita desde una pastoral liberadora a una pastoral regeneradora, donde los sujetos jóvenes rotos buscan renacer en nuestra América Latina.s The article is set against the new contexts that young people live in Latin America, especially considering the structures of corruption lo which young people are more vulnerable because oj their search for spaces of development and social growth. This situation poses new challenges for Latin American Youth Ministry bearing in mind that the Church institution itself has not been unaware of situations of corruption. Through a documentary analysis, from the Scriptures, through four of the Latin American Episcopal Conferences, the article aims to develop the tension between young people, socieíy and youth pastoral, lo finally present a proposal thal is based on a youth process of five decades that It goes from a liberating pastoral to a regenerative pasloral, where the broken young subjects seek to be reborn in our Latin America. (shrink)

It is readily apparent to anyone ministering to Australian adolescents in the early twenty-first century that their efforts take place against the backdrop of a general decline in belief and practice among Catholics, and among young Catholics in particular. Rather than simply join the chorus of lament at the decline of young people's belief and participation in the life of the church, this article seeks to understand better the present 'face' or 'faces' of youth ministry by considering the (...) historical relationship between secularity and the church's pastoral activity with young Australians. (shrink)

This article continues an historical overview of Australian Catholic youth ministry begun in the previous issue of the 'Australasian Catholic Record'.

Discipleship is a responsibility of the Church. It is an outlet in which the regeneration of Church leadership to the younger generation is conducted. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, discipleship and mentoring of youth leaders, especially key persons of GKII (Gereja Kemah Injil Indonesia) youth were provided by means of in-person activities. During the pandemic, digital media has been utilised for various church activities, including mentoring these key persons. Hence, this research intends to explore: (1) the method by which (...) key persons practise digital discipleship and (2) the benefits of digital media in youth discipleship to facilitate faith growth. This research is a qualitative research. Data were collected by means of interviews and observations on several key persons’ digital media accounts. The research shows that social media significantly benefits the discipleship process. It was found that digital discipleship was quite often carried out during the pandemic, especially in urban areas, with WhatsApp and Zoom meetings as its two primary means. However, it slightly declined along with the lifting of social gathering restrictions. The main themes explored in the mentoring sessions were discipleship, soteriology, spiritual life, motivational and digital media materials, and youth ministry in the digital era. The discipleship practice used was the NM-SM (Nurtured, Matured, Served, Mission) pattern.Contribution: The results of this research contribute to the development of knowledge, especially in the field of youth discipleship, and digital media-based discipleship. This research also shows that digital media has become an effective theological space during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. (shrink)

Church youth work is the activities and programs organized by churches for young people. These activities aim to contribute to the religious, spiritual and social development of young people. Church youth work brings young people together and supports them in areas such as religious education, spiritual development, community service, leadership development and active participation in the religious community. It is seen that youth work, which was previously a part of family work, has been organized as a different (...) field of work over time. Churches carry out activities in this field through an organizational structure called youth ministry. Churches generally have a certain systematic and work program in their youth work. Most churches organize their youth programs according to the relevant educational levels. Churches tend to create smaller sub-groups within the youth program and divide young people by grade level. These divisions are usually at the middle and high school level, but youth groups extend to university students and are often referred to as "college and career". Higher education seems to be emphasized in youth work. Many theological faculties offer different postgraduate programs to meet various needs. The quality of youth work is largely determined by the academic studies conducted in this field. Practical theology, which is established as an academic discipline in faculties of theology, both provides the theoretical background that shapes the practice of these studies and provides training to train qualified personnel in the field. The approach to youth ministry can vary, taking into account the different views on the subject, the places where this ministry is provided and the characteristics of people. There are different paradigms in church youth work, especially for young people living in cities. These are called traditional, liberal, activist and prophet-centered youth paradigms. Another pillar of church youth work is spiritual counseling services. Recently, churches have started to employ professional spiritual counselors. Spiritual counseling, a concept that emphasizes the Christian cultural origins of counseling, is now included in youth work. Spiritual counseling is seen as a professional guidance fed by religious and spiritual sources. Church spiritual counselors listen to the problems faced by young people, support them and try to understand them. Spiritual counselors provide guidance based on religious teachings and values to support the personal development of young people. Spiritual counseling conducted by churches can take various forms. These include individual counseling, group counseling, family counseling, online counseling, retreats and workshops. The personnel who carry out the youth work of the churches are also called youth leaders. Accordingly, it is seen that various leadership models in the literature are discussed in this context. Some leadership models that are thought to inspire youth work are: Servant leadership, ethical leadership, spiritual leadership and transformational leadership. In this research, these leadership models are discussed in the context of church youth work. This research aims to reveal the basic approaches and principles in this field by focusing on the studies in the context of non-formal religious education in Catholic Churches. Although it varies from region to region or from church to church, the main problem of this study is to examine the youth work of the Catholic Church in the context of non-formal religious education in general. The research data were obtained through document analysis method. On this occasion, it is thought that this study will also be useful in the context of a comparative evaluation of non-formal religious education in our country. (shrink)

