Assets and Youth Ministry

When I was in high school, I worked with a community organization to help develop Assets in kids in our community. What are "Assets," you ask? For the full explanation, head over to the Search Institute's page on the 40 Developmental Assets (the full list is here). Here's my short answer: the 40 Developmental Assets are distinct "things" (for lack of a better term) that exist in a young person's life that benefits his or her development. For instance, one Asset is the presence of a caring adult outside the child's immediate family. Another is the presence of safe home environment. Since I was in high school (I graduated in 1999), the Search Institute has continued to develop this paradigm, and there are 40 developmental assets for each stage of childhood through adolescence. I loved doing work with this in high school. I was not yet a believer, but looking back, I can see how this was an early seed of youth ministry God was planting in me.

It seems obvious to say this, but the research simply states that kids need certain things to thrive. The more they have, the better chances they have. I see this in my own work at a local high school, where I tutor twice a week. The students I work with (based only on my observations and conversations with them) engage in higher risk behavior than most students. When I sit down and talk with them, below the surface I see that they don't have many of the developmental assets present in their lives. For the most part, we can pretty well see that the absence of a loving father can affect how a young woman views relationships and sex when she's in high school, or how the trauma of childhood abuse can plague a young person fifteen years later. Maybe it's because I'm a math guy, but I love how this is all spelled out in the 40 Developmental Assets.

So what does this have to do with youth ministry? The research does not touch much on religious experiences, other than the fact that one of the assets is religious involvement. After all, the goal of the Search Institute was to see why kids thrive in life on this earth alone. And theologically, we might be able to help a student stay away from drugs and alcohol, go to college, and make a positive difference in this world. But what does this say about his or her relationship with Jesus? I think this is what we can learn from the Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets: just as we love others in Jesus name when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help with disaster relief, or simply mourn with someone, we can also love students by providing many of these assets where we can. And by doing this, we tell them that God loves them. Just as giving physical resources to people in need takes financial sacrifice, so giving time to develop assets in students requires a sacrifice. But to love others, it's well worth it.

So, head over to the Search Institute to check out the 40 Developmental Assets if you haven't already. And keep loving those students in Jesus' name.

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