The Urban Youth Workers Institute describes itself as “a national nonprofit organization that trains and resources urban youth workers to effectively evangelize and disciple youth in at-risk zip codes throughout the U.S.” The UYWI’s primary goal is “to engage 75,000 urban youth in life-changing discipleship with local youth workers by 2020.”
A big part of moving that initiative along is the recently-unveiled Discipleship Toolkit, a free resource compiled of conversation-starting videos, leader guides and student handouts that include an introduction to the Gospel, discipleship support and apologetics resources. It also helps leaders track the progress of students in the areas of spirituality, self, family, community, and education.
Acosta, along with partner D.A. Horton, presented the Discipleship Toolkit at UYWI’s RELOAD event in Brooklyn on Sept. 12. He took some time to talk with The Christian Post about the mission of his ministry, why churches need to invest in their youth workers, and trends he has noticed over the last 17 years in his field.
The transcript below has been edited for clarity.
