Children, Youth and Family Ministry
- Are you seeking more substance in your ministry with
children, youth and family?
- Do you want to advance your theological training so you can
enhance the work you’re already doing?
- Would you like to take advantage of the latest research and
innovations while gaining useful skills?
Luther Seminary’s Children, Youth and
Family (CYF) Ministry degree programs integrate theology, theory
and practical leadership. Graduates leave powerfully equipped to
nurture and strengthen the faith of young people and their families
with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Luther Seminary’s mission is to educate leaders for Christian
communities. Today, the demand has never been greater. The CYF
Ministry concentration provides students with academic courses,
community discipleship and support, and ministry experience that
prepares you for leadership in various ministry settings:
congregation, campus, outdoor, as well as teaching and research.
Courses
Our CYF Ministry degree programs are academically, theologically
and biblically rigorous. Incorporating some of the latest research
in what makes children, youth and family ministry exemplary, the
academic design is shaped by:
- 6 core theological foundations: God, Jesus, the church
and its mission, the Christian life and leadership; the world.
- 7 theoretical understandings: relational ministry,
youth culture, generations, systems, learning theory, crisis and
organizations;
- 8 practical leadership skills: media, team building,
communication, program planning, nurturing faith, outreach,
personal growth and research.
Luther
Seminary offers two degree programs with concentrations in CYF. In the M.A. Program, nine of the eighteen courses are core
requirements in biblical studies, church history and theology. The
other nine fall within the CYF Ministry concentration,
three required core classes and six electives. You will have
tremendous flexibility in designing a concentration to focus on one
of the following areas:
- Children and Family Ministry
- Youth and Family Ministry
- Young Adult Ministry
- Outdoor Ministry
In the M.Div. Program, students seeking ordination with a
concentration in CYF Ministry fulfill the M.Div. requirements and
focus their four-and-one half electives in the CYF Ministry area.
Community
More
than just attending classes, students in the CYF concentration are
shaped by the CYF learning community. We at Luther place a high
value on the relationships built between students, faculty and the
CYF staff. Hence, the CYF Ministry Program seeks to embody incarnational
ministry and is intentional about attending to our communal life
together by offering retreats, weekly
gatherings, learning events, bi- weekly cohort groups, and lots of
opportunity for one-on-one interaction. The time students, faculty
and staff spend together are a key part of the educational process
and in developing as public Christian leaders.
Context
As CYF Ministry seeks to shape public Christian leaders with
particular enduring understandings and competencies, being connected
to a ministry context is vital. Therefore, all CYF students – MA or
M Div, residential or DL – are engaged in leadership in contextual
ministry site. This site is the place where students discover what
it means to engage theology and mission in a particular locale,
refine their own vocational call and grow their leadership
abilities. Residential CYF students typically work part-time in a
ministry position in the greater St. Paul area. Distributed CYF
students work part or full-time in a ministry position in their
area.
Learn more!
Want more information about the
CYF
program?
|
|
|
Learn more
Request more information or contact one
of our faculty or staff members.
CYF Student Stories
Michael Vinson
Michael Vinson, a second- year student in the Master of Divinity program at Luther Seminary, finds his fellow students to be one of the best things about seminary. Vinson is part of a cohort of students who take a lot of their classes together while pursuing their four-year degrees. “The biggest blessing for me has been the cohort group and knowing that I am not alone in the hard time in seminary,n’t he said.
Read more
|
The CYF Ministry program at Luther Seminary is ramping up to meet
new challenges for the church.
Read about it in The Story magazine.
How do you engage young men's faith?
Read about it in The Story Magazine.

Read the CYF program's
"6-7-8" document, which outlines our:
| 6 |
Core Theological
Foundations |
|
7 |
Theoretical Understandings |
|
8
|
Practical Leadership Skills |
Reviews of Andrew Root's new book!
Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry
From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation

Read the book review from InterVarsity Press.
More reviews for Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry.
Read Professor Root's faculty profile.
Visit Andrew Root's Web site.

From 2003 to 2005, more than 1,300 new children, youth and
family ministry positions were created in the ELCA.
|