Encouraging & equipping the global Church through the Next Institute.
The Next Institute is our prime initiative in pursuing a worldwide movement of young people whose lives have been touched & transformed by the Gospel. In light of the emergence of a global youth culture, the extension of adolescence, & an exploding global youth population, we believe that such a movement is integral to the continued growth of the Gospel around the world.
In response to the generational call to missions, the Next Institute provides training for cross-cultural & missional youth ministers across the globe. Our certificate program is made up of 4 modules:
This is the first of four successive courses, and is designed to assist students in developing practical theology of youth and family ministry grounded in God’ Word and guided by his Kingdom trajectory. Participants will see youth and family ministry as integral to the life and mission of the global church, and be challenged to lead the church in reaching the emerging generations across North America and around the world.
This is the second of four successive courses, and is designed to develop a conceptual framework and skills for youth ministry across culture, whether in a cross-culture context or with students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Participants are assisted in developing a theological foundation for cross-cultural ministry, learn to exegete culture and develop sensitivity to cultural issues affecting ministry, and evaluate youth ministry models to determine which will be most effective in various cultural contexts.
This is the third of four successive courses, & is designed to introduce students to the unique psychosocial, cultural, and developmental issues of adolescence, and explore implications for adolescent spiritual formation. Participants will better understand and be ready to engage the emerging generation with the gospel, while leading parents, volunteers, and church leadership in the same.
This is the fourth of four successive courses, and it is designed to introduce students to a meta-model for youth and family ministry, assisting in the development of theologically grounded yet highly contextualized models of ministry. Participants will engage with a variety of models and methods both in the classroom and in the field through opportunities to interact with local ministries and practitioner-experts.
We offer these intensive week-long & weekend courses in partnership with Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO; Christ Bible Institute in Nagoya, Japan; San Pablo Seminary in Progreso, Mexico; and The Chalmers Institute in St. Andrews, Scotland. We also offer 2 condensed versions of these courses as part of Covenant Theological Seminary’s on-line summer course offerings.
Next offers cross-cultural, mentored internship experiences for the next generation of Christian leaders. These internships emphasize the personal growth and development of the intern in the context of active local ministry, and include Next training/de-briefing and regular interaction with Next staff and on-site mentors. The conclusion of each mentored internship includes an intentional plan for how Next can continue to track with each intern for their long-term mentoring and encouragement.
Our 2016 mentored internship sites include Bogota, Colombia; Nagoya, Japan; and St. Andrews, Scotland (rolling entry/exit dates). For more information, please contact us!
Is your church or church-planting team wrestling with youth ministry issues? Would you like help in developing a theology, vision and strategy for ministry to the youth in your context? Would your church benefit from inviting an “expert” to give a seminar on parenting adolescents? Are your leaders interested in hosting a youth ministry training event to further sharpen your team?
Our Next staff and network of seasoned ministry practitioners, trainers, & counselors lead next-gen ministry & parenting seminars, offer training events, and seek to serve churches & local teams through creative problem-solving & consulting.
We also help with networking & ministry placement, connecting next-gen ministry practitioners with a heart for Jesus and his global church to local needs, resources, and communities of prayer, encouragement, and ministry-sharpening across the globe.
Thank you! We’ll be in touch shortly!
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