Contemplative practices of spirituality have received strong attention in Western countries in the last few years. In the US, the Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project, headed by Mark Yaconelli, has focused on introducing Christian youth workers to classical spiritual disciplines.
The Upper Room has a long history in providing resource for spiritual growth, and in recent years has expanded its offerings to include young people. It’s a daily devotional magazine for teenagers, Devo’Zine, has been running for over 10 years. A new series of resources, The Way of Pilgrimage, offers 5 six-week experiences of personal and group spiritual practices based on core aspects of the Christian tradition.
I must say up-front that I co-authored one of the books, so I admit my bias that these materials are great! We’re using the resources at my College as part of a year-long discipleship program for young adults.
Each of the five participants’ books consists of 6 weeks of daily exercises – Scripture reading and reflection, prayer, and additional activities. The emphasis is on building spiritual practice rather than on in-depth Bible study. A leader’s guide provide a pattern for a weekly meeting of the pilgrims to share their journey and reflect further on the theme of the week. Both the daily and weekly materials draw on ancient and contemporary sources.
There are sample materials for leaders here.
