Fuller Youth Institute

Fuller Youth Institute AT FYI, we turn research into resources, for churches and families. Creators of , , & .

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We believe in young people, and we believe in the church. We exist to help the church become the best place for young people to grow. We transform cutting-edge research into resources for leaders and parents to help unlock young people's potential and unleash them to change the world. The Fuller Youth Institute is a research center at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Fall is about to hit fast. Before your calendar fills with kickoff nights and training schedules, pause for a moment. Si...
08/20/2026

Fall is about to hit fast. Before your calendar fills with kickoff nights and training schedules, pause for a moment. Sit with one of these:

✨ What's been life-giving this summer?
😮‍💨 What's felt draining?
🙏 What do you sense God inviting you to make time for before summer ends?
🪞 What have you learned about yourself that might shape ministry this fall?
👀 Where have you seen God at work this summer?

Pick the one that's tugging at you. Maybe send it to a friend and talk it through over coffee, not alone at your desk.
The leaders who last aren't the ones who never get tired. They're the ones who pause long enough to notice what the season gave them, and what it took.

Which question hit hardest? Tell us the number below.

Here's a secret: the leader who's done this 20 falls in a row? Still gets nervous. First kickoff or twentieth, those but...
08/19/2026

Here's a secret: the leader who's done this 20 falls in a row? Still gets nervous. First kickoff or twentieth, those butterflies just mean you care.

Your calendar's about to fill fast. But you don't have to tackle it all today.

Pick one thing this week:

📋 List the leaders to contact.
🤝 Decide who's personally reaching out to each student before your first gathering.
🙏 Spend 30 minutes praying and journaling about your hopes for the year.
💬 Brainstorm teaching topics from what students told you this summer.
🌤️ Block a recurring half day to rest before the season fills every hour without asking.

Whatever season you're in, you don't have to carry it alone. Which one are you starting with? Tell us below 👇

Nobody feels ready to lead teenagers. Not really.You show up every week, not because you have it all figured out, but be...
08/18/2026

Nobody feels ready to lead teenagers. Not really.

You show up every week, not because you have it all figured out, but because these students matter more to you than your own uncertainty does.

Here's what gives us hope: in our Growing Young research, we studied 250+ churches that engage young people well. What we found wasn't what we expected.

Swipe through 👉 to see what actually made the difference.

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort gives you the foundation so you can build confidence for flourishing ministry.

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort was designed around a problem we hear constantly: the number one reason min...
08/17/2026

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort was designed around a problem we hear constantly: the number one reason ministry leaders skip professional development isn't lack of interest; it's lack of time.

That's not a motivation problem. It's a design problem. Most training programs assume a predictable schedule, and ministry rarely works that way.

The Certificate is self-paced, with flexible deadlines and content built to fit into the margins of an already full ministry calendar, not compete with it.

Growth shouldn't require choosing between your development and your job. It should fit inside it.

See how the flexible format works: https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/certificate?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fulleryouthinstitute&utm_content=cohort

Here are 5 questions to help you turn Brand New Day into a real conversation about faithfulness, forgiveness, and what i...
08/12/2026

Here are 5 questions to help you turn Brand New Day into a real conversation about faithfulness, forgiveness, and what it means to keep growing.

Save this for your next post-movie debrief.

By the time you learn the slang, it's already changed.If you feel like you're always playing catch-up with your students...
08/12/2026

By the time you learn the slang, it's already changed.

If you feel like you're always playing catch-up with your students' world, you're not imagining it. Our ongoing Gen Alpha research keeps finding that this generation is navigating identity, belonging, and faith differently than the ones before it.

Swipe through 👉 for what the research says actually matters more than fluency.

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort is built on that research, translated into something you can use with your specific students, not a generic playbook.

You don't have to chase the culture. You just have to stay close to your teens. Comment “CYD Cohort" and enroll today.

08/11/2026

We asked members of our Youth Ministry Advisory Council what every youth pastor needs—and their answers were funny, practical, and honestly pretty profound.

Because youth ministry isn’t just about games and programming. It’s about showing up for young people with presence, consistency, humility, and care.

(And snacks. Definitely snacks.)

What would YOU add to the list?

Most youth leaders spend their evenings surrounded by students. But many end those same evenings feeling completely alon...
08/10/2026

Most youth leaders spend their evenings surrounded by students. But many end those same evenings feeling completely alone.

Ministry has a way of making us believe everyone else knows what they're doing while we're quietly questioning ourselves. The truth? Those questions are more common than we realize.

The healthiest youth leaders aren't the ones who never struggle. They're the ones who have people to process those struggles with.

This carousel is an invitation to stop carrying ministry by yourself. After you read it, we'd love to hear from you: Who's one youth leader who's encouraged you along the way?

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort exists because of a number that's stuck with us for over a decade: 40–50% o...
08/10/2026

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort exists because of a number that's stuck with us for over a decade: 40–50% of youth group graduates drift from their faith or a faith community after high school.

That statistic came out of Fuller Youth Institute's six-year College Transition Project, one of the largest studies of its kind. It's also why we keep coming back to what we call the "5:1 ratio.” Young people are significantly more likely to keep a lasting faith when they're surrounded by a team of five adults who know and invest in them, not just one youth pastor.

The Certificate translates research like this into frameworks leaders can apply directly, how you structure a small group, how you build an adult volunteer team, how you talk to a student in crisis.
Ministry decisions carry real weight. They deserve more than a best guess.

Discover the research behind the Certificate: https://bit.ly/4x93Qd2

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135 N Oakland Avenue
Pasadena, CA
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