By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary Is this the right time? Are these the right people? Can we agree on the right move? When leading change, it’s easy to get lost in searching for “the right thing” and “the right time” while missing transformational moments….
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary If you’ve tracked Fuller’s Sticky Faith Initiative at all, you would quickly see that the study results call the church to real changes in youth ministry practice. In fact, those changes are remarkably similar to the ones that Luther Seminary’s EYM study…
By Dr. Terri Martinson Elton, Director of the Center for First Third Ministry at Luther Seminary Yesterday I spent the day talking about adaptive change with leadership teams from seven congregations. Adaptive change is dealing with situations for which there is no known answer. Technical change, the other type of change, deal with situations which…
Cheryl Goodman-Morris reminds us that the Spirit blows as she wills, and we must needs keep that in mind as live into Christian community: What if the process of creating a fresh church could come to us in a radical, completely unorthodox new way? What if we remembered to let the Spirit find us instead…
Recent doctoral graduate, Harvey Kwiyani, talks about his dissertation research which involved working with three multicultural congregations in the Twin Cities area.
As we explore confirmation, here is a resource to move the dialogue into action. Your ministry is a game worth playing in this life, and we want to help you set yourself up to win. There’s a great deal at stake! The goal-setting process below is to help you take what you’ve learned and design…
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary And that would be in people. Not in things running more smoothly. Not in a calendar. Not do they like the curriculum better. Why not, for one year, focus your goals for ministry on observing Holy Spirit led change in your…
See this video of Pastor Nancy Lee Gauche and Coach Tom Langemo take us through the game plan process at Monkey Business: A First Third Dialogue on the Confirmation Process.
By Dr. Nancy Going, Director of the CYF Distributed Learning Program at Luther Seminary We at the Center for FirstThird Ministry at Luther Seminary are committed to walking alongside you and your church as you tackle the huge challenge of re-creating a rite deeply embedded in the fiber of the Lutheran church. Confirmation, at…
Bet you’ve got your head down now! We know you are working hard on getting all kinds of things ready for “Back to School.” Including Confirmation. At FirstThird.org, we’re going to use this month to keep pushing what you might be thinking about how you are going to approach this critical ministry with your youth….
By Ashlea Denton, MA CYF graduate from Luther Seminary When asked to come up with an example of learning from children, nearly every adult can quickly give a response. Whether it be from their own child, a distant relation or a chance encounter, adults have been, often unconsciously, learning from children for generations. Matthew 18:2-5…
The Story of Stuff From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of…
By Keith Long, MDIV CYF graduate of Luther Seminary Something is amiss in how we engage and educate young people in their lives of faith. It is disheartening to witness the disappearance of youth and families from the church. Decreased attendance leads to less risk-taking, which in my opinion, leads to apathy and boredom. As…
Terri Elton offers a compelling argument for how to practice discipleship with youth in a missional context.
By Rachel Schwenke, Children, Youth and Family Program Assistant How can the language of faith be communicated in a relevant way for gamers? Can the truth of the Bible intersect with the gaming language many use on a daily basis? Here’s a few ideas of how to use this lingo IRL (that’s “in real life”…
