Equipping the Local Church

Are you in a church without a youth pastor? Or is the youth ministry in your church struggling? The Center for Youth Ministry Training is here to help. Each year 12 churches are selected as Partner Churches to house one of our graduate residents.

In today's world, good youth ministry requires more than just games and guitars. For youth to experience a life-changing faith, they need an intentional community of teens and adults where they have a personal encounter with God, are encouraged to understand God's purpose for their lives and find hope in the intersection of their story with God's bigger story. For this kind of youth ministry to happen, both youth workers and churches need training.

The Center for Youth Ministry Training brings together churches and youth workers to create life-changing youth ministries through our Graduate Residency in Youth Ministry.

Partner Church Benefits

Partner Churches gain a fantastic opportunity to invigorate and enhance any ministry the church already has to teens and their families. Specific benefits include:

CYMT Graduate Resident—to serve 25 hours a week working as your youth minister with youth & families in the church
National Search—CYMT Graduate Residents come from a competitive national recruitment campaign and application process
Personalized veteran coaching for the church's youth ministry team and staff including:
Development of a strategic three-year plan for your youth ministry
Curriculum and discipleship planning
Volunteer recruitment and training
Foundational work to create an infrastructure to support a healthy, sustainable ministry to youth and their families.

How it Works

CYMT provides partner churches with a graduate resident who develops the church's ministry to youth and families. A partner church's contract with CYMT covers resident's yearly stipend and class expenses. Additionally, partner church will be asked to provide housing for their resident.

CYMT places a graduate resident at partner churches through a proven interview and church-match process. Churches have an active role in selecting the resident who will serve the church. Residents serve the church 25 hours per week for the next 3 years while completing their theological education through CYMT and MTS.

Our partner churches represent a diversity of tradition including PC (USA), United Methodist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Church of the Nazarene, and non-denominational.

Apply today to become a CYMT partner church for next year!

Here's what you will receive:

Why a CYMT Graduate Resident Youth Minister?

The burnout rate for youth ministry is 3.9 years. CYMT's training and coaching teach graduate residents how to sustain and thrive as a youth minister.
Staying power: You may have heard that youth ministers leave every 18 months. The truth is this is a myth. Many youth ministers leave after 18-24 months, but many staff for years. It is not surprising that there is a direct correlation between youth minister tenure and the health of a youth ministry. 70% of CYMT residents have continue to serve their churches beyond the length of the program with the inaugural class now having served 5 years.
Education matters: Only around 17% of paid youth workers have theological training, CYMT graduate residents are prepared both theologically and practically to develop strong youth ministries in your church.
Accountability: CYMT coaches hold both our residents and our partner churches accountable to developing the best youth ministry we can together. Open lines of communication allow for development and growth in the ministry.
Support: All CYMT coaches have over 12 years experience in a local church. Your coach and CYMT's full time staff is there to ensure that youth ministry happens and to help when other "stuff" happens.
Quality: CYMT chooses 12 residents from nearly 36 applicants which allows us to choose residents with distinct calls and gifts for youth ministry.

To learn more about the academic and practical training components of the program click here.

About Graduate Residency Positions

CYMT partners with churches from different denominations in Nashville and Memphis regions including North Alabama, North Mississippi, Eastern Arkansas, Southern Kentucky, and Middle and West Tennessee.

Graduate residents are matched up with partner churches following acceptance to the CYMT. Several factors determine which partner church is a good match for each resident, including denominational background, theology, personality, and experience. Churches do not choose their graduate resident, but they do have the opportunity to participate in an informal interview with the applicant to make sure it is a good fit prior to starting the CYMT program.

Requirements

Apply by March 31
Complete initial interview process
Create a youth ministry team or youth council
Allow CYMT graduate residents to participate in all CYMT classes and retreats
Develop a church-adopted child protection policy

To see the details of the partner church requirements click here.

Financial Commitment

$21,000 in year one (July - June)
$24,000 in year two (July - June)
$24,750 in year three (July - May)
Provide housing for graduate resident
Youth budget — annual youth budget approved by CYMT
Mileage — provide reimbursement for mileage if church is more than 25 miles from a discussion group meeting location

For the price of a part-time youth director, you will receive a youth director, professional coaching for not only your youth director but also your church, and graduate level training for your youth director. The cost of a 25-hour-per-week youth director and professional coaching for three years would cost you $81,000 plus $20,000 for seminary tuition alone for a total of over $100,000. Your three year cost as a partner church is only $69,750 plus housing.

Churches applying to be partner churches are selected on a first-come, first-served basis and are interviewed by the executive director to ensure that all partner churches have met, or will meet, the above requirements. CYMT's board of directors will annually craft and/or revise the specific expectations for the partnering churches.

Graduate residents typically will begin working in their church settings between July 1 and August 1 of application year. The CYMT academic program begins in August. A graduate resident may start their appointment earlier if mutually agreed upon by the church, resident, and CYMT. There will be financial considerations for graduate residents who begin their appointment early.

Visit our FAQ's page for more information CYMT's success and on being a partner church.