Youth ministry professor sees need for young adults in church's ministry

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Bob Yoder sees potential wherever he looks when he walks around the Goshen College campus. He is also thinking of deeper journeys for the students he encounters. "There is such a wealth of creative imagination, gifts, abilities and passions that dwell and reside in our youth," said Yoder, Goshen College's director of the youth ministry program and assistant professor of youth ministry. "It is such fun to walk with and help folks unleash those, particularly when they want to serve God in some way."

Coming to Goshen College was not a difficult decision for Yoder. "I had already been living in this area and serving as the conference minister of youth and young adults for the Central District (East) and Indiana-Michigan Mennonite conferences," he said. "So in many ways, the Goshen College position has been an extension of my broader calling as a pastor."

Yoder was ordained to ministry in 2001 after studying at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind. He also served as a pastor at New Life Mennonite Church in Somerset, Pa., at Belmont Mennonite Church in Elkhart as a community youth worker and at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center as a camp worker.

Besides teaching, Yoder's position at Goshen College also includes growing and strengthening the college's youth ministry program. "I do some marketing, connecting with prospective students, churches and conferences. Also, I talk with current GC students who might be exploring the possibilities of youth ministry as a path for them," said Yoder. He also serves as co-faculty adviser for Nebula, a club initiated on campus for all students with an interest in ministry.

"I continue to be renewed and enriched by the dreams, possibilities, gifts and imagination for the church and for God's mission on earth by youth and young adults," said Yoder of his love for youth ministry. "I believe this serves as one of the greatest gifts that young people can offer to the rest of the church."

Yoder is adamant about the current need in the Mennonite Church and among many Christian denominations for capable adults to minister to youth, be it as a youth pastor, or with youth ministry as part of their job description. "Young people need caring and nurturing adults to walk with them through life's questions and turmoil. But also, the church needs young people for all that they offer, and a pastor of youth can be that helpful bridge between youth and the rest of the church," he said.

According to Yoder, young men and women do not need to "have all their questions figured out," if they want to become a youth pastor. The type of person who should consider youth ministry is "someone who is able to help listen to the faith questions of our youth and not get freaked out by them. Sometimes a tendency for adults has been to push the 'right answer' without genuinely listening to the struggle, or to negate the question by portraying an attitude of 'when you get older you will understand.'"

Yoder offered an evening course, Youth Ministry Seminar, for local youth and lead pastors, Sunday school teachers and others who walk with youth on their faith journeys during the fall semester for the first time, and will offer Introduction to Youth Ministry during the spring semester, Jan. 12 to April 19 on Monday evenings from 7 to 9:30. The course focuses on models of youth ministry, relevant theories of development, attention to junior and senior high age ministries and introduction of various spiritual disciplines and prayer exercises. To register, contact Goshen College's admission department at (574) 535-7535.

--by Megan Blank for the Goshen College Record

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values -- passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership -- prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, Kaplan's "Most Interesting Colleges" guide and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit http://www.goshen.edu/.

Editors: For more information, contact Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

###