Alpha, Emerging Generations, and Leadership with Shaila Visser

11/18/24 • 82 min

With rising digital distraction and pastoral shortages, is the church prepared to reach emerging generations? In this episode of CITN, Rob speaks with Shaila Visser about the remarkable growth of the Alpha program and its impact on youth ministry. They explore insights from recent research on emerging generations, highlighting the significant spiritual hunger among young people. They also talk about the launch of the new Alpha Youth series designed for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the shortage of young people entering into ministry, and the challenges of staying grounded in leadership. Shaila is the National Director of Alpha Canada and Global Senior Vice-President for Alpha International.

For more information about Alpha Youth, visit: https://alphacanada.org/youth/.
To learn more about Student Leadership Collective, visit: https://alphacanada.org/studentleadershipcollective/.

In the pre-show, Geoff, Rob and special guest Karly Traub get back in the studio after a long weekend and a week off from the podcast. They talk about Alpha, including their past experiences, and their excitement for the new Youth Alpha video series set to release on November 14. For more information about the podcast, visit www.churchinthenorth.ca. For questions or inquiries, email us at [email protected]. If you like what you hear, please share this podcast with others, give us a review, or leave a comment.

For more information about Alpha Youth, visit: https://alphacanada.org/youth/.
To learn more about Student Leadership Collective, visit: https://alphacanada.org/studentleadershipcollective/.

Previous Episode

Military Chaplaincy and Co-vocational Ministry with Jason Mills

In this episode of CITN, Rob Chartrand interviewed Jason Mills, Dean of Briercrest Seminary. This in-house guest talked about his journey from Church ministry, to chaplaincy and teaching, and how God's calling for his life has led him on a ministry journey across Canada. Rob and Jason discuss chaplaincy and the position's unique opportunity to connect with those who may never enter a church building. They also discuss Co-vocational ministry and how Briercrest Seminary is providing training for potential or current co-vocational ministers!

In the pre-show, Kait Brennan, Geoff Dresser, and Rob Chartrand discuss their Haloween plans (or lack thereof), and recent and upcoming elections. The CITN crew digs into what it means to be a Christ-follower first before a follower of a politician and the nuance of the role of ministry leaders during times of political turnover.

Next Episode

Discoveries from Leaders at the Pipeline Symposium - Part 1

How do we confront the Canadian clergy shortage crisis? On November 18-20, over fifty ministry leaders gathered from across Canada at Muskoka Woods Camp for the first-ever Pipeline Symposium. Many invitations were sent out, and some couldn't attend, but there was a strong representation of denominational, academic, parachurch, and local church leaders. Throughout the three-day event, Rob sat down with eleven of its participants for short "speed interviews." The goal was to capture their discoveries, but more importantly, to help turn up the heat around this crucial conversation. On this week's episode, we hear from Kesavan Belasingham (Pastor, Fellowship Church Rouge Park), Jeremy MacDonald (Director of Operations, Youth Worker Community), Trevor Peacock (Senior Pastor, Redemption Calgary North), Paul Carter (Lead Pastor, Cornerstone Baptist Church), Jonathan Griffiths (Lead Pastor, The Metropolitan Bible Church and Chancellor, Heritage Seminary), and Steve Adams (Founder and Consultant, Adams & Co.).

There is no pre-show for this week's episode. For more information about the podcast, visit www.churchinthenorth.ca. For questions or inquiries, email us at [email protected]. If you like what you hear, please share this podcast with others, give us a review, or leave a comment.