8 weeklong class experiences over 2 years (4 weeks per year)

These are informative and collaborative sessions that leverage a balance of in-person and virtual experience.

Assignments focus on real ministry skills and have direct application to your ministry context. These are not just “make work projects” rather, assignments focus on personal exploration, theological reflection and real resource creation that will propel your ministry forward (rather than simply check boxes).

Mentored Life

Your experience will be guided by ministry coaches, mentors and spiritual directors. The process focuses on developing rhythms that are dynamic and catalyze  your own personal growth.

Learning Cohorts

You will learn in the context of a learning cohort; a group of vocational youth workers in a region you select. The genius of this experience is that you will learn in an intimate setting (groups of 5-20) where you will come away with more than knowledge, you will also gain people!

Our goal is that the Coalition experience provides both educational excellence AND economic accessibility. We recognize that you are called to be a wise steward of the resources God has entrusted to you and we’re committed to making this experience as attainable as possible.

Coalition fees: $10,000 ($5000/year)

Additional costs include:

• Accrediting fees to whichever institution you choose. Depending on your level of study and the school you work with these fees range from $100 to $5000 for the entire program. We can help you choose an option that fits your goals.
• Travel (if applicable) to in-person meetings. You can choose from a growing number of cohort locations.
• Accommodations for in-person classes

September 25 – 29, 2023 (Kelowna), October 2 – 6, 2023 (Winkler) – Personal & Spiritual Formation in Ministry – Dr. Marv Penner & Sid Koop

January 8 – 12, 2024 – Youth Ministry Management: Practices and Principles – Ginny Olson

April 8 – 12, 2024 – Thinking Theologically about Youth Ministry – Dr. Chap Clark

June 3 – 7, 2024 – World Views and Conversational Apologetics

September 23 – 27, 2024 – Understanding Today’s Youth Culture – Dr. Walt Mueller

January 6 – 10, 2025 – Counselling Adolescents and their Families – Dr. Marv Penner

March 31 – April 4, 2025 – Communication Skills for Effective Ministry

June 2 – 6, 2025 – Adolescent Faith Formation – Sid Koop

Sept 26 – 30, 2022 – Personal and Spiritual Formation in Ministry – Dr Marv Penner

Jan 9 – 13, 2023 – Youth Ministry Management – Ginny Olson

April 17 – 21, 2023 – Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry – Dr Chap Clark

June 5 – 9, 2023 – Worldviews and Conversational Apologetics – Dr. Randal Rauser

Sept 25 – 29, 2023 –  Understanding Today’s Youth Culture – Dr. Walt Mueller

Jan 8 – 12, 2024 – Understanding Adolescents and Their Families – Dr Marv Penner

April 8 – 12, 2024 – Communication Skills for Effective Youth Ministry

June 3 – 7, 2024 – Issues in Adolescent Faith Formation – Sid Koop

Sept 27 – Oct 1, 2021 – Personal and Spiritual Formation in Ministry – Dr. Cal Macfarlane & Dr. Marv Penner

January 10 – 14, 2022 – Youth Ministry Management – Ginny Olson

April 4 – 8, 2022 – Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry – Dr. Chap Clark

June 6 – 10, 2022 – Worldviews and Conversational Apologetics – Dr Randal Rauser

Sept 26 – 30, 2022-  Understanding Today’s Youth Culture – Dr. Walt Mueller

Jan 9-13, 2023 – Counselling Adolescents and Their Families – Dr. Marv Penner

April 17 – 21, 2023 –  Communication Skills for Effective Youth Ministry – Lisette Fraser

June 5 – 9, 2023 – Issues in Adolescent Faith Formation – Dr Andrew Evans/Sid Koop

Dr. Marv Penner

Ginny Olson

Dr. Chap Clark

Dr. Randal Rauser

Dr. Walt Mueller

Dr. Marv Penner

Dr. Duffy Robbins

Dr.(candidate) Sid Koop

Guided by a ministry mentor.

Guided by a ministry mentor.

Book a call with the Steve Zacharias 🎉

He will be able to answer any of your questions and walk you through the application process should you decide that you’d like to apply.

Youth workers.

Church youth workers. Camp youth workers. Christian school youth workers. Community youth workers. If you care about adolescent faith development then the Coalition is for you.

Some students take the program as a certificate simply to sharpen their leadership. Others use it to complete a Bachelor’s degree. And others still go through the Coalition because they are interested in getting their Master’s.

