Curtiss: I think our denomination has a unique ability to connect because of our heart for social justice and our strong emphasis on multi-cultural and multi-ethnic ministry.

Here’s one way that plays out: last summer at Nazarene Youth Conference (our quadrennial gathering of youth from the Church of the Nazarene). We had over 10,000 students at the event and we deployed every learning style and every ethnic touchstone to reach every segment of the culture and our students responded to that. So when we gave them opportunity for ministry, our “Feeding of the 5,000” where we planned on collecting and sorting enough food to feed 5,000 people it actually turned into the feeding of the 10,000.

YWJ: What do you want to achieve in 2008, and what are some of the specific programs or initiatives you  are initiating to achieve your goals?

Puils: We have to get back to our foundation. We want to finish this year and see that we’ve got students into God’s Word and talking to God, basically prayer, the word and spiritual disciplines. If we end this year with students developing that then this will be a successful year.

Curtiss: We are creating some experimental experiential events called FUEL, that will be held next summer through the United States and Canada. These are three-day discipleship events that focus on holiness. Halfway through these events we will actually be turning the event over to the students. We’re turning them loose with video cameras and other recording devices and with dance, art and drama they will be able to express themselves and they will be able integrate these things back into what we are doing on Friday night and Saturday morning.

Berger: Specifically we are piloting a new justice ministry at our North Pacific Conference called Feet to Faith. We are bringing students together for five days. Each day we take a different topic, like homelessness. We will not simply be talking about it but students will have a homeless experience. We are not trying to direct them as to what to do, but rather putting it out there so they have to wrestle with it.

Stevens: A big part of our work is getting the word out about our spiritual development strategy. We are releasing this fall a new Sunday school curriculum that is call Known. But if you aren’t using our stuff, we sure want to encourage you to focus on the spiritual development of students instead of all the stuff that we normally do.

For youth ministers that have been in this for a while they can almost close their eyes and plan a year of youth ministry. But we want people who have been in it a while as well as those just staring out to say, “What are we hoping to accomplish through our ministry?” And to focus on that rather than just doing what we have always done.