Faith Formation

Coming Alongside Youth on New Pathways of Being Church

In this conversation, pastor and justice-seeker Sandra Maria Van Opstal talks Elizabeth Tamez Méndez about how the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial reckoning provided an opportunity for churches to pivot and reset practices and spaces that allow youth to ask hard questions and explore a Biblical understanding of worship, justice, and collective flourishing in Christ.

January 26, 2022
Cultural Intelligence and Youth Ministry: Creating Safe Spaces for Questions and Community

A youth minister reflects on the necessity of cultural intelligence in ministry alongside youth in order to create safe spaces to ask questions, wrestle with biblical concepts, and hear thoughts from people different from them, all with the purpose of loving God and others better.

January 20, 2022
Shively T. J. Smith on Visualizing Christian Faith through Howard Thurman's Metaphors

Rather than starting with words and theories of interpretation, scholar Shively T. J. Smith uses Howard Thurman's metaphorical imagery to help congregations visually process how they understand scripture and live out their Christian faith.

January 19, 2022

Intergenerational Church as a Space for Opportunity, Change, and Learning

In this conversation, pastor Theresa Cho of St. John's Church in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco shares joys and insights from a historical congregation that is learning to embrace change and be vulnerable in order to live together as an intergenerational, contextual worshiping community.

January 11, 2022
Mimi L. Larson on Pastors, Pressures, and Intergenerational Worship

Pastors play a crucial role in promoting or preventing intergenerational worship. Scholar Mimi L. Larson explains why, despite the pressures, pastors should treat children as full image bearers of God. This choice influences how all ages engage with God in worship.

January 11, 2022

Mimi L. Larson on Keys to Involving Children in Worship

Scholar Mimi L. Larson explains how theology, beliefs about children's capabilities, and pastors influence whether or how children meet God in worship. She says that Black church culture offers valuable examples.

January 11, 2022
One Generation Calls to the Next: Youth Agency and Leadership Development

In this conversation, New City Kids president Trevor Rubingh talks with New Generation3 executive director Elizabeth Tamez Méndez on the significance of agency in the spiritual and leadership development of teenagers as they try out their leadership skills with and among their peers.

December 21, 2021

Amanda Drury on Testimony as Spiritual Formation in the Lives of Youth

In this episode, Amanda Drury talks about the integral role testimony plays in the worshiping community, especially as young people learn how to narrate their faith in a variety of spaces and ways and join the intergenerational faith community in long-term Christian living.

December 20, 2021
Montague Williams on Church in Color

In this episode, Montague Williams shares about the opportunities churches have to support and nurture young people of color as they navigate the joys and complexities of their lives in the 21st century.

December 20, 2021
Mentors to the Next Generation of Leaders

Dale Sieverding, vice chair of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Liturgical Commission and director of LAMP So-Cal—Liturgical Arts Ministry Project in Southern California, reflects on the methodology and results of The Liturgical Arts Ministry Project.

December 16, 2021