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.

When a teenager brings their doubts into the room, our instinct might be to make those doubts go away.We want to help. W...
08/27/2026

When a teenager brings their doubts into the room, our instinct might be to make those doubts go away.

We want to help. We want to reassure. We want to give them an answer that makes faith feel steady again. But what if, before we reach for an answer, we pull up a chair?

A few reminders for those moments:

𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
Job never received a neat explanation for his suffering. He encountered God in the middle of his questions. Sometimes the invitation is to stay present while a young person wrestles.

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐲.
Job’s friends had plenty to say about God. But in their rush to explain what was happening, they struggled to sit with Job in his pain.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to wrestle with this with you” doesn’t make you a bad youth leader. It communicates something powerful: Your questions are welcome here. And so are you.

Pulling up a chair doesn’t mean answers don’t matter. It means a teenager doesn’t have to have everything figured out before they have a place beside us.

Your students are carrying questions they're scared to say out loud.Where is God when bad things happen? What does it me...
08/26/2026

Your students are carrying questions they're scared to say out loud.

Where is God when bad things happen? What does it mean that Jesus is the Way? What is hell, really? Does following Jesus have anything to do with caring for the earth?

That's exactly why we created Can I Ask That? For over a decade, it's helped leaders guide these conversations well, so students can build a faith that's personal, curious, and resilient enough to hold real questions.

This Fall, we're adding 4 brand-new sessions to the collection. Each includes a low-prep leader guide, printable student page, and expert tips for conversations that go deep.

Most people don't leave youth ministry because they stop loving students. They leave because nobody helped them build so...
08/25/2026

Most people don't leave youth ministry because they stop loving students. They leave because nobody helped them build something sustainable.

We studied youth leader burnout and wellbeing to understand why some leaders stay for the long haul, and others burn out. Over 1,100 leaders surveyed. 69 in-depth interviews. What we found surprised us.

Swipe through 👉 for what we learned about staying.

The Certificate in Youth Discipleship Cohort isn't a quick fix. It's a long-term investment in the leader you're becoming.
This isn't about getting through it. It's about staying.

You don’t have to have the perfect answer to be a good youth leader.Sometimes, what a teenager needs most isn’t a quick ...
08/24/2026

You don’t have to have the perfect answer to be a good youth leader.

Sometimes, what a teenager needs most isn’t a quick explanation. It’s someone willing to stay curious, sit with the tension, and remind them that their questions don’t threaten their belonging.

Because some of the most meaningful moments in youth ministry happen when we resist the pressure to wrap everything up neatly and simply pull up a chair.

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.

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135 N Oakland Avenue
Pasadena, CA
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