Holistic service for youth and youth is the basic thing today because youth and youth are the present generation for the future of the church. By using descriptive qualitative methods, it can be concluded that the holistic ministry for youth and youth carried out by church leaders is able to build today's generation that continues to have an impact on the world and is also expected to bring Christian education that has one clear (...) and definite goal/direction, namely knowing, loving, believe in, obey and serve God according to His will and plan and for His glory. (shrink)

Esse artigo espera contribuir para a compreensão da relação entre a religião e a política. Por meio da análise tipológica e do recurso metodológico da história oral temática elaboramos o seu ambiente teórico. Estudamos os jovens inseridos na Pastoral da Juventude do Meio Popular entre meados das décadas de 1980 e 1990, na região industrial de Belo Horizonte – Brasil. Estes jovens são representantes do grande movimento religioso conhecido como cristianismo da libertação de larga e profunda repercussão na história política (...) e religiosa da república brasileira da segunda metade do século XX. Nossa compreensão situa-se na passagem do catolicismo tradicional para o catolicismo internalizado experimentado por esses jovens e suas famílias no processo de migração das áreas rurais para a jovem área urbana. Vale dizer que os fragmentos de entrevistas citadas foram realizadas por nós para a pesquisa que deu vaga a esse artigo. Palavras-chaves : Juventude. Religião e política. Esquerda católica brasileira. CatolicismoThis article aims to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between religion and politics. The theoretical environment of this research has been prepared by analyzing typological and methodological resource of oral history. For this purpose, we studied the young participants of the Youth Ministry of the "lower middle class" between the mid 1980s and 1990 in the industrial region of Belo Horizonte - Brazil. These young people represent a religious movement known as liberation Christianity, with profound repercussions in the political and religious history of the Brazilian republic of the second half of the twentieth century. The scope of this study lies in the transition from traditional Catholicism to the form of Catholicism internalized and experienced by these young people and their families in the process of migration from rural to urban areas. The fragments of interviews cited were conducted for research that allowed this article. Keywords : Youth. Religion and politics. Brazilian Catholic left. Catholicism. (shrink)

There has been an increase of discussion and focus on matters of theological significance in the area of youth ministry. An area that remains neglected concerns the professional youth worker in Southern Africa. This focus on professional youth work has gained a great amount of urgency from the office of the presidency of Southern Africa, who in collaboration with the Commonwealth desk have prioritised the focus on youth work in South Africa. Unfortunately, the focus on (...) the professional youth worker, the career youth pastor, within the church in Southern Africa fails to receive a similar amount of attention. The article will highlight the need to pursue a theological articulation around the office of the career youth pastor by building a practical theological argument for the office of career youth pastor. The article will address a case study of a mainline evangelical denomination regarding its theological articulation of the career youth pastor. (shrink)

A range of studies have pointed toward an overall decline in a series of measures of religious affiliation amongst a variety of groups. The most imperilled group, perhaps, are those younger people who display strong religious salience. Religious salience is understood here as the formative and ongoing influence of religion on beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of adherents. Strong religious salience is associated with high levels of commitment and self-identification and association with a religious community. An important study that distils much (...) of the recent work on religion and younger Catholics was conducted by Christian Smith and his colleagues.4 While noting that minimal expressions of religious affiliation remain more stable amongst Catholics, what are imperilled, in particular, are expressions of strong salience.5 In their study Smith and his colleagues gave the example of a fictional character, Marinella, who encapsulates the type of younger Catholic who does express high salience but is increasingly difficult to find. Marinella practises her faith consistently; for example, she attends Mass regularly and is able to articulate church doctrine and differentiate Catholicism from other religions. She believes most of what the church teaches and is involved in some form of church ministry. After gathering data from a survey of a representative sample of younger Catholics, Smith and others sought to strengthen their analysis by interviewing randomly selected participants from the wider group. In the interviews Smith and his colleagues were unable to identify any participant who approximated the Marinella typology. (shrink)

Urban youth marginalisation became a key consideration in scholarly and policy literature in the 1990s. This entailed a shift from an emphasis on youth in relation to activism in the struggle to overcome colonial racism - popularly known as 'the struggle against apartheid' - to an emphasis on youth as the object of social inquiry and social welfare programmes. Irrespective of how we evaluate this shift, the question in this article is how urban faith communities and (...) class='Hi'>youth ministry research are to respond to the agency of youth as dialogue partners - with a focus on social cohesion. This article explores this shift in scholarship on urban youth movements, especially for the period since 1994. It draws from the perspectives of my recent doctoral studies in constructing a creative dialogue with youth movements. The ultimate aim of this article is to provide a grounded basis for constructing a methodology for a postcolonial urban theology. In addition, it aims to inform the ongoing Youth at the Margins comparative study on the contribution of faith-based organisations to social cohesion in South Africa and Nordic Europe, with the Riverlea community, in Johannesburg, as one of the case studies. (shrink)