Some of the expenses related to the program are fixed and identical for every student, but some costs vary depending on geographical location and desired program outcomes.

The basic tuition cost of the program is $10,000. $5000 each year for two years. This covers the cost of the eight classroom experiences and eight off-campus (experiential immersion) courses, which will be completed as part of your ministry apprenticeship.

Students taking the program for college or seminary credit may be required to pay additional fees to the school accrediting their courses. If you are interested in a breakdown of the various partners and their financial arrangements, please contact the Coalition office at coalition@youthworker.community.

Additional costs for textbooks, accommodation, and transportation will vary, depending on your personal circumstances. Students are responsible to find their own accommodation for any in person classes, but the Coalition team can help you find affordable options.

If you are taking the program for credit through one of our academic partners you may be eligible to apply for student loans. More information is available through the registrar’s office at each of our partner schools. 

We also encourage each student’s employer to consider contributing or covering the cost of the program. If you’d like coaching on how to make that request please let us know! We have walked a number of our students through the process and would be happy to help.

The truth of the matter is that earning a degree will always be disruptive at some level. You don’t get the parchment for “just showing up.” A quality education will always require a degree of commitment and there will be a price to pay.

With that said, the class assignments are designed to take place in the regular routines of week-to-week ministry. This is not a program where you will be expected to spend hours in the library writing theoretical papers about ministry. You will be living out the assignments in the day-to-day realities of your ministry context and you’ll often discover that the assignments will be immediately utilized to help you in your work responsibilities. But you might have to skip rewatching The Office another time to focus on completing the program 😉.

If you are not currently involved in a youth ministry that will allow you to do your apprenticeship, don’t lose heart. There are a number of churches, camps, campus ministry chapters, and other ministry contexts who have indicated a willingness to host an apprentice and provide supervision and support. We cannot guarantee an apprenticeship placement, as students will need to earn their placement by applying to the ministry that seems compatible with their sense of calling, but we will do everything in our power to help potential apprentices find a grace-filled learning community where they will be mentored, supported, and encouraged as they pursue their training.

Let us know your needs during the application process and we’ll start building some bridges for you.

We want to make this training available to as many front-line youth workers as possible. A limited number of seats will be available during each class week for people who are interested in taking a course as an auditor (This means a student just attends the classes, takes advantage of the learning experience, participates fully in the week the class is gathered, but has no expectation of completing the assignments or course requirements.) The cost for auditing a class is $750, and priority will be given to auditors who are coming to class with an apprentice who is registered in the program. (There may be times an apprentice would like to bring their supervisor, or one of the volunteers from their ministry to benefit from the classes)

One of the core values of The Coalition is intentional community and one of the ways we create that is by having you journey with a Cohort (aka an incredible group of fellow youth workers) through your 2 years. You’ll learn, grow, encourage, challenge, and pray with each other which makes the whole experience so much richer. 

We have multiple Cohorts, in multiple locations, happening at any given time. Current and committed Cohorts include: Kelowna, BC, Moncton, NB, and Winkler, MB. There are new ones popping up all the time, so if you’d like one close to you just let us know when you book a call with Steve Zacharias.

We believe that the most effective way to equip practitioners is to provide them with a real-life context in which to learn and practice ministry effectiveness.

Your most significant learning will take place in the day-to-day messiness of real-life ministry For ministry rookies,  a skills and leadership coach will accompany you every step of the way as you practice and master the competencies necessary for effective ministry. For ministry veterans, you will be assigned to a small cohort of equally experienced youth workers and be mentored by a seasoned faculty member who will guide your group to new levels of effectiveness.

It takes a disciple to make a disciple!

A spiritual companion/director will help prepare your heart for life in vocational ministry with a challenging two-year shared journey of spiritual practices and disciplines. We deeply believe that spiritual health and vitality is key to long term ministry effectiveness, so this component of the program is far more than an obligatory nod to a regular quiet time.

One’s walk with God must be the highest priority when preparing for spiritual leadership and vocational ministry. Successful youth workers understand that because of the intensely relational nature of their work, their own lives will be their most significant instrument of ministry to a generation that “listens with its eyes.” It takes a disciple to make a disciple! The assumption that spiritual formation automatically occurs as a by-product of formal biblical or theological education cannot necessarily be made. What we are talking about here is a matter of the heart, so curricular strategies alone will not suffice. Spiritual disciplines that seem manageable in the relatively predictable rhythms of campus life often prove to be much more difficult to manage in the mess and stress of daily ministry. We simply cannot assume that a Christian campus is “spiritual formation utopia.” Plenty of college and seminary students report that their classroom years are some of their most dismal when it comes to their intimacy with Christ.

