Programs
The Institute for Youth Ministry offers online, hybrid, and in-person programming that helps leaders and congregations reflect theologically and use our innovation process for Christian formation in their ministry contexts.
The Certificate in Youth and Theology
This fully online, asynchronous certificate program has recently been reimagined and relaunched to serve youth leaders who are passionate, pressed for time, and committed to doing faithful, effective ministry with young people. Comprised of four modules that run for four weeks each, this program allows youth leaders to engage in practical assignments designed to strengthen the specific contexts of their ministries while building skills for rich theological reflection. Learners begin with a foundational module and can then build the program around their lives—moving on to the next module immediately or taking a break and returning at their convenience.
The Care & Create Cohort
The Care Cohort (2025–2026) is a six-month, hybrid, cohort-based experience designed to support the holistic well-being of youth ministry leaders navigating the emotional, spiritual, and vocational demands of ministry alongside young people. Rooted in trauma-informed pastoral care, this program centered care as an essential tool for faithful and sustainable leadership. Participants engaged in facilitated conversations, reflective practices, and peer learning that created space for rest, discernment, and innovation. The Care Cohort invited leaders to tend to their inner lives, deepen self-awareness, and cultivate rhythms of care that supported the flourishing of young people within their congregations.
Neurodiversity and Youth Ministry
Our online learning module, Neurodiversity and Youth Ministry, is a project that brings together neurodivergent young people, youth ministry leaders, and scholars to help youth workers better understand the gifts of neurodiversity within the context of Christian congregations. With five on-demand lessons that help cultivate the imagination for truly inclusive ministry, this is a program unlike any other.
Annual Forum on Youth Ministry
The Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry is an annual spring conference held at Princeton Theological Seminary that brings together practitioners, scholars, pastors, students, and innovators committed to the spiritual formation and flourishing of young people. Each year, the Forum centers on a guiding theme that invites fresh theological and practical reflection while fostering relationships across denominational, cultural, and vocational contexts. Rather than offering quick answers or ministry formulas, the Forum engages deeper questions about what truly matters in ministry with youth and how faithful leadership can be imagined and practiced today. Forum 2026 will take place April 28–May 1, 2026, with flexible one-, two-, and three-day participation options.