Young people everywhere seem to experience religion in their everyday living environments. They do theology. The question is how faith communities and theologians can nurture a creative and sensitive dialogue with these young people? More so, can we as researchers learn from each other across disciplines and geographic distances and how could the result of comparative dialogical research be relevant for youth ministry work and teaching? This contribution focuses on the value and prospects of comparative youth research (...) on the everyday life of these young people for academic theologians. While it takes the approach of Meredith McGuire as a starting point as she challenges dominant Western approaches to the study of religion, yet this contribution also aims to maintain theological perspective, as I seek to find connections. (shrink)

This paper aims to assess selected municipalities’ performance of citizen-centric investment planning, governance and transparency, financial management, and support for youth programming in Kosovo. In completing this assessment, the Municipal Performance Management System of the Ministry of Local Government Administration in Kosovo was utilized. Selected municipalities are based on the Municipal Performance Report of 2019. Eight from Albanian majority municipalities in the top ranking, and two municipalities with higher scores from minority municipalities. The paper aims to highlight three (...) critical local government issues in ten selected municipalities: 1) The way of governing municipalities assessed according to the applicable legislation and 2) The provision of services in terms of quantity and quality, when possible and 3) Youth-oriented capacity building for municipal staff for better youth services. The paper will produce findings on capacity building needs and support needed on youth and citizen-centric investment and capacity building needs. A non-exhaustive list of needed capacities is produced, while the findings from the evaluation will be used to develop a capacity-building manual for municipal staff on youth-oriented municipal services. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Benedict XVI, A Life: Volume 1, Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965 by Peter SeewaldEmil AntonBenedict XVI, A Life: Volume 1, Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965 by Peter Seewald, translated by Dinah Livingstone (London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2020), xi + 500 pp.What better way to spend Pope Benedict XVI's ninety-fourth birthday than by reviewing a Ratzinger biography while (...) having Apfelstrudel and some traditional Bavarian beer?German journalist and author Peter Seewald, who in his many interviews has asked Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI a total of two thousand or more questions (ix), has written a splendid biography that surprises even someone who has already read dozens of books by and about Benedict XVI. Written in an extremely enjoyable style and divided into chapters of just the perfect length, this page-turner deserves the highest praise. It will likely take its place alongside George Weigel's famous (and equally massive) biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope.The German biography has been divided into two volumes in English (vol. 2 was just published in November of 2021). Volume 1 deals with the years 1927–1965, dominated by two historic "Twos": World War II and Vatican II. Theologically, this is the period of the progressive Ratzinger (regardless of whether he "converted" to a more conservative stance later on), or as Seewald puts it, a man formed by "liberal Bavarian Catholicism" (124).Seewald provides lots of new and interesting information about Joseph Ratzinger, both bitter and sweet. One example from the early chapters concerns the origins of Ratzinger's mother. It turns out that she was an illegitimate child and not actually from South Tyrol, contrary to what her children had thought. A local historian has discovered that Ratzinger's mother Maria was actually born in Mühlbach "in the district of Rosenheim,... in a house that specialized in helping unmarried pregnant women to give birth" (15).For the romantic, the sweetest story of the book comes when Seewald [End Page 963] pushes the reserved Pope Emeritus to reveal more about the "painful decisions" that the young Munich seminarian had to make in relation to his vocation as a celibate priest. "'Were you in love with a girl?' 'Perhaps.' 'So, yes?' 'It could be interpreted like that.' 'How long did this passionate time last? A few weeks? A few months?' 'Longer'" (219). Ratzinger was in love! Or at least it could be interpreted like that! Other heart-warming details include the revelation that Ratzinger's childhood teddy from Marktl followed him all the way to the Apostolic Palace, as well as the fact that, when his blind brother Georg (now deceased) needed a housekeeper, Benedict XVI personally organized the job interview in the Vatican gardens.A darker episode, minimized in Ratzinger's autobiographical memoirs, concerns his role in the radar crew of the German anti-aircraft forces in World War II. The future Pope was entrusted with the task of targeting British bombers. Seewald fills in the narrative: "Ratzinger delivered readings for three guns,.... The more precisely Joseph measured, the higher the hit rate. As the war demanded" (101). Years later, Ratzinger confessed that these experiences still occasionally gave him sweaty nightmares.Seewald goes on to describe the exceptional postwar context in which Ratzinger prepared for the priesthood. The future priests knew that they would soon have to hear confessions of ex-Nazis who had shot people in the war (153). Indeed, after the war, many old Nazis turned to the Church and attempted to get de-Nazification certificates. Ratzinger's parish priest even joked that one day "they will say the only Nazis were the priests" (131).As did everyone, Ratzinger also felt the effects of poverty in postwar Germany. Whenever a festive dinner had to be given for a visitor at the seminary, "we went hungry on the most meagre rations for four long weeks in order to gather the ingredients" (189). After a short period of pastoral ministry subsequent to his ordination, the stellar theologian went back to the seminary as a teacher. Barely twenty-five-years-old, he was younger... (shrink)

