Innovation Laboratory

THE CYMT INNOVATION LABORATORY is a Lilly Endowment Inc. initiative that was established in response to the widespread perception that traditional models of youth ministry are ineffective in many contexts. Started in 2017 by Austin Seminary professor Andrew Zirschky with a team from CYMT, the Lab is devoted to helping congregations implement forms of ministry that are transfomative, theologically informed, and responsive to young people’s needs. Today, the Lab’s five-step theological innovation process along with other Lab insights form part of the curriculum that first-year students experience in the MAYM practicum.

In light of the difficulties the COVID pandemic posed for youth ministry, Daphne Turnage was among a select group of MAYM students who were invited to experience the entire innovation process in a compressed format during the 2020-21 school year.

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I was chosen for CYMT Innovation Lab training along with three other residents. CYMT believed the church that I was placed at would be a good fit for the lab process. I led the innovation process with a team of adults and youth from the church, as we went through each of the five steps of the process to figure out a need of the young people in our neighborhood. The intention was to solve an issue that youth were facing before the pandemic which was only amplified due to Covid. The issue that we chose to tackle was loneliness. We chose to combat this by creating community through cooking. After we came up with the solution, it was time to prototype it.

Through a grant from the Innovation Lab we were able to test it out. We created a form for youth to sign up at our partner school. We would host the cooking club via Zoom on Saturdays. Students and their families would pick up food on Fridays. In the boxes were a menu and cooking instructions, the cooking utensils needed to prepare the meal, and enough ingredients to prepare an entrée, sides, and desserts to feed their entire family. Students would then log on Saturday with everything they needed, and we would have different adults leading the meal preps. We cooked things like homemade pizzas, salads, and cookies or homemade mac-n-cheese, greens, and layered cakes. We had prepared questions and sometimes games to go deeper and make connections.

It was a success. We were able to create that community and watch it grow outside of just that cooking time. We were able to laugh, pray, and break bread together. Some families in the neighborhood depended on food from the school, so this also helped combat food disparities for those who needed it. We were able to connect not just with students but also with their families for the first time. It was a beautiful extension of God’s love through community.

—Daphne Turnage, Senior MAYM student