Dr. David Rahn ” HC PhD, YFC VP

Huntington, Ind. " Just as Dave Rahn has many letters in his title, so are the many duties he has in the realm of his work. Rahn, a professor at Huntington College since 1985, recently accepted appointment as the Vice President for Youth for Christ /USA Ministries in addition to his regular teaching duties at HC. Rahn juggles the workload of his new endeavor along with his normal daily routines at the College by saying, Everyday is a challenge!

As a tenured faculty member at Huntington College, Rahn continues to teach five courses per year, distributed between the undergraduate Educational Ministries department and the Graduate School of Christian Ministries. He also continues to serve as the chairman of the Division of Philosophy and Religious Studies at HC.

Since 1994, Rahn has invested in activities surrounding the mission of Link Institute, Huntington College's unique initiative contributing to the advancement of youth ministry in the world. These activities have included research, writing, speaking, training, networking, consulting and direct student ministry. Just in the past two years, Rahn has published 19 books, book chapters, and articles. (See below for full details.)

Youth for Christ has benefited from these investments over the years as Rahn's activities have included DC/LA research, new staff training, speaking at regional conferences, curricular planning, consulting with various task forces and serving as the Director of National Ministries. This already mutual beneficial relationship has now taken the next step with Rahn's agreement to accept the Vice President position for YFC.

Rahn's role with YFC is more leadership driven than it is management driven. He serves on YFC's Executive Team and Management Team while leading a talented national ministries team as they guide, train and resource YFC's youth evangelism ministry staff distributed in nearly 200 communities throughout the country. Some of Rahn's duties include strategically directing and leading the organization from a decisional evangelism purpose to a discipleship evangelism purpose. To do so, he is asking staff to practice eight measurement disciplines:

Help staff keep track of each relationship established with lost youth

Report the amount of time spent with lost youth

Record the number of times "and the settings "in which the gospel was shared

Help staff keep track of each response made when a young person is invited

Report the amount of time spent with Christian youth

Record the number of times "and the settings "in which the Bible is studied with Christian youth

Identify every instance that a local church leader reports a new Christian has been assimilated into their fellowship

For each of the above indicators, staff will be asked to record the name of a ministry partner (volunteer, youth pastor, student leader, etc.) who was involved in this process, yielding a total number of those involved in youth discipleship evangelism at a particular ministry site

This transition has been a natural progression for Rahn. His involvements with Youth for Christ began when he attended his Campus Life program his junior year of high school. He came to Huntington College to prepare for youth ministry. While at HC, Rahn laid his roots in YFC, serving as a part-time staff member through college and full-time after he graduated.

Through the years of teaching at HC, Rahn has seen many of his students start to work for the organization. I'm proud of the pipeline of staff members that have graduated from Huntington College in recent years and gone on to work for YFC. The Link Institute mission is to be a catalyst to the church for the development of biblically faithful youth ministry which is increasingly effective in a rapidly changing world. I believe that our students' involvement with YFC is an outcome of that mission. This pocket of the country houses the strongest local YFC organizations and I'm proud to be a part of it!

Rahn's position, both with the College and with YFC, allows for many layers of benefits. With his vice president position and his monthly trips to the national office in Denver, Huntington College benefits from the inside connection. The opportunity for student placement is strong as HC remains on the ground floor as ideas are generated and students can become involved with various projects.

Rahn is able to be on the forefront and bring ideas back to the classroom in his teaching methods. For example, an upcoming appointment to a four-year term with the National Network of Youth Ministry's National Ministry Council will afford Rahn the chance to connect with 30 other members who he considers movers and shakers in the world of youth ministry.

Because of these connections, I'm experiencing more open doors, said Rahn. I'm getting more invitations to speak to large groups. This networking yields a lot of name recognition for the College.

Huntington College has been very embracing with this partnership with YFC, he concluded. I'm very energized by the cause.

Huntington College is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 60 academic concentrations. US News & World Report ranks Huntington among the Top 10 comprehensive colleges in the Midwest. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington College is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in Huntington, Indiana.
Publications

Dr. Dave Rahn

Rahn, Dave. (2002). " Virtual reality? The most rewarding adventure." November/December, Youthworker, 19:2; pp 54-55.

Rahn, Dave. (2002). "Keeping it real: Finding a new authenticity in evangelism." September/October, Youthworker, 19:1; pp 48-54.