However distorted and dysfunctional, gangs satisfy the hunger for honor among adolescents. Churches that take ministry with youth seriously will seek to enable them to express their need for honor, group belonging, and hope in life-affirming ways.

Sexuality education is fundamental in higher and tertiary education institutions (HTEIs). Evidence suggests that its effective education is through translations into the first language of learners. However, in global and multilingual cultural communities such as HTEIs, the foundations for these translations are still a researchable area. Notably, in HTEIs adolescents, young adults and adults co-exist and therefore, any translations must be toned to balance across these groups. The aim of this study was to establish strategies that could enable sexuality educators (...) to effectively transfer information that is steeped in indigenous language, religious and cultural meaning without precipitating stigma and taboo issues. The study setting was the National University of Science and Technology where a cross section of indigenous cultures, languages and religions co-existed with other global cultures. A University Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology was administered by the researchers using a Delphi research approach to students and staff. Multilingual, multilayered, multireligious, and multicultural nature of the setting presented serious challenges that compromised the prevention of stigma and taboo issues when dealing with sexuality education. We recommend that the strategy to present sexuality education in indigenous languages to the generality of HTEIs population should, in the first instance, involve systematic identification of appropriate interventions that are religious, cultural, and language-specific. Contribution: This research reveals paramount ethical and religious violations that have a potential to precipitate opportunistic sexual relationships that may lead to impediments in capacity building for learners. This research can be utilised by academics on the field of Practical Theology, specifically youth ministry and pastoral care. (shrink)

Access to students’ perspectives on substance abuse is essential for effective youth intervention projects development. This study aimed to explore students’ perspectives on abuse of drugs and alcohol with probable development of student-led intervention strategies. The study was conducted at public universities in Zambia. Student’s perspectives on drugs and alcohol abuse were documented using a mixed method design that employed purposive and snowball sampling to select 200 respondents to questionnaires and 10 to in-depth interviews. A humanistic theory approach was (...) applied in the interpretation and analysis of the data collected. The findings showed that cannabis (30%) and codeine contained in Benylin (17%) were commonly abused. Further findings showed that students’ academic pressure was the leading cause of substance abuse (27%), followed by peer pressure (20%). Students knew that abuse of drugs and alcohol led to low academic performance, violence and theft, risks of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and other social maladjustments. The study recommends that institutions of learning increase student-led awareness campaigns, security surveillance on campus, and collaboration with government drug enforcement agencies. Institutions of learning should involve students in the planning of programmes to deal with drug and alcohol abuse. Contribution: The study will inform amendment of drug and alcohol abuse policies in institutions of learning. The study will contribute towards the UNESCO O3 PLUS project goal of making campuses safe and inclusive, and overall, the Sustainable Development Goal 3 and 4. The study serves as basis for scholars in the field of biblical theology engaged with justice, health and human development. The article is a contribution to the research project Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics. The results of this research can especially be utilised by scholars in the field of psychology of religion, the sociology of religion and practical theologians focusing on youth ministry. (shrink)

The ministerial needs of Afrikaans-speaking university students in South Africa. This article is the result of an empirical study conducted in the student congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church, the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa and the Reformed Church in South Africa. The study has been done to answer the question: What are the miniserial needs of Afrikaans-speaking university students in South Africa? The research problem that necessitates this study is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ministerial needs (...) of Afrikaans-speaking university student members of the Reformed student congregations in South Africa. Recent research on student ministry to support student ministers and congregations in the South African context is scant. The research question is formulated to determine the ministerial needs of university students and the implications those needs have for ministry to university students. The goal of the research is to identify the ministerial needs of university students in South Africa and to empower the student congregations to minister to these students more effectively. From the research, three primary ministry needs have been identified: (1) the need for faith formation; (2) the need for mentoring; and (3) the need for a faith community.Contribution: The contribution of this article is original empirical research on the ministerial needs of Afrikaans-speaking university students in South Africa. The research contributes to the current void in South African research on student ministry. (shrink)

The traditional ideological and political education should keep pace with the times, and the physical and health education should highlight its value, and must combine the two. This study investigated on the integration path of mental health education and college students’ ideological and political education. A stratified random sampling was conducted on 2021 students of a higher vocational college. The subjects were divided into the control group and the experimental group. The experimental group was given the integrated intervention course of (...) mental health education and ideological and political education of college students, and the control group was given routine teaching. The depression score of the experimental group is significantly lower than that of the control group, and the mental health quality score is higher than that of the control group. Contribution: The integration of mental health education and college students’ Ideological and political education can effectively improve the level of college students’ mental health. This course constantly improves the students’ subjective consciousness, subjective ability and subjective personality, and fully reflects the educational effect of the ideological and political education of college students’ mental health course. This research provides data which could be utilised by academics in the field of practical theology, especially youth ministry and religious educational studies. (shrink)

This study aims to explore the promoting effect of the combination of mental health education and ideological and political education for college students on improving their comprehensive psychological quality and ideological and political theoretical level. The research adopts a combination of system analysis methods, experimental methods and clustering algorithms, and conducts course experiments through experimental methods, providing basic data. In the process of the experiment, from the perspective of educational psychology theory, the systematic analysis method is used to distinguish subject (...) and object, and functional analysis is carried out. At the same time, clustering algorithms are used to classify the mental health problems of different students. The research results indicate that in terms of subjectivity, teachers’ psychological communication ability, psychological understanding ability and psychological guidance ability have a significant positive impact on students’ psychological state. The level of ideological and political theory and psychological strain ability also have a significant positive impact on students’ psychological state. Intervention on students’ values and personality psychological issues is also effective. These findings provide an important basis and guidance for further carrying out higher education reform. Contribution: With the development of society, students need to face more and more external concepts during their growth. Students whose mental growth is not mature are likely to have certain psychological problems in this process. This research can be utilised by scholars in the field of youth ministry and religious educational studies. (shrink)

Tough Choices: Bringing Moral Issues Home is a unique resource for use in Catholic high schools and parish religious education or youth ministry programs. It provides concrete ways for teenagers to learn about, apply, and make choices involving a number of current and practical moral issues. However, the real uniqueness of the material is that it suggests ways for these dilemmas to be shared and discussed between the teens and their parents. How so?

O objetivo deste artigo é manter viva a memória e o compromisso proposto pelos Estudos da CNBB 44 – Pastoral da Juventude no Brasil, fazendo uma atualização das tarefas que foram cumpridas e outras, que 30 anos depois ainda estão inacabadas. A história não se repete. Ela evolui. O importante é que o jovem aprenda a viver com imensa alegria e vontade todos os momentos oferecidos, celebrando cada conquista, cada vitória e também cada tropeço e derrota. 30 anos depois dos (...) Estudos da CNBB 44 – Pastoral da Juventude no Brasil, continua atual em muitos aspectos, o principal deles: a profecia. A PJ é a maior escola de formação de profetas e profetisas do Reino que a Igreja possui. E disso ela não pode abrir mão. (shrink)

Bishop Paul Verryn is a South African Methodist Church liberation theologian known for his concern for human rights and human dignity. In this article, I acknowledge his response to children and youth migrants in practical theology, general mission studies and pastoral care. I conceptualise Bishop Verryn’s response towards Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) and explore how he weaves pastoral care into the mission of the church. The study from which this article draws followed an exploratory design. Data were collected through (...) structured in-depth interviews, informal conversations with Bishop Verryn and observations. Written from a contextual theology perspective, the findings indicate that Bishop Verryn’s pastoral care approach towards URMs is worthy to be developed and recognised as a form of pastoral care and mission work for the broader church’s pastoral ministry towards URMs in Africa and abroad. (shrink)

The European Union policy is geared towards fostering the diversity of cultural expression in its member states. Globalisation, cosmopolitanism and increasing mobility of the population have been destroying the fundamental values of nation-based states. The preservation of the ethnicity of the nation is becoming an increasing challenge. In Lithuania, where ethnicity has deep roots, many prominent representatives of the Lithuanian national revival, cultural figures, philosophers and pedagogues have emphasised the importance of national culture and the development of national identity in (...) the educational space in order to preserve the foundations of the state and its future sovereignty. This is, therefore, becoming an important educational challenge. In 2009, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania adopted the “Strategy for the Development of Ethnic Culture in Educational Institutions”, which was specified in the action program in 2012. However, the modelling of civic education, especially the practical implementation process, faces challenges in the area of education, one of which is the lack of proper attention from participants in education and media. The empirical research reveals that the interest of Lithuanian youth in the history of the national and ethnic culture remains low. This shows that when implementing reforms in the country’s education system, it is appropriate to impart fundamental provisions of citizenship and nationality to the young generation in a consistent and attractive manner. The aim of the article is to present the expression of citizenship and nationality in the educational space of Lithuania and to provide guidelines for improvement of civic education based on research. (shrink)

