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:
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.
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Youth and Young Adult Ministry (BA) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
4+1 Programs, Bachelor's + Master's
4+1 Program Option
In a 4+1 program, students work toward the completion of an undergraduate degree while also pursuing a Master’s degree. Graduate-level courses taken during undergraduate studies fulfill both undergraduate elective requirements and graduate program requirements. In the 4+1 program, students are dual-enrolled in LBC and Capital Seminary and Graduate School. For more information about the application process, please speak with your academic advisor. Available master’s programs include the Master of Arts in Ministry (MAM) and Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MABS).
Admission Requirements
A student may opt for the Four-Plus-One track at any point up through the beginning of their junior year. Before a student is formally admitted to the track, however, an evaluation will be conducted by their academic advisor. The evaluation should consider the student’s previous academic performance, character and ability, and the recommendation of another LBC faculty member. Students may then either be admitted into the Four-Plus-One track, be given provisional admittance with requirements (e.g. raising GPA, etc.), or denied admittance and remain on the traditional four-year track.
4+1 Master of Arts in Ministry
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Youth and Young Adult Ministry (BA/MAM) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
More information about the Master of Arts in Ministry program
4+1 Master of Arts in Biblical Studies
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Youth and Young Adult Ministry (BA/MABS) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
More information about the Master of Arts in Biblical Studies program
Program Director:
Rev. Ron Belsterling, PhD 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 PhD in Education from Biola University, a PhD (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:
Ron Belsterling, PhD
Dave Coryell, DMin
Ashley Lynch, MA
Alex Tufano, MA