Fuller Online

YF502: Fall 2009
Clark/Draffin

 

YF502: LEADERSHIP IN YOUTH MINISTRY. (4 units) Chapman Clark, Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture; Online Facilitation by Sophie Draffin, Adjunct Instructor in Youth Studies.

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.

 

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:

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.

 

COURSE FORMAT:

The class will be conducted on the Internet using a 10-week lesson program aligned with FullerÕs 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.

 

REQUIRED READING:

á       Banks, Robert, and Bernice M. Ledbetter. Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2004.

á       DePree, Max.  Leadership Is an Art.  New York:  Dell Books, 1989.

á       Nouwen, Henri J. M. In the Name of Jesus. New York: Crossroad, 1990.

á       Reed, Bobbie, John F. Westfall, and John Maxwell. Building Strong People: How to Lead Effectively. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1997.

á       Sample, Steven. The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.

 

RECOMMENDED READING:

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

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

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

á       Powell, Kara, Heather Flies, and Megan Hutchinson. Help! IÕm a Woman in Youth Ministry. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Youth Specialties/Zondervan, 2004.

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

1.      Weekly threaded discussions (30%)

2.      Weekly journal exercises (10%)

3.      Interaction paper (3-4 pages) integrating NouwenÕs 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%)

 

PREREQUISITES: None.

 

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective for general M.Div.  Required course for Youth, Family, and Culture concentration in the M.Div. and for the M.A. in Youth, Family, and Culture; Elective in MAGL program. 

 

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.                                                                                                                     

 

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification.

Updated July 2009