Adolescent Development

A Rite in the Wilderness By Mark Yaconelli

"A number of questions emerged for our ministry team. How can our kids grow toward a mature, adult form of faith if their images of adulthood are so vague and negative? Don't we as a church need to help them develop a faith that can accompany them into adulthood?"
Am I an Adult or Not? There's More to Being a Teenager than Just Growing Up By Marv Penner

Adolescence is a complex blend of childhood and adulthood. As teenagers' thought processes become more sophisticated, youth workers still should be sensitive to a kid's need to be a kid.
Boys to Men: Rites of Passage for Guys By Scott Francis

When did you first feel like you were a man? Was there a moment when you thought: I guess I'm grown up now? Are you still waiting for that moment? When did your father start thinking that you were a man?
Fish Guts and Pig Intestines: Rites of Passage for Adolescent Girls By Ginny Olson

Many cultures have developed rites of passage to signify a young person's movement from childhood into adulthood, and when the culture doesn't have formalized rites of passage, young people find ways to create their own. Olson shares those elements necessary for a rite of passage to be appropriate. She focuses especially on girls becoming women, though her principles are appropriate to males, as well.
Missing Both Ends: Adolescence Changes Youth ministry By Chuck Bomar

"We just don't have many college students in our church" is something I hear often. We didn't either until we had something for them. I mean, how many middle school students would be involved in your church if you had no middle school ministry?
My Teen Seems on the Fringe By Mark Oestreicher

"The teen years, and the young teen years especially (11-14), are a natural time of change ... And a major shift in friendships is almost always part of the package."
Now What? Dealing with Kids' Fear of the Future By Karen Jones

"Who they become in the future is dependent on who they are allowed to be in the present."
Reculturing Youth Ministry: The Disciple as Critical Thinker By Chris Folmsbee

"I want young people to be better thinkers."
They're Not Grown up Yet: Leaving Adult Decisions for Adulthood By Brenda Seefeldt

Youth are making many decisions now that they don't intend to take into adulthood. There's an understanding that minors are growing up and any bad decisions made in that process doesn't have to follow them into adulthood. So why do we expect our students to take a decision about their faith made in adolescence into adulthood?
When the Pomp and Circumstance Fades: A Profile of Youth Group Kids Post-Youth-Group By Kara Powell and Krista Kubiak

We all have kids who seem to graduate from God when they graduate from high school. Fuller's Center for Youth and Family Ministry has been wrestling with this issue, discovering some interesting insights based on college kids' discussions of their beliefs, behaviors, and influences-along with their suggestions on how youth workers can better prepare students before graduation.
Youth Ministry in an Age of Delayed Adulthood

Adolescence is lasting longer than ever before—which means adulthood is delayed longer than ever before. In the midst of this change, youth workers can't use outdated ministry models and expect to achieve the same results. We need new philosophies and methods to minister to the expanding adolescent population.