Introduction
Jason Gardner
Welcome to engaging with youth, the LICC's on going project aimed at uncovering what makes whole life young disciples of Christ in today's world. At the heart of this project is a three way dialogue between existing models of discipling, pioneering models of discipling and their interaction with the ever changing face of contemporary culture. Read more about Engaging with Youth or watch the introductory video
Mission and Discipleship
Youth work is increasingly reaching young people who are the children of people who've never been interested in religion or spirituality. They don't have the language with which to make sense of faith or express it even if they have the desire to do so in the first place. How do we connect with youth who are effectively becoming an unreached people group? You'll find resources here that relate to issues of Biblical and spiritual literacy, models of mission, lessons from cross-cultural mission and case studies of missional youth projects and interviews including Pod casts. more..
Whole Life Young Disciples
How do we help young people engage with every area of life be it personal, friends, partners, family, school, career and entertainment and media from a deep and rich Biblical perspective? How do we help them rise to the challenge of living in a culture whose dominant story contradicts and undermines their own? Resources here deal with a variety of topical issues; apologetics and worldview, connecting with the cultural stories that inform young people's outlook and relating it to the mission Christ calls us to. more..
Journal
Latest musings on youth and discipling related issues from news and media, pop culture, current reading and, on occasion, the odd rant about life as a volunteer youth worker. more..
Mend the Gap
A key to discipling young people is recognising that it isn't the sole responsibility of that rare breed called the youth worker or the children's worker but should be a lifelong passion of the wider faith community. How we cultivate that passion though is a big question. Mend the Gap is a book on the subject I published with IVP. It deals with closing the gap not just between young and old but the often wider gap between youth workers approach to mission and discipling young people and the approach of the wider church. For a sample chapter, related articles and further resources, click here