Release date: June 27, 2002
Contact: Elaine Justice, Associate Director, Media Relations,
at 404-727-0643 or ejustic@emory.edu

Youth Theological Initiative Cultivates Church Leaders

Teens of faith representing 22 states and multiple denominations are gathering at Emory University for a deep exploration of Christian theology and public issues during the 10th annual Youth Theological Initiative’s (YTI) Youth Summer Academy June 29 – July 27.

The four-week living-learning program at Emory’s Candler School of Theology aims to cultivate what organizers call "public theologians" with the potential to serve as the next leaders for churches and society. The diverse group of 60 rising high school seniors will live, study and worship together at Emory as they explore issues of faith in an increasingly diverse world.

"What began as an experiment 10 years ago has grown into a year-round effort," says Mark Monk Winstanley, YTI director. YTI has grown into a center for research and education that examines how youth think theologically, he says, and it serves as a resource for educators, churches and those who work with youth on a variety of levels. The YTI experience already is being used to develop materials and strategies to train youth ministers, including a training program for new United Methodist Church youth ministers in Georgia.

Organizers of YTI are completing a two-year study of the program’s long-term impact. One of the study’s initial findings is that youth are capable of thinking theologically and putting their theology in practice. YTI will share the results of the study during a conference Sept. 19 – 21 on "Engaging the Prophetic Voices of Youth."

"We are finding that youth desire adult mentors and want to mentor others. They are more open to diverse relationships and ideas, and as adults we need to honor the questions of youth, no matter how bizarre they may seem. It is a key to keeping youth involved throughout their lives," Winstanley says.

The initiative at Emory, begun in 1993 and supported with funds from the Lilly Endowment, is the first of what has blossomed into more than 50 spin-off theological programs for teens at universities and seminaries across the United States and Canada. While designed for the same age group, the programs have different formats and emphases: Some are intended to recruit young people for parish ministry. Emory’s YTI encourages a more general lifelong love of theology and serves as a living laboratory on how youth respond to and use theological education.

YTI students, or scholars, as they are called, live in an Emory residence hall and choose from one of five classes, such as "The Whole People of God: Caring for Mind, Body and Spirit as Practical Theology," "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? Exploring the Question of Evil," or "Faith and Dialogue: Exploration of the World’s Religions."

They also gather as a community to do service projects and discuss topics such as science and religion, thinking ethically, prayer practices, and world faiths and religious traditions. The program is free for participants and is funded through Candler and the Lilly Endowment. Teachers for the summer academy include Candler faculty, visiting theologians, Ph.D. students in Emory’s top-rated Graduate Division of Religion, and other guest speakers.

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