Developing sustainable spiritual formation practices in a community as part of a ministry team is more likely to lead to long-term consistency. Over the course of two years a carefully designed program of spiritual disciplines, Bible reading and study, intentional conversations and grace filled accountability will be used to help each apprentice develop spiritual rhythms that are compatible with the stresses of full-time ministry. This part of the curriculum will be guided by a “spiritual companion” who will accompany the apprentice on the journey of spiritual growth and development.

We believe the most effective holistic learning takes place in an environment of “iron sharpening iron” community.

Throughout your two-year learning journey you will be part of a faith community that is mission only committed to developing leaders. Not only are they the community where you will learn to serve, but they will be the cheerleaders that want you to succeed. Regional cohorts of fellow students will round out your experience of community.

We were created for community. When the scripture describes healthy human interaction it uses metaphors like that of the body (I Corinthians 12) or of “living stones” together comprising a temple (I Peter 2:5) in which the Spirit of God may dwell. The picture of “family” suggests a deep relationship and a healthy interdependence. We believe the most effective holistic learning takes place in an environment of “iron sharpening iron” community.

Because vocational ministry usually occurs in community it is important that the shaping of those preparing for such ministry be done in community as well. There are two specific expressions of community that are essential to the success of apprentices in The Coalition’s program.

The first crucial community is that of the church, parachurch ministry, camp, or Christian School where the apprentice is being shaped and sharpened. These bodies or families will be the real-life, messy, imperfect, flawed, but grace-filled environment each student is aspiring to serve. This represents the best place to practice emotional intelligence, relational interaction, healthy communication, conflict resolution, political savvy, and personal maturity – all necessary skills for a young leader to embrace.

The second crucial community is that of the cohort. Apprentices will share this journey with other aspiring young leaders, each of whom will be in their own learning environment. A combination of face-to-face and digitally facilitated gathering times will ensure that students can speak into each other’s lives in meaningful ways. The coalition will organize regional sub- cohorts so students will have access to their peers on a regular basis, in addition to the eight classes that the cohort will share over the course of their two-year journey. It is hoped that these cohorts will spawn lifelong friendships between participants.

These classes will be framed, not simply as a one-week content-driven intensive, but as a three-month focus on the topic being offered. In the month prior to the classroom component, students will be expected to do pre-course reading, online collaboration, case study preparation, real world research, etc. After the week in class the subsequent two months will be used to apply the material in the trenches of ministry where class assignments will be completed. They should be seamlessly integrated into the daily ministry of the apprentice.

Quarterly classes will be offered in Kelowna, BC and will be facilitated by some of the most respected leaders/thinkers/teachers in the discipline of next generation ministry.

Four times each year, the entire learning will gather in Kelowna to learn directly from the most significant ministry thinkers, writers and shapers in the field of Next Generation ministry. These one week intensive courses are a key component of the program, and can be accredited toward undergraduate (bachelor’s) for graduate (Masters) degrees through our academic partners.

While experiential integration and spiritual formation are recognized as key elements in the development of a vocational leader, the task of shepherding the next generation has become complex and specialized. The Coalition will provide eight rigorous College/Seminary level courses covering the most important content for youth and young adult ministry specialists. Quarterly classes will be offered in Kelowna, BC and will be facilitated by some of the most respected leaders/thinkers/teachers in the discipline of next generation ministry. These classes will begin with a Sunday night welcome reception and will then meet from Monday morning to Friday afternoon. This schedule will allow most apprentices to participate in their local Sunday services before leaving for the week and most will be home Friday night. Accommodation in Kelowna will be the responsibility of each student, however an attempt will be made to provide affordable bed and breakfast billeting for those who need it, or camp style housing at Green Bay Bible Camp with shuttle services to the class location.

These classes will be framed, not simply as a one-week content-driven intensive, but as a three-month focus on the topic being offered. In the month prior to the classroom component, students will be expected to do pre-course reading, online collaboration, case study preparation, real world research, etc. After the week in class the subsequent two months will be used to apply the material in the trenches of ministry where class assignments will be completed. They should be seamlessly integrated into the daily ministry of the apprentice.