The Graduate Certificate in Youth & Family Services Leadership offers community ministry practitioners, community ministry pastors, community ministry directors, community ministry missionaries, community ministry chaplains, community services educators, faith community services personnel, family life pastors, Christian social workers, youth pastors, youth workers, and those involved in serving children, youth persons and their families the following capabilities:

• ability to develop programs and services to families based on a Trinitarian theological foundation of family
• ability to utilize the biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual aspects of human needs, strengths, and experience when engaging, assessing, planning, intervening, and evaluating service delivery in the range of social systems in which individuals live: families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• ability to assess families based on an integrated understanding of individuals, couples, and families within their cultural context and family system
• ability to address psychological, sociological, and biosocial theories and perspectives related to stress and coping and determine the risk, protective, and resiliency factors that facilitate recovery
• competency in the roles and skills of the human services professional who develops services to address the vulnerabilities and needs of children, youth, families, and communities to minimize personal and societal strain
• competency in personal and relational skills when dealing with cultural diversity in daily life and beliefs in families with young children
• competency in analyzing present-day issues of risk in the lives of youth and at-risk youth from a God-centered perspective while using various frameworks to develop interventions appropriate to the risk issue