Transformation
Years ago, Dr. John Perkins posed the following question: How do we (Christian leaders serving youth in poor communities) build incentive (motivation) in our youth?
CLUES:
(1) Before the “Code of the Street” (the unwritten, life-shaping rules for survival in urban communities) exerted its life-altering influence, God created humanity in His Image (Genesis 1:26-27).
(2) The image of God is imprinted uniquely on every person’s life. Sin may mar that image, and the Code may divert attention, but the uniqueness of God’s creation remains.
(3) When given a safe space to learn and discover, youth can explore their uniqueness, identity, and divine imprint. They can discover who they are in Christ.
The Core of Your Ministry
What do youth leaders desire more than anything else? I believe it is to see the lives of the youth they serve transformed.
Residing in the heart of every adolescent is a need to discover their identity. This quest is by God’s design, who created every individual uniquely in His image.
At the core of every youth ministry lies a central task based on God’s design. That task is to guide youth toward discovering who they are in Christ, the one who knows them, created them and desires them to experience life as children of God (see John 1:3, 10-13).
Transformational Discipleship allows youth to experience this kind of discovery. Transformational Discipleship animates (brings to life) the leadership potential of youth native to higher-risk communities.
Let us help you strengthen the core of your ministry. We are committed to maximizing your leadership capacity. We want to help you – as a leader who desires to see young urban lives transformed – win!
Building Lasting Impact
testimonialS
Dr. Noel Castellanos, President, Camino Alliance
It is rare to find a relevant guide for developing young leaders that is rooted in the urban context and that is both biblical and practical … Thanks, Ted, for sharing your wisdom with a new generation of youth workers!
Dr. Eileen Koorman, Director, DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative
If you are looking for a tool to help you rethink your philosophy of ministry with youth and how that plays out in practical ways, I highly recommend Building Cathedrals by Ted Travis
Dr. Fernando Ortega, professor, Nyack College
Readers will learn a great deal from Ted Travis’s rich urban ministry experience. His insights about adolescents, community engagement and ministry are a vast ocean of information that challenges us to reexamine our theological and ministerial assumptions about urban youth work. And his gift of storytelling—from programmatic frustrations to personal sharing to leadership strategies—paints a beautiful and very human portrait providing the backdrop from which much of his sage advice flows
Dr. Noel Castellanos, President, Camino Alliance
It is rare to find a relevant guide for developing young leaders that is rooted in the urban context and that is both biblical and practical … Thanks, Ted, for sharing your wisdom with a new generation of youth workers!
Dr. Eileen Koorman, Director, DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative
If you are looking for a tool to help you rethink your philosophy of ministry with youth and how that plays out in practical ways, I highly recommend Building Cathedrals by Ted Travis
Meet Dr. Ted Travis
Dedicated Professional Committed to Youth Ministry
Ted Travis was born and raised in a low-income Long Island, New York community. His musical aspirations led him to study voice in Vienna, Austria, where he came to faith in Christ. Turning his focus from music to ministry, he moved to Colorado and Denver’s Five Points community to pursue a ministry life of urban youth development.
In “Building Cathedrals: Urban Youth Discipleship That Works,” Dr. Travis explains Transformational Discipleship, an approach to urban youth development centered on maximizing the adolescent leadership experience in ways that mold youth for future service and motivate the next generation (children) that youth, as emerging leaders, influence.
Success Stories from Youth Ministers
Empowering Leaders, Transforming Lives
KICKO’s executive director, Michael Clark, recently shared the impact of infusing transformational discipleship into their ministry. It’s a beautiful story of animating leadership capacity among urban youth.
With the help of Dr. Travis and his seminal work Building Cathedrals: Urban Youth Discipleship that Works, Johnell infused Transformational Discipleship into the fabric of his youth ministry.
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