Youth Ministry Institute of Pacific Life Bible College

The Teen Brain: The More Mature, the More Reckless

Interesting article in TIME magazine: "Teenagers are a famously reckless species. They floor the gas and experiment with drugs and play with guns; according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, more than 16,000 young people die each year from unintentional injuries. The most common-sense explanation for teens' carelessness is that their brains just aren't developed enough to know better. But new research suggests that in the case of some teens, the culprit is just the opposite: the brain matures not too slowly but, perhaps, too quickly."   [READ REST OF ARTICLE]

Playin' With Fire - New Resource for Teaching Online Integrity to Teens

Playin’ With Fire strives to help teens think about the relevant issues that surround them in with all things technical. Our video: “Confessions of a Fireater” encourages teens to act the same online and off as well as bring up issues that they struggle with in regards to tech use with their peers, mentors, and parents. We are trying to change the world: One parent, One teen, and 1 computer at a time.  http://www.playinwithfire.org/

How Teens Use Media - Neilsen Report

A Nielsen report on the myths and realities of teen media trends has been made available online.  Click here to download the PDF.

Good Resource on Pornography

Mark Driscoll has written a small book that is available online for free!  http://relit.org/porn_again_christian/

Outreach Idea - Ping Pong Club?

GrownUpThinking.com (a blog of Mr. Youth [youth culture marketing firm]) is picking up on a growing trend:

"With marketers continuing not to see the returns on high priced athlete endorsements and even more athletes caught amongst the scandals (Manny), marketers are asking what’s next. About a decade ago, Texas Hold-Em Poker emerged as the new hot sport (if a finger gesture and flick of the wrist can constitute a sport). ESPN and other networks jumped in on the action and marketers ante’d up.

So the new Poker? It might very well be Ping Pong, or some might say Table Tennis. Already the second largest participation sport in the world to only soccer, Ping Pong is gaining in popularity in the US and like Poker is spreading quickly on college campuses.

Now marketers are thinking it might be time to jump in. InBev’s Anheuser-Busch has..." [READ THE ENTIRE BLOG ENTRY]

Islam and atheism are on the rise while Christianity fades

Youth Survey: Teens lose faith in droves

Islam and atheism are on the rise while Christianity fades

Written by Kate Lunau on Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Read the full Maclean's article here: http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/04/07/teens-lose-faith-in-droves/

Excerpt from Article:
"...For Canada’s Christian teens, meanwhile, the community is shrinking like never before. Since 1984, the percentage of teens who call themselves Christian has almost been cut in half while the number who call themselves atheist has grown to 16 per cent, up from just six per cent in the mid-1980s. Just as the boomers shifted toward agnosticism, teens are now going a step further and rejecting religion entirely. “Belief is learned, pretty much like the multiplication table,” Bibby writes. “So is non-belief.”

It’s a huge shift, and Bibby says it may be a worrying one. While it’s true that today’s teens seem to  be more responsible and mature than previous generations, the surveys still find that teens who belong to an organized religion—including Christianity, Islam and other faiths—tend to put a higher value on trust, honesty and concern for others. Religion has long been a “source of stability,” he says, not to mention a moral compass of sorts. For instance, 95 per cent of young people who “definitely” believe in God or a higher power also think this entity “expects us to be good to each other,” while just three per cent of atheists agree. As the percentage of religious teens falls, Bibby wonders just how that will affect our ethics and behaviour. “We may well find Canadian society doesn’t need belief in God to hold onto our values. But right now, it appears to be a source,” he says. “The question is, do we have any functional alternatives in place?”..."

Are Adolescents Really Just Young Adults?

http://www.ysmarko.com/?p=4711

Marko (Youth Specialties) posted a neat entry in response to a discussion group:

"professor darwin glassford posted a provocative question on the youth ministry 3.0 facebook group:

'I just finished reading YM 3.0, overall I found it a delightful experience. After reflecting on it, I am left with nagging sense that no matter how well we understand the life issues and culture we will still be frustrated. In education speak one of the primary questions is, “What is your understanding of the learner?” I wonder what would happen if we abandoned the social construct of adolescence in our churches and ministries and saw young people as young adults who are to be mentored into adult roles and responsibilities? I believe that...[MORE]'"

How the faceless and amoral world of cyberspace has created a deeply disturbing... generation SEX

Our good friend, Dr. Dugall, sent us this link to a great article on the upcoming generation's view and practice of sex.  It is a very sobering/disturbing/engaging article with mature content.  Please read and consider its implications for life/ministry.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1129978/How-faceless-amoral-world-cyberspace-created-deeply-disturbing--generation-SEX.html

Journal of Psychology & Theology - A Good Resource

The folks over the Rosemead School of Psychology (Biola University) publish a great journal that often includes very relevant articles for youth ministry.  Their most recent Journal, Winter 2008, has two good resource articles on Masturbation and another one on Religious Doubt and Identity Formation: Salient Predictors of Adolsecent Religious Doubt.

Check them out at www.biola.edu/jpt

Apply Lessons from Million Dollar Research

Mr. Youth is an ad agency in New York that specializes in engaging the next generation with  the purpose of selling a product or service.  Their research and observation of the next generation can carry some application to ministry.  Download their most recent article called Consumer 2.0 .