Nearly half of all people in the world today are under the age of 25—the largest youth generation in history. Sean Marston’s 22 years in youth ministry (part of that time as Short-Term Mission Coordinator for SIM New Zealand) have informed his passion for reaching those growing up in a “post-mission and post-church environment.” He will help SIM develop relevant ways of connecting with young people to help them understand faith and to grow them into the Church.

Read updates from Sean below:

"Don't Tell Me, but Please Tell Me"

20 November 2009 — There are many strange paradoxes about youth culture around the world and one of them is very confusing for adults and youth workers.

Youth Training in Zambia

30 September 2009 — I have just come back from two weeks in Zambia where I travelled around various parts of the country and met youth leaders and pastors.

The Issue of Sex

21 August 2009 — Sean tackles the issue of sex in youth culture—particularly how we deal with it within Christian youth ministry.

Youth Identity in Technology 2

8 July 2009 — I guess many of you have been following the news items about the elections in Iran. I think this is a very pivotal election but I am also interested in the impact young people and technology is having on the issues surrounding the election.

Youth Identity in Technology

19 June 2009 — In the wider world, technology is changing people's lives and the way they communicate, but these impacts are more extreme in the youth culture.

Economic Situation and Young People

20 May 2009 — I think we are all facing the realities of the struggling economic situation around the world.

How to Equip Youth Leaders

30 April 2009 — I have to admit that at the moment I am contemplating a number of big issue questions about how to develop effective youth ministry around the world.

Communicating to the Emerging Generation

16 April 2009 — I have been thinking about the way that young people receive and take on information. Often in Christian circles a lot of truth and understanding is done in a form of one person speaking or instructing a large group of people (one to many).

Why Young People Choose Christianity

20 February 2009 — Recently I have been reading a few articles about what actually brings young people into a relationships with Jesus Christ. We all know that a lot of youth ministry revolves around programmes.

The Ministry of
"Hanging Out"

4 February 2009 — More than half of the people alive today are under the age of 25. What is the future of the Gospel if we don’t reach them now, while they’re so open to respectful and caring relationships?

Young People Are Weird

20 October 2008 — This is a value or attitude I have been hearing for years about young people and youth culture. It is often said in relation to trying to understand how to relate to young people and connect into their world.

My Padawan Learner

11 September 2008 — In the idea of the padawan learner the young apprentice is to learn through absorption, that is they learn from seeing how their master talks, acts and interacts. I think that most young people learn through the same process - absorption.

A New Glue

7 August 2008 — For a long time now I have been thinking about what it is that keeps a young person committed to the Christian faith (and church) as they transition through their youth and young adult years.

Global Youth Culture

23 June 2008 — Global youth culture proposes that young people in India have more in common with young people in New Zealand than they do with their own parents.

Generation Me

11 June 2008 — I am in the middle of an interesting book titled ‘Generation Me’ by Jean M Twenge. The premise is that young people (particularly in developed countries) have grown up having nearly everything they need or want but this isn’t making them happier.

Hungry for a Way Forward

8 May 2008 — I just got back from Malawi and Zambia where I was involved in trying to help look at ways forward for reaching young people in these countries.

Giving Young People a Story

18 March 2008 — I have been working with young people and students for many years. I am concerned about the ease in which they seem to opt out of their faith around the age of 18 plus.

Understanding Youth Culture Around the World

28 February 2008 — I think working with young people is like working with people from another culture. It is not the language that is the problem but rather it is the value systems, attitudes, and views of life that are so different from older generations.

In Need of Youth Workers

22 February 2008 — As I make contact with people seeking to connect with young people around the world in mission contexts, I hear one request time after time: “Can you send us people to work with young people?”