Rahn, Dave. (2002). "Like fish out of water." September, Network Magazine, 20:3; pp 17-18.

Rahn, Dave. (2002). "Grace in the gap: Soothing the wounds." January/February, Youthworker, 18:3; pp 28-30.

Strommen, Merton and Jones, Karen and Rahn, Dave. (2001). Youth ministry that transforms: A comprehensive analysis of the hopes, frustrations, and effectiveness of today's youth workers. Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Youth ministry." article in Michael Anthony (ed.) Evangelical Dictionary of Christian Education. Baker Books.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Cohesion." article in Michael Anthony (ed.) Evangelical Dictionary of Christian Education. Baker Books.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Youth Specialties." article in Michael Anthony (ed.) Evangelical Dictionary of Christian Education. Baker Books.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Socialization." article in Michael Anthony (ed.) Evangelical Dictionary of Christian Education. Baker Books.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Youth ministry." chapter in Michael Anthony (ed.) Introducing Christian education: Foundations for the twenty-first century. Baker Books.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Focusing youth ministry through student leadership." Chapter 10 in Clark, Dean and Rahn (eds.), Starting right: Thinking theologically about youth ministry. Zondervan/Youth Specialties.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Seeing clearly: Organizational context." Chapter 19 in Clark, Dean and Rahn (eds.), Starting right: Thinking theologically about youth ministry. Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Assessing honestly: Continuous improvement." Chapter 27 in Clark, Dean and Rahn (eds.), Starting right: Thinking theologically about youth ministry. Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Thinking theologically as a right start." Epilogue in Clark, Dean and Rahn (eds.), Starting right: Thinking theologically about youth ministry. Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic.

Clark, Chap and Dean, Kenda Creasy and Rahn, Dave (eds.). (2001) Starting right: Thinking theologically about youth ministry. Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic.

Rahn, Dave. (2001). "Who let the dogs kids out? Reclaiming the adult role in student leadership." January/February, Youthworker, 17:3; pp 30-37.

Rahn, Dave. (2000). "The truths that matter most." July/August, Group, 26:5; p 32.

Rahn, Dave & Linhart, Terry. (2000). Contagious faith: Empowering student leadership in youth evangelism. Group Publishing.

Rahn, Dave. (2000). "Tension or slack? Identifying the professor's role in youth ministry's future." Journal of Youth Ministry, 1:1; http://www.jym.org

Rahn, Dave. (1999). "Reckoning with adolescent influence: A sociological perspective on youth ministry." Christian Education Journal, 3 (NS): 2; pp 81-91.

Rahn, Dave. (1999). "Effective evangelizing." November/December, Group, 26:1; pp 26-29.

Rahn, Dave. (1998). "A sociological framework for doing youth ministry." chapter in Dunn & Senter (eds.) Reaching a generation for Christ. Moody Press.

Rahn, Dave. (1997). "Insights into the survey results." September/October, Group, 23:6; p 24.

Rahn, Dave. (1997). "Tracking down the time-wasters." May/June, Group, 23:4; pp 28-29; 50.

Rahn, Dave. (1996). "Marketplace youth ministry." September/October, Group, 22:6; pp 41-44.

Rahn, Dave. (1996). "Parafamily youth ministry." May/June, Group, 22:4; pp 36-39.

Rahn, Dave. (1995). "The best in youth ministry training." November/ December, Group, 22:1; pp 32-35.

----. (1995). "Youthworker roundtable: Toward a theology of youth ministry." Youthworker Journal, 12:1; pp 67-75. (interview)

Rahn, Dave & Lamport, Mark. (1995). "Do big events make a difference?" May/June, Group, 21:4; pp 12-14.

Rahn, David D. (1994). "Introduction: Cooperative education." Christian Education Journal, 14: 3; pp 9-10.

Rahn, David D. (1994). "Ruthless cooperation in discipleship." Christian Education Journal, 14: 3; pp 68-73.

Rahn, David D. (1992). "The scary prospect of a professional youth minister: Response to Lamport's 'The state of the profession of youth ministry'." Christian Education Journal, 13: 1; pp 101-103.

Rahn, David D. (1992). "Cooperative learning and Christian education." Christian Education Journal, 12: 3; pp 9-22.