Obstacles in dealing with child sexual abuse can hinder survivors in the process of coming to terms with their experiences. The present study aims to identify and analyze factors that may pose obstacles in the long-term process of dealing with CSA. It is part of a larger research consortium “Auf-Wirkung,” funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and was conducted in cooperation with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany. The IICSAG was appointed by (...) the Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth in 2016. To determine responsibilities, recognize injustice, and further acknowledge the survivors of CSA in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the Independent Inquiry has held 1,303 private sessions with survivors of CSA by Oct. 17th, 2020. The present study focuses on exploring reoccurring problematic experiences reported by survivors in private sessions regarding the long-term process of dealing with experiences of CSA. A total of 30 transcripts of private sessions, conducted by members and appointees of the IICSAG between September 2016 and June 2019, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Attendants of private sessions described a variety of obstacles, including negative social reactions to disclosure, institutions' unwillingness to elucidate occurrences of CSA within their midst, as well as general financial difficulties, and those linked to redress claims. Manipulative grooming by perpetrators and limited access to adequate psychotherapy were perceived as obstructive by survivors dealing with CSA. In the context of criminal proceedings, survivors reported long durations of court proceedings and negative experiences in connection to credibility assessment. Results will be discussed to better support survivors of CSA in the process of dealing with their experiences in the future. (shrink)

How can churches empower children-at-risk as ‘vulnerable agents of God’s mission,’ while also protecting them from potential risks for manipulation, exploitation, or spiritual abuse? What is ‘appropriate participation’? What types of manipulation, exploitation, or spiritual abuse might occur in this participation? This essay seeks to define ‘appropriate participation’ in the church and mission, drawing substantially from Hart’s ladder of participation to analyze the participation of children-at-risk as agents of mission. With this as a foundation, spiritual abuse is defined, and a (...) discussion of how this might happen within the realm of child participation in the ministry of the church and mission is presented. Finally, it presents principles and guidelines that the church should consider as they seek to protect children and youth from potential abuse during the process of participating in God’s mission. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Evangelical Peacemakers: Gospel Engagement in a War-Torn World ed. by David P. GusheeLisa Sowle CahillEvangelical Peacemakers: Gospel Engagement in a War-Torn World Edited by David P. Gushee EUGENE, OR: WIPF AND STOCK, 2013. 135 PP. $21.00This short volume collects papers from a 2012 Evangelicals for Peace conference at Georgetown University. This should not mislead potential readers as to the book's timeliness, coherence, significance, or ecumenical and interreligious appeal. (...) Much of its incisive analysis owes to the editor's preface, introductory chapter, and concluding critical discussion of the positions represented, including his own.Four chapters lay out the Christian arguments for just war, biblical pacifism, and the late Glen Stassen's "just peacemaking theory," presenting ten practices to deter or transform violent conflict. Although Gushee's chapter would have to be placed among just war theorists, he stresses that war must be a last resort to defend innocent life, carried out with the least violence possible. Gushee appreciates the paradox of expressing love through acts of violence. Lisa Sharon Harper insists this goes beyond paradox to outright denial of the redemption Jesus brings, failing to honor the image of God in all persons. Following Anglican theologian Oliver O'Donovan, Erik Patterson sees publicly authorized force to protect society as a positive Christian duty. Striving to unite these two sides in practice, Stassen derives alternative, nonviolent strategies from the Sermon on the Mount to transform conflict at the local, national, regional, and international levels.But are such efforts successful? Can and do Christian peacemakers actually bring about significant societal and political change? Twelve further chapters offer experience-based evidence from Evangelical organizations and ministries that the answer is yes. Authors describe initiatives at home and abroad, giving special attention to Christian–Muslim outreach and understanding. Examples range from Evangelical pastors and churches welcoming Muslims and mosques; to educational ventures in Pakistani madrassas; to organizing Afghan youth as "peace volunteers"; to conflict mediation in Egypt and Indonesia; and the memoir of a Lockerbie bombing victim's sister, who went personally to reconcile with Muammar Gaddafi. Sojourners editor Jim Wallis gives plenty of illustrations of the power in the United States of massive civil disobedience and efforts to pressure Congress or the president through letter and phone campaigns, protests, media attention, and high-level advocacy. Christian political resistance and mobilization can no longer be dismissed as utopian, naïve, or marginal. In many cases, it works.Gushee honestly and acutely articulates why pacifism and just war have had longstanding places in Christian political ethics, and why their adherents are [End Page 206] not easily reconciled. First, Jesus was nonviolent, and even those who construe rare and restrained violence as a form of neighbor love cannot deny that Jesus himself never expressed love in this way (121). Second, although Jesus calls disciples to participate in God's reign, that reign is but "eschatologically" present in a fallen world (119). Violence-transforming practices do not always work (125). Reconciling love may define kingdom discipleship, but when do we gauge love-in-action by the "present" reality of the kingdom, and when by the "not yet"? Third, according to Gushee, there is a difference (not separation) between church and government. This yields the conundrum that although their roles are different, Christians participate in both spheres, responsible not only for the peacemaking activities of the church but also for their social effects and for building just structures (5–6).Gushee does not claim to resolve these paradoxes. The collection underscores a more urgent challenge: to embody and expand Evangelical peacemaking as an integral dimension of discipleship and a powerful form of real-world politics. This book furthers theological-ethical analysis while leading scholars, students, and congregations to become active agents of change.Lisa Sowle CahillBoston CollegeCopyright © 2017 Society of Christian Ethics... (shrink)

