The Center for Youth Ministry Excellence Moves National Office to Southwestern College, Partners with the Institute for Discipleship

Winfield, Kan., Oct. 11, 2011 — The Center for Youth Ministry Excellence (CYMX) has moved its national office to Southwestern College and partnered with the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship (IFD). Charles Harrison, chief executive officer of CYMX, met with the Southwestern College Board of Trustees Oct. 7 to officially launch the partnership. The office had been located in Nashville.

“The Center has an extensive network of 4,500 members of The Youthworker Movement around the country and this partnership provides us the opportunity to better meet the educational needs of our members,” Harrison said.

Some of the immediate advantages include a physical identity for CYMX, a co-hosting opportunity for Youth Disciple Online, and national and local workshop possibilities.

“The college has a strong tradition of supporting area youth ministries and helping to educate students for careers in youth ministry,” says Dick Merriman, president of Southwestern College.

“This partnership will strengthen our commitment to helping to equip the church with effective youth ministry leadership.”

The first week of October helped to celebrate this new partnership with several events and workshops including Re-Think Connection (a national gathering of UMC youth staff), as well as a local workshop for area youth workers, and a workshop for youth directors in Wichita.

“This partnership helps us make a major step forward in supporting the educational needs of persons in ministry with youth,” says Steve Wilke, executive director of IFD.

Southwestern College is a private institution granting undergraduate and graduate degrees and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. About 1,800 students attend classes at the main Winfield campus, at five professional studies sites in Kansas and Oklahoma, or online around the world.