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Certificate in Youth and Theology

The Certificate in Youth and Theology is an eight-month, fully digital, cohort-based program that combines synchronous leadership summits with self-paced digital coursework. Participants will gain expertise from Princeton Theological Seminary faculty and leaders, in addition to our extensive network of scholars and practitioners. Our curriculum invites participants to move through four online courses containing videos, readings, group discussions, and contextual assignments designed to help youth workers think theologically about youth ministry.

Course One: Biblical Foundations for Youth Ministry, with Rev. Dr. Lindsey Trozzo Jodrey and Rev. Dr. Eric Barreto.
This course will introduce students to the art of biblical interpretation and will help nurture their relationship to and confidence in wrestling with scripture.

Course Two: Theological Questions in Youth Ministry, with Dr. Andrew Root and Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean.
This course will introduce students to the sources and methods practical theology and will invite students to inhabit their own theological questions alongside those of their young people.

Course Three: Worship and the Christian Life, with Marcus A. Hong and Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean.
This course will help students ground their theological commitments in the practices of Christian worship and discipleship as they engage young people in these same practices.

Course Four: Youth Pastor as Person, with Rev. Dr. Katherine Douglass and Rev. Dr. Lakisha Lockhart.
This course will invite students to explore their experience of the self, the formation of their pastoral identity, and the cultivation of their spiritual lives.

Important Details
This certificate program is only offered by application made through the Institute for Youth Ministry. To learn more, visit iym.ptsem.edu/programs.

Join the Waitlist

Applications will open this summer for the next cohort launching in September 2023.

Cover Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash.

How it Works

  When: Starts September 2023

  Duration: 8 Months

  Difficulty: Intermediate

  Credit: 10 C.E.U.s

  Price: $1,200

Program Schedule

  •   September 20, 2023 — Opening Summit
  •   October 1-28, 2023 — Course One: Biblical Foundations for Youth Ministry
  •   November 1, 2023 — Optional Cohort Gathering
  •   November 5-December 2, 2023 — Course Two: Theological Questions in Youth Ministry
  • December 6, 2023 — Optional Cohort Gathering
  • January 7-February 3, 2024 — Course Three: Worship & The Christian Life
  •   February 7, 2024 — Optional Cohort Gathering
  • February 11-March 9, 2024 — Course Four: Youth Pastor as Person
  •   March 13, 2024 — Optional Cohort Gathering
  • April 10, 2024 — Closing Summit

Who Should Apply

This program is open to anyone who is actively serving in youth ministry, whether in a congregation or another organizational capacity. We accept candidates who have at least a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and are able to commit approximately 5 hours per week to this program.

Instructors

Course One: Biblical Foundation for Youth Ministry

Eric Barreto

Eric Barreto

Rev. Dr. Eric Barreto (he/him) is the Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. As a Baptist minister, Barreto has pursued scholarship for the sake of the Church, and regularly writes for and teaches in faith communities around the country. He has also been a leader in the Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium and is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion.

Lindsey Jodrey

Lindsey Trozzo Jodrey

Rev. Dr. Lindsey Trozzo Jodrey (they/them) serves PTS as the Associate Director of the Office of Digital Learning. In this capacity, they support the teaching and learning of the seminary community through providing innovative and accessible technologies and pedagogies. A teacher at heart, they strive to create spaces for reading the Bible authentically and purposefully in and beyond the classroom.

Course Two: Theological Question in Youth Ministry

Kenda Creasy Dean

Kenda Creasy Dean

Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean (she/her) is an ordained United Methodist pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. She directs Princeton's Young Adult Innovation Hub and was an advisor to the IYM's grant initiative that promotes innovative, intergenerational forms of youth ministry. She is also a co-founder of Ministry Incubators, a consulting group that helps Christian communities try new things.

Andrew Root

Andrew Root

Dr. Andrew Root (he/him) is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. A PhD graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Andrew writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture, and younger generations. A prolific writer and sought-after speaker, he is the author of numerous books and articles that range in subject matter from youth ministry to dogs to science to secularism to Bonhoeffer.

Course Three: Worship and the Christian Life

Kenda Creasy Dean

Kenda Creasy Dean

Rev. Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean (she/her) is an ordained United Methodist pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. She directs Princeton's Young Adult Innovation Hub and was an advisor to the IYM's grant initiative that promotes innovative, intergenerational forms of youth ministry. She is also a co-founder of Ministry Incubators, a consulting group that helps Christian communities try new things.

Marcus Hong

Marcus Hong

Marcus A. Hong (he/him) is the Director of Field Education and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He has served as a worship leader, chaplain, and youth director in various traditions and ministry contexts, and he develops courses and curricula for the church’s worshipping life. He is a co-author of UWorship, a resource for collegiate ministries in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a contributor to Psalms for All Seasons, a psalter for Christian worship.

Course Four: Youth Pastor as Person

Katherine Douglass

Katherine Douglass

Rev. Dr. Katherine Douglass (she/her) is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Associate Professor of Educational Ministry and Practical Theology at Seattle Pacific University. She teaches classes on spirituality, the arts, Christian formation, biblical literacy, and culturally-responsive pedagogy. An avid researcher, she co-directed the Confirmation Project, which studied five denominations who seek to form young disciples of Jesus Christ, and is currently the Lead Researcher for the Missing Voices Project at Flagler College.

Lakisha Lockhart

Lakisha Lockhart

Rev. Dr. Lakisha Lockhart (she/her) is a religious educator, Womanist, practical theologian, play facilitator, and Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is also the founder and CEO of Lakisha R. Lockhart Consulting, which works with nonprofits, corporate institutions, and faith-based organizations to infuse embodied play practices toward leadership development and team building. In all that she does, Lakisha honors the body as locus for doing theology and theological reflection.

Join Waiting List
Sorry, this course is not open for enrollment
Price: $1,200.00

Educating faithful Christian leaders.

Senior Pastor, Asbury United Methodist Church, Atlantic City, NJ

Latasha Milton, Class of 2018

“My passion is doing what I can to empower and liberate people who are hurting. PTS has made me a better person and pastor because it’s given me the tools to better serve the oppressed and marginalized.”