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has posed different kinds of challenges to society and churches over the past months. With various ‘normal ministry practices’ not permitted under lockdown regulations, as well as people starting to fear the effect of coronavirus disease 2019, a sense of crisis can easily prevail. However, a small congregation in Bloemfontein, South Africa, responded by engaging their children and teenagers through reflection, content and outreach. Various methods, including virtual and face to face, were utilised to minister to (...) and with children and teenagers. This response can now be analysed to find answers to the following questions: How did the pandemic influence specific methods chosen for faith formation? What made it different from ‘ministry as usual’? What role did the Bible play in the methods and content used? Within the framework of the qualitative research, reflective practice from a hermeneutic perspective was utilised as theoretical approach to analyse the response of the pastors and Sunday school teachers. Reflection occurs on three levels, namely, technical, practical and critical. A literature study was also conducted on the influence of a pandemic on faith formation. Recommendations were made regarding different ways to engage with children and teenagers and involving them in ministry.Contribution: This research contributes to knowledge as to how and why pastors and congregations react the way they do in a pandemic and how this impacts upon faith formation among children and youth in the faith community. (shrink)

National unity is important in Kenya, since ethnic divisions have sometimes become deadly. The imposed Coalition government and the recent new Constitution in 2010 were attempts to overcome division. But cultural divisions among the generations are just as much of a challenge as ethnic divisions, as the youth sometimes sideline the practices and worldviews of their elders, leaving people to wonder what binds people to each other as Kenyans? The idea of “national culture” has its pitfalls, bit seems necessary (...) nevertheless, as explained by Frantz Fanon, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Okot ‘Bitek, and H. Odera Oruka. This article explores how ideas of “Kenyanness” have developed since Kenyan independence and the rejection of colonized mentality and education. Odera Oruka’s advocacy of “Sage Philosophy” as a project to pull Kenyans together, and more recent academics’ attempts to encourage civic education by articulating core Kenyan values are explored in depth. These scholarly and artistic efforts at describing or encouraging common identity are contrasted to efforts by the Ministry of Culture to construct (and “sell”) Kenya culture to tourists as a commodity. (shrink)

