We’re excited to bring you an episode with a genuine ‘lift-where-you-stand story’ of a family in the UK. Sam and Jen Norton have served young people in the church for more than twenty years and most recently as FSY Session Directors in London. FSY stands for “For the Strength of Youth”, and refers to the week-long summer events held for youth around the world.
As FSY leaders, Jen and Sam began facing difficult questions about how to include and support youth with a range of perspectives and lifestyles. They wanted to affirm the wisdom of the standards set by the Church for youth; they also noticed that many youth were driven away the fear of exclusion they would experience if they fell short. As a result, many youth would drop out of Church activity before giving a chance to learn what it’s really about.
Through prayer, open conversations, deep listening, and creativity, Jen and Sam were taken on a truly transformative journey; they found their way to loving the younger generation more than they thought possible, and learning how to really champion them and their unique spiritual gifts. In short, they believe in believing in the next generation and giving them a more gentle on-ramp to following Jesus and reminds them that perhaps the most important word in the sacrament prayer and baptismal covenant is ‘willing’. Their story will be valuable to anyone working with youth, or who is interested in blending top-down and bottom-up approaches to Church callings.
If you want more of what you hear in this conversation, Sam wrote a book about it called Come as You Are: Creating Space for the Rising Generation to come to Jesus Christ. The book aims to be an accessible guide to parents, leaders and teachers and invites us all to rethink about how we support our young people’s faith discovery.
216. Big Stories, Little Saints — A Conversation with Sarah and Josh Sabey
215. Finding the Still Point in Tension — John Kesler and Thomas McConkie
214. Gathering All Safely In — A Conversation with Liz and Jordon Sharp
213. Leading Deseret Book — A Conversation with Laurel Day
212. Is God Disappointed in Me? — A Conversation with Kurt Francom
210. The Gift of Dissonance — A Conversation with Patrick Mason
209. What's So Good About Good Friday? — A Conversation with Eric Huntsman
208. Curious Mind, Open Heart — A Conversation with Bill Turnbull and Kathy Clayton
207. Feeling Separated? So did Jesus. — A Conversation with Kerry Muhlestein
206. Tragedy in the Holy Land: What Can We Do? — A Conversation with Chad Ford
205. Tough Love from the Book of Mormon — A Conversation with Grant Hardy
204. Advice from "The World's Worst Mom" — A Conversation with Lenore Skenazy
Proclaim Peace: A New Podcast by Faith Matters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government
203. Love is a Law, not a Reward — Adam Miller at Restore
202. The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God — A Conversation with Justin Brierley
201. The Counter-Culture of Commitment — A Conversation with Pete Davis
200. The Awakened Brain — Lisa Miller at Restore
199. Integrity and Institutions — A Conversation with George Handley on Lowell Bennion
198. Seven Gospels — A Conversation with Adam Miller and Rosalynde Welch
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Kingdom Power Fellowship Podcast
The Bible Recap
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)