DESCRIPTION:

The purpose of this course is to teach students the calling, roles, and responsibility of Christian leadership in any context, but especially youth ministry. Issues discussed are: the meaning of being a Christian leader; how to develop a volunteer leadership program, how to recruit, initiate, train, nurture and care for volunteer leadership, the necessity for encouraging people in their giftedness, and how to lead, equip and best utilize interns and paid staff.

The New Testament makes clear that leadership is the recognition that God works through every individual as their gifts are encouraged and exercised. Leading a ministry team, however, is not for many a natural talent, and even the most experienced of leaders have a hard time allowing for the free expression of the giftedness of others. The student will learn how to care for people in a way that allows the Spirit to move in and through a community of Christian men and women.

Students completing this course will have (1) assessed and further developed their personal theology of Christian leadership; (2) interacted with the leadership principles of diverse authors; (3) integrated various leadership principles into the practice of youth ministry; (4) developed a complete volunteer leadership program for a large church; (5) considered the issues surrounding student leadership; and (6) gained an understanding of how to structure a ministry organization.

The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with Fuller's academic calendar. Each week students and the instructor will interact with the material examining key themes associated with evangelizing the youth culture through journaling, threaded discussions, and web -based research. Each student will complete a final project.

Banks, Robert, and Bernice M. Ledbetter. Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8010-2690-4. $22.

DePree, Max. Leadership Is an Art. New York: Dell Books, 1989. ISBN 978-0-385-51246-6. $15.95.

Kouzes, James, et al., eds. Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7879-8337-6. $16.95.

Nouwen, Henri J. M. In the Name of Jesus. New York: Crossroad, 1990. ISBN 9780824512590. $14.95.

Sample, Steven. The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002. ISBN 978-0-7879-6707-9. $19.95.

June, Lee N., ed. Evangelism and Discipleship in African-American Churches. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999. ISBN 0310221390. $12.00

McLuen, Dennis, and Chuck Wysong. Student Leadership Training Manual for Youth Workers. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2000. ISBN 0310227976. $15.99.

Olson, Ginny, Diane Elliot, and Mike Work. Youth Ministry Management Tools. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2001. ISBN 0310235960. $39.99

Powell, Kara, Heather Flies, and Megan Hutchinson. Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2004. ISBN 031025552X. $9.99.

1. Weekly threaded discussions (30%)

2. Weekly journal exercises (10%)

3. Interaction paper (3-4 pages) integrating Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus into a narrative describing the development of your personal philosophy of leadership. (10%)

4. Four 3-page papers critically analyzing and theologically reflecting on the remaining books as related to the student's ministry and cultural context (20%, each worth 5%)

5. Write a one-page final project proposal for a volunteer leadership program

6. Final project (12-15 pages): Design a volunteer leadership program, including but not limited to, recruitment, initiation, training, fellowship and nurture opportunities, regular training times, camp counselor training, and evaluation. (30%)