The Global Center for Youth Ministry at Anderson University has launched a redesigned website that offers powerful features for those engaged in reaching out to Generation Z and beyond.
The Global Center was established by the Anderson University College of Christian Studies and Clamp Divinity School to provide youth ministry resources to assist ministry leaders in the U.S. as well as other nations and cultures.
The Global Center’s new website offers a colorful, attractive, intuitive interface that simplifies locating blogs, videos and other helpful resources. Also on the new website is a new podcast series.
The first podcast episode features an interview with Amy-Jo Girardier, women’s minister at Brentwood Baptist, a large congregation in Nashville, Tennessee. Girardier, who was girls minister at the time the interview was recorded, talks about engaging and ministering to Gen Z girls.
Soon to be added will be a series of videos, which Dr. Tim McKnight, professor of youth ministry and director of the Global Center for Youth Ministry, says will form a curriculum for a new accreditation program for youth ministers. The program is aimed at those involved in youth ministry on a part-time, voluntary or bivocational basis.
“We’re shooting the first level of videos—there will be six videos, about 15-20 minutes each, and they have to watch these videos and respond to them,” McKnight said, adding that videos, planned to be launched in January 2022, will be offered as an affordable resource to those engaged in youth ministry. The videos will cover areas including biblical and theological foundations for youth ministry, evangelism, discipleship, family, culture and leadership.
“Our big concern is really equipping and encouraging youth pastors. That’s really what it’s all about and we’re hoping that certification program provides help for churches, for these bivocational and volunteers to have some sort of structure equipping, that will help them, so the podcast and the blog post are icing on the cake, but the big thing on the website is going to be those videos when we put them up,” McKnight said.
Dr. Sam Totman, director of external relations at Clamp Divinity School and adjunct professor of Christian Studies, created the new website. Also, Totman is McKnight’s co-host on the podcasts.
“Eventually we want to have that translated into different languages for partners that we have around the world,” said McKnight. “We already have a partnership in Jakarta, Indonesia, so we’d love to see those videos translated into Indonesian by an Indonesian speaker. I’ve already been over there and done conferences and a youth camp for the Global Center in Jakarta.
As youth ministers face challenges in reaching out to today’s youth, the Global Center comes alongside them, offering roundtables with other youth pastors, something McKnight would like to see happening across South Carolina.
The Global Center has assembled academic fellows and practitioner fellows from around the country to speak into all facets of youth ministry. These include Scott Pace from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, John Paul Basham from Lifeway Students and Clayton King of Clayton King Ministries.
Visit the Global Center for Youth Ministry website at globalcym.com.