One of the sessions I attended at the Urban Youth Worker’s Institute in May was “Whole Ministry for the Whole Kid and the Whole Church,” led by Kara Powell, Executive Director of Fuller’s Center for Youth and Family Studies and Curt Gibson, Pastor of Neighborhood Student Mentoring at Lake Avenue Church. This was an excellent seminar, based predominantly on the 40 Developmental Assets, which were researched and compiled by the Search Institute, an independent nonprofit organization with a mission of providing research to help promote healthier children, families, and communities. I’d encourage you to take a look at the Assets – there are separate lists for adolescents (ages 12-18), early childhood (ages 3-5), and middle childhood (ages4-6). The following is an overview of the session – it’s helpful for both urban and non-urban kids.
Take a look at the assets real quick, so the rest of the post makes sense.
What problems do kids have today?
What possibilities do these same kids have?
Do you see your kids as half full or half empty?
Kids are not problems to be managed.
They are resources to be developed.
Assets are the developmental building blocks that enable kids to thrive!
External assets
= ecological assets
= resources embedded in surrounding environment or community
Internal assets
= individual assets
= personal resources
= qualities or attitudes of a person
Assets are about people not programs.
31 assets seem to be an important benchmark. The average kid has 19. The average urban kid has 17.
Faith communities increase assets. The assets can help us have holistic ministry that touches kids spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, and socially.
The 3 asset factors in which urban kids score higher on average than non-urban kids are social conscience, personal values, and connection to family.
Research has consistently shown that females have more assets than males. Older kids consistently have fewer assets. The gap between urban and non-urban was greatest in middle school.
What assets does your ministry already build?
What would it mean for each adult to view themselves as an asset builder?
What else can our ministry do to build assets?
Question #1: What assets do my kids have?
Question #2: What assets do my kids lack?
Question #3: Of the assets they lack, which would make the most difference?
Question #4: Of the assets they lack, which would be the most do-able to provide?
Question #5: Given my answers to questions 1-4, what 3 assets could and should I focus on?
Question #6: What can I do to develop those 3 assets?
