1. Creating Programming that Meets People where They Are
Gregory C. Carrow-Boyd
For Dynamic Youth Ministry
Fall 2011
Starr King School for the Ministry

4. PIAGET’S THEORY OF ERIKSON’S THEORY OF
DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT
 4 Fixed Stages of Cognitive  8 Fixed Stages of Emotional Development
Development
 At each life stage, a learner must answer
 Not possible to progress to the next a fundamental question.
stage without attaining the others
 Inability to answer the question can lead
 All learners progress through stages to emotional impairment at a later life
at approximately the same ages. stage.
Critique: Real world learners often Critique: One can develop emotionally
master the stages out of order, or without answering these questions.
master them earlier than theorized. Some questions take longer to answer
than others.

5. FOWLER’S THEORY OF SOPHIA LYONFAHS’ NATURAL
FAITH DEVELOPMENT SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
 6 Stages of faith development  13 Types of experiences that evoke
wonder and thought in children
 Divided into 2 phases: children
accomplish stages 1 & 2; Stages  Religion is a personal creation based
3–6 happen in adolescence and on these experiences.
beyond
 Preservation of traditions comes
 Most learners never get past stage from honoring these experiences.
2. Critique: Are these the only
experiences that evoke wonder and
Critique: Too linear; Faith and thought? Spirituality and religion
spirituality are not the same. are not the same.

6.  A theory of knowledge that holds that learners create their
own knowledge.
 Learning happens when learners build upon prior
knowledge constructs (they construct new knowledge).
 It is the role of expert learners and mentors to facilitate
learning by creating experiences that allow novice learners
to develop new constructs.
 Most learning programs today embody the principles of
constructivism.

7.  They are too linear.  Both Fowler’s and Fahs’
spirituality models do not
 They do not always account for clearly differentiate between
cultural differences (i.e., they and among faith, religion, and
assume the culture of the spirituality.
theorist.).
 These models only support
 They only focus on one type of constructivism if development
development (cognitive, is completely linear.
emotional, spiritual, etc.).
 Constructivism itself does not
fully account for the dynamics
of development and learning.

9.  Spirituality for children begins as
sets of preverbal experiences that
adults and cultures reinforce or
neglect.
 To support children in their
spirituality development, it is
necessary to listen, clarify, and
attend to uncertainty.
 By reflecting on our own
experiences of being spiritually
supported or disenfranchised, we
can better support children.

10. Congregations can effectively meet the
needs of Young Adults (18–40) by:
• Gathering around a common cause.
• Shifting the focus of ministry to
attending to the basic needs of the
age group.
• Practicing faith traditions.
• Establishing a network of
multigenerational encouragement.

11. ARNETT’S EMERGENT MEZIROW’STRANSFORMATIVE
ADULTHOOD LEARNING THEORY
 A new life stage in between adolescence  A 10-step process that begins with a
and young adulthood (late teens to at disorienting dilemma which ultimately
least mid-20s) results in the reintegration of a new
perspective informed by one’s own life
 Characterized by: experiences.
• Later entrance into traditional adult
roles (stable employment, long-term  Ultimate goal is autonomy.
relationships, parenthood)
 Basis for most programs of adult
• Identity exploration
religious education today.
Critique: Culturally biased; theory does not
• Search for identity-based work work neatly for marginalized groups or
cultural groups who live outside of the
• High aspirations for life achievements industrialized West.

12.  Our understanding of the lifespan as
a whole has changed;
therefore,
 Our understandings of spirituality
exist dynamically:
 Youth ministry must support the needs of youth differentially: some so-called youth may still
require the supports of children; others might need the supports of emergent adulthood.
 No one program will meet the needs of all youth. Youth should be involved and encouraged
in seeking out a best fit model.
 Meeting the needs of youth is inherently a multigenerational effort. Encourage
networking/mentoring in programming designs.

14.  Because spirituality is emergent and  An effective way to integrate
continuous throughout the lifespan multigenerational
(Hart, 2003), remember that youth networking/mentoring is to
are accessing a particular spiritual encourage youth to collaborate on
moment in their lives that touches projects that impact the lives of
both their pasts and their futures. multiple age groups (e.g.,
homelessness, educational equity, the
 Programs of ministry are not about world of work).
preparation for life, but living itself:
creating programs that continue to  Programs will be maximally effective
develop the wonder of childhood when the youth are invited to and are
through the identity exploration work welcome to make changes to the
of youth, emergent, and young program itself as the spirituality
adulthood are of paramount development needs of individuals and
importance. the group change.

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