Today, in Ukraine, the issue of religious education remains not less but rather even more debatable and relevant than in the period of 2005, when the order No. 437 "On the study of optional courses on ethics of religion and religious studies in schools" and further regulatory documents were issued, aimed at creating conditions for the all-Ukrainian introduction of subjects of spiritual and moral orientation in general educational institutions. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and (...) Sport of Ukraine, in the 2011/2012 school year, about 40% of schools are covered by the teaching process of the relevant subjects. However, a few important issues remain, the solution of which is urgent in order to further improve the situation in educational and educational progress of state initiatives. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 20 (2000) 71-84 [Access article in PDF] Christian Views on Ritual Practice Society and Sacrament: The Anglican Left and Sacramental Socialism, Ritual as Ethics Nicholas GrovesLoyola University Introduction August in New York City is frequently a time of intense heat, where the congestion of city living kindles tempers to the breaking point. This is true in a special way in the tenements of the city, where people (...) without air-conditioning take raw anger and frustration into the streets. It was in this environment, in the tenements of the Lower East Side, that gang violence erupted in August of 1959. At least two young people were shot in gang-related "rumbles" and retaliation. Blacks and Puerto Ricans, already scrambling for the few available jobs society provided for them, squared off against each other. Police and the city of New York vowed more punishment, more arrests. (At this same time, Leonard Bernstein portrayed these struggles in terms of the love of Tony and Maria, but in "real life" it was "East Side Story" as much as "West Side Story.")In response to renewed war among his youth, the Episcopal priest, Fr. Kilmer Myers of St. Augustine's Chapel (now St. Augustine's Parish) also took to the streets. Canceling the church's usual patronal festival and carnival, he led his people in a procession through the streets of his neighborhood, with clergy clad in the solemn vestments of the Eucharist, with banners, incense, and hymns. His purpose: to pray and to plead that the killing stop, and that the authorities see the agony of the young who had abandoned an almost three-year "truce" he had helped work out with youth leaders between rival gangs.Myers wrote later in his book, Light the Dark Streets (Greenwich, Conn.: Seabury Press, 1957) about his ministry at St. Augustine's. In contrast to a city government and police department intent on further punishment as a solution to gang problems, Fr. Myers posed the presence of people who lived and worked with the young people and a community in desperate need: A parish such as this... so filled with darkness, defeat... and a longing for victory.... We think of next year and the year after that. We are not sure that we have the strength or that we can ask for it. The shouts in the street become an unending shout. The angry cry mingles with music from the tenement.... [End Page 71] There is the scream of the police siren. Will it stop in the block? There is the uncertainty at each youth affair. Will someone be shot or stabbed? (p. 96) In 1981, Bishop Desmond Tutu challenged the government of South Africa to abandon its policy of apartheid, a challenge he and others later won. But at that point, with any kind of victory far from certain, he confronted his opponents with words about his own spiritual commitment: I want to say that there is nothing the government can do to me that will stop me from being involved in what I believe is what God wants me to do. I do not do it because I like doing it. I do it because I am under what I believe to be the influence of God's hand. I cannot help it when I see injustice. I cannot keep quiet. I will not keep quiet, for as Jeremiah says, when I try to keep quiet, God's word burns like a fire in my breast. But what is it that they can ultimately do? The most awful thing that they can do is to kill me, and death is not the worst thing that can happen to a Christian. (Quoted in S. DuBoulay, Tutu: Voice of the Voiceless [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988], pp. 174-175.) How does ritual involve ethics? I would like to present for your consideration one example of such an intersection: the witness of what some have called the "Anglican Left" in both Britain and the United States, or what the historian Peter Jones has named "sacramental socialism... (shrink)

The author traces some forms of underground anti-Soviet activities of students of the Lviv Polytechnic Institute, currently the National University 'Lviv Politekhnika'. The rest of Lviv higher education establishments were also engaged in such activities. The research is based on scientific studies, recollections, archive materials and records of the Ukrainian Rebel Army, which cover the period of 1944-1953. The paper is timed to the bicentenary of the Lviv Politekhnika foundation and aims to demonstrate fortitude of Ukrainian spirit of young people (...) who sought after their independent Ukrainian state. A list of Politekhnika students is given, who displayed their bravery in individual anti-Soviet actions, as well as some underground independent student organizations and representatives of the national underground which considered youth development its priority since 1948 are indicated. Anti-Soviet activities of the student milieu included the making of politically focused leaflets and their distribution among city-folk and at higher education establishments. Despite a small time of underground activities because of frequent arrests, Lviv students continued their work up to 1953. All detected members of clandestine organizations were sentenced by the Military Tribunal of the Ministry for State Security to the terms of 10 - 25 years in correctional labor camps of the GULAG. Some of the released returned to their native land and managed to get across their viewpoint and motivation of their actions over the above period to new generations. (shrink)

Throughout the history of Christianity, children have often been overlooked in the life of the Church. Since its beginning, the Church of the Nazarene International has gone through a journey from ignoring the value of children, to ministry engaged in permanent advocating on behalf of children and youth. As a Christian, Holiness, and Missional people, Nazarenes around the world have developed their perspective on children and youth through the establishment of specific ministries that include children and (...) class='Hi'>youth in their core values, and by emphasis on intergenerational connections and making historical changes to their procedures manual. All of this has been critical to the meaningful inclusion of children in the active life of the church. Today the Church of the Nazarene together with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries are actively advocating and educating new generations of pastors and leaders to better understand the importance of children and youth in the life of the church. (shrink)

Religious education and religious services practices that emerged as spiritual/religious support and guidance in the context of social work in Turkey are carried out with the protocols between Presidency of Religious Affairs ( DIB) and Ministry of Health, Justice, Ministry Family and Social Services, Youth and Sports, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. This research is on the self-efficacy perceptions of religious officials assigned in various social work areas of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Researching (...) the self-efficacy perceptions of religious officials is important in terms of revealing that it is necessary to work in a wide area from making identifications about their professional development to developing religious education and services training programs that will meet the needs of the target group. Qualitative research method has been used in this study. The research has been structured within the framework of interviews with religious officials assigned to provide religious education and service in the service areas of the Ministry of Family and Social Services in Kırıkkale province. The data obtained from religious officials working in the field with semi-structured interview questions are evaluated in two themes: The self-efficacy perceptions of officials and needs of the target audience. The main conclusion reached in this study is as follows: Needs- based and value-based training programs can be developed for religious workers in social service institutions. (shrink)