Youth and Young Adult Ministry (BA)
The YMN program prepares students to engage in all types of adolescent ministry contexts, whether church, parachurch, or non-profit. Key values include: academic rigor, practical/experiential work, biblical guidance, fellowship, prayer, accountable obedience, consistent witness, and play. All courses work as stand-alone courses, but also are carefully woven together so as to create a whole of a learning experience that is larger than the sum of its parts. As an example, while each class utilizes a classic text, each student will graduate having read through a litany of C.S. Lewis texts. Each course plays an important role in a student’s academic, personal, and communal formation, as courses build off of material highlighted previously, while introducing students to critical next-step material. In addition to class time together, students in the YMN program experience one-on-one mentoring, small groups, retreats, Bible readings, prayer times, hikes, and meals together. In most of these experiences, participating YMN students are led by others as they fulfill built-in-class-responsibilities. In their final two years, students learn from current practitioners in supervised Intern and Practicum experiences which emphasize teaching and program leadership.
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Majors: Youth & Young Adult Ministry and Biblical Studies
Major Mission: To help students to embrace and execute all educational opportunities with excellent, holistic, and communal effort.
Major Outcomes:
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1. Reflect the character of Christ in both passion and competence in making disciples of Jesus Christ.
2. Evaluate, synthesize, and integrate key discoveries from the Bible, systems theory, attachment theory, and social-cognitive-learning-theory into their practical youth work and ministry.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of and sober spirit relative to the macro- and micro- system cultural influences on the average teenager.
4. Listen to adolescents skillfully.
5. Guide, mentor, counsel, and disciple teenagers from all walks of life.
6. Create macro and micro teaching curriculums and lessons that demonstrate creativity and consideration of multiple missional, sociological, and developmental methods, issues and stages.
7. Provide material which will serve them well as a resource in ministry or as an avenue to securing a ministry position or entrance into graduate education.
Program Purpose:
Students learn how to love God with all their hearts, souls, and *minds, so as to competently partner with Jesus Christ and the local community of youth leaders to grow the kingdom of God through ministry to teens and communities.
Additional Information:
All courses in the YMN program are organized around identified philosophical and branches of learning foundations, disposition(s) to be fostered, academic goals and measures (think), practical goals and measures (do), and spiritual disciplines emphasized. All courses include assignments of speaking in front of others, community engagement, and biblical emphasis. Course texts are selected/assigned based on relation to subject material and three other key criteria, typically represented by 1 or 2 books for each one: classic authors (e.g. Lewis, Spurgeon, Tozer), recent leading authors (e.g. Chan, Platt, Crouch), and a/the definitive text in a subject area.
Program Director:
Rev. Ron Belsterling, Ph.D. is ordained by the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination. Before teaching at LBC/Capital, he taught Youth Ministry at Nyack College for 20 years. His academic experience includes a Ph.D in Education from Biola University, a Ph.D. A.B.D. in Family Studies at Syracuse University, a Masters in Counseling & Human Relations from Villanova University and a double major in Religion & Psychology from Grove City College. Youth ministry experience includes 30+ years in church, parachurch, clinical counseling, national research projects, board representation, speaking, and writing (A Defense of Youth Ministry, 2019). He is married for 30+ years and enjoys time with his family, the outdoors, and reading.
Faculty List:
Ron Belsterling, Ph.D.
Dave Coryell, D.Min.
Ashley Lynch, M.A.
Youth and Young Adult Ministry Curriculum
Freshman Year
Fall Semester
| LBC 100 | Foundations Seminar | 1 |
| BIB 106 | Interpreting the Bible | 3 |
| THE 105 | Prelude to Biblical & Theological Studies | 3 |
| LAN 101 | College Composition and Research | 3 |
| CML 102 | Foundations of Ministry | 3 |
| YMN 101 | Introduction to Youth & Young Adult Ministry | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
Spring Semester
| BIB 103 | Creation & Covenants: OT I | 3 |
| THE 223 | Christian Narrative I: Creation & Fall | 3 |
| LAN 104 | Public Speaking | 3 |
LIT ____
| LIT Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
YMN 111
| | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
| CSV 201 | Christian Service I | 0 |
| BIB 104 | Israel's Life & Literature: OT II | 3 |
| BIB 203 | Life of Christ: NT I | 3 |
MAT ____
| MAT Core | 3 |
| SOC 101 | General Psychology | 3 |
| YMN 202 | Adolescent Development in Culture | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| CSV 202 | Christian Service II | 0 |
| BIB 204 | Early Church: NT II | 3 |
| THE 224 | Christian Narrative II: Redemption | 3 |
SCI ____
| SCI____ Science with Lab 4 credits | 4 |
| CML 210 | Fundamentals of Leadership | 3 |
YMN 210
| | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Junior Year
Fall Semester
BNT ____
| Bible New Testament Exegetical Elective | 3 |
| THE 303 | Theology of Children, Youth and Family | 3 |
| CML 324 | Spiritual Formation of Ministry Leaders | 3 |
YWN 301
| | |
| YMN 350 | YMN Internship | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
BOT ____
| Bible Old Testament Exegetical Elective | 3 |
| THE 320 | Christianity and Culture | 3 |
HIS ____
| HIS Core (100/200 Level) | 3 |
YWN 310
| | |
| YMN 320 | Counseling Adolescents | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Senior Year
Fall Semester
____ ____
| Arts & Sciences Elective | 3 |
____ ____
| Arts & Sciences Elective (400 Level) | 3 |
| YMN 401 | Adolescent Spiritual Formation | 3 |
| YMN 450 | YMN Practicum | 3 |
YMN ____
| Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
THE ____
| Theology Elective | 3 |
THE ____
| Theology Elective | 3 |
HIS ____
| 301 Israel / 302 Turkey Greece | 3 |
____ ____
| Arts & Sciences Elective | 3 |
| CML 399 | TraveLearn Seminar | 0 |
YMN ____
| Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Summer Semester