Teen Mania Ministries

Infobox Organization
name = Teen Mania Ministries

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motto = To provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth!
formation = 1986
extinction =
type = Christian missions
headquarters = Garden Valley, Texas
location = Garden Valley, Texas, Bloomington, Minnesota (North Campus)
membership =
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leader_title = President/Founder
leader_name = Ron Luce
key_people = |num_staff = 9 on Board of Directors. Chairman, Daniel Williams. Much of the work in the ministry is done by participants in its Honor Academy program.
budget =
website = [http://teenmania.com teenmania.com]

Teen Mania Ministries is an Evangelical Christian mission organization located in Garden Valley, Texas. Its programs include the Battle Cry Campaign and "Acquire the Fire" events, described by one writer as "a mix of pep rally, rock concert and church service," [cite news
first = Matthai Chakko
last = Kuruvila
authorlink =
author = Matthai Chakko Kuruvila
coauthors =
title = Christian teens flock to BattleCry
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/10/BAG63OJ6V43.DTL
format =
work =
publisher = San Francisco Chronicle
id =
pages =
page =
date = 2007-03-10
accessdate = 2007-07-01
language =
quote = ] that are held in over 30 cities across the United States and Canada each year. Among other programs, the ministry organizes domestic and overseas mission trips, and operates a one-year-long residential program on its campus, the Honor Academy, marketed to high school graduates.

Teen Mania is a member of the Arlington Group, a coalition which unites the leaders of almost all of the most prominent Christian Right organizations in the United States.

Mission Statement

Teen Mania Ministries' mission, as stated on its corporate website, is "to provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take his life-giving message to the ends of the Earth". [cite web |url=http://teenmania.org |title=Teen Mania’s Mission Statement |accessdate=2007-11-14 |work=Teen Mania Ministries Corporate web site]

Teen Mania is not affiliated with a specific denomination; the organization works with local churches of various denominations while providing its programs and other resources for youth, parents and church leaders. [cite web |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/4518.htm |title=Charity Navigator Rating - Teen Mania Ministries |accessdate=2007-11-14 |work=Charity Navigator]

Founder

Ron Luce is the president and founder of Teen Mania Ministries. He and his wife Katie founded Teen Mania in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1986. [cite news
first = Tamra
last = Schultz
authorlink =
author = Tamra Schultz
coauthors =
title = Acquire the Fire: Workshop for a New Revolution of Music
url = http://www.ninetyandnine.com/Archives/20011203/review2.htm
format =
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publisher = ninetyandnine.com
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date = December 3, 2001
accessdate = 2007-07-01
language =
quote = ] Luce has publicly condemned "purveyors of popular culture" as "the enemy," who according to Luce are "terrorists, virtue terrorists, that are destroying our kids... they're raping virgin teenage America on the sidewalk, and everybody's walking by and acting like everything's OK. And it's just not OK."cite news
first = Christiane
last = Amanpour
authorlink = Christiane Amanpour
author =
coauthors = Julie O'Neill, Taylor Gandossy
title = Teen Christians campaign against pop culture
url = http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/08/22/gw.teen.christians/
format =
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publisher = CNN
id =
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date = August 23, 2007
accessdate = 2007-08-27
language =
quote = ]

Primary ministries

There are five primary ministries within the organization that serve to facilitate its mission.

* Acquire the Fire (ATF) is a youth conference that is presented in various cities across the United States and Canada each year. These conferences consist of Christian teachings, stage dramas, worship via song, and live concerts. The other ministries of Teen Mania are also promoted at these conferences. Similar mass events are held in stadiums and arenas as part of the Battle Cry Campaign. In recent years, ATF / Battle Cry producers have adopted a militaristic tone, with frequent use of words such as "battle," "enemy," "soldier," "foes" and "warfare," accompanied by the display of military imagery and, at one such event, the use of simulated weapons. cite video| title = Acquire the Fire TV (atf.tv)| medium = TV series| publisher = Teen Mania Ministries / Daystar Television Network| year = 2006| date = December 9 Edited telecast of "BattleCry" stadium events recorded in Detroit on 2006-04-08 and in Philadelphia on 2006-05-13.]
* Global Expeditions is a short-term missionary ministry. Young people are sent between 1 and 8 weeks to countries around the world for service-related work as well as drama and street evangelism. They recently began spring break and holiday trips, sending missionaries for 1 or 2 weeks. To date Global Expeditions claims to have taken over 50,000 teen missionaries to 50 countries around the globe. [ [http://www.globalexpeditions.com/parents.php Global Expeditions web page] "A Note to Parents"]
* The Honor Academy is an internship program for high school graduates. Honor Academy interns perform most of the day-to-day functions of the different ministry programs. First year interns are often referred to as Undergraduates. Undergraduates that decide to return for an additional year or more are referred to as Graduate Interns. In order to participate in the Honor Academy, individuals must raise their own financial support, which ranges from $500 to $1500 per month depending on the specific program. These funds are a tax-deductable contribution directly to the ministry and are non-refundable. [cite web| url= http://honoracademy.com/finances.php| title= Honor Academy: Becoming an Intern| accessdate=2007-07-01| work=Honor Academy]
* Extreme Camps is an annual series of summer camps held at their campus in Garden Valley, Texas.
* The Center For Creative Media is a two-year film and television internship program. These interns participate in producing media for Teen Mania related live events and broadcasts.

The campus

In 1996 Teen Mania relocated from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Garden Valley, Texas, purchasing the property that was formerly the location of Keith Green's Last Days Ministries. One of the dormitories on campus is named Green Hall, in memory of Keith.

Criticism

Political activist, Sunsara Taylor of The World Can't Wait has publicly opposed what she described as Teen Mania Ministries' "hateful", "hyperpatriotic", "woman-bashing" and "racist" stances. [cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/taylor05232006.html |title=Meet the New Christian Conquistadors |accessdate=2007-03-23 |last=Taylor |first=Sunsara |date=2006-05-23 |publisher=Counterpunch ]

References

External links

* [http://teenmania.org Teen Mania Ministries]
* [http://www.teenmania.ca Teen Mania Canada]
* [http://www.globalexpeditions.com/index.php Global Expeditions (Mission Projects page)]
* [http://www.ecfa.org/MemberProfile.aspx?ID=6461 Teen Mania Financial Profile] from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability