by Kenda Creasy Dean (Editor), Christy Lang Hearlson (Editor)
Since 1993, forty-nine theological seminaries have created opportunities for high school students to participate in on-campus High School Theology Programs (HSTPs) that invite them to engage in serious biblical and theological study. Many of the young people who take part in these programs go on to become pastoral or lay leaders in their churches. What has made these programs so successful -- especially given the well-documented "crisis of faith" among young people today?
In this book thirteen contributors -- many of whom have created or led one of these innovative theology programs -- investigate answers to this question. They examine the pedagogical practices the HSTPs have in common and explore how they are contributing to the leadership of the church. They then show how the lessons gleaned from these successful programs can help churches, denominations, and seminaries reimagine both theological education and youth ministry.Author Biography
Kenda Creasy Dean is the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church, and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her other books include Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church and Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church.
Christy Lang Hearlson is an ordained Presbyterian pastor and a PhD candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary.