Presbyterian Youth Workers Association launches faith-based sexuality curriculum
Board member calls it ‘a helpful resource for necessary conversations about faith and sexuality’
The Presbyterian Youth Workers Association (PYWA) has released "Brave Conversations on Sexuality," a sexuality education curriculum designed to help churches navigate discussions about faith and sexuality with middle and high school students.
The seven-session resource, developed through a grant from the Missing Voices Project at Flagler College’s Youth Ministry Institute, fills a gap left when the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) discontinued its sexuality education materials in the early 1990s.
“There are very comprehensive curriculums available and they are great,” said Dr. Christy Williams, PYWA organizational administrator and curriculum editor. “They are also often overwhelming for volunteers. The members of the PYWA Board saw that with the help of a team of committed youth workers, we could offer the church a helpful resource for necessary conversations about faith and sexuality.”
“Certainly, there is a lot more to say about each area!” added Williams, who admitted that the writing team prioritized accessibility over comprehensiveness. “It covers seven areas we thought were important in a way that is doable in 90 minutes.”
Williams, who has 35 years of experience in congregational ministry, said the need became increasingly apparent as she worked with young adults who lacked basic information about their bodies and healthy relationships. In developing the curriculum and introducing it to youth workers, Williams and her team received feedback for a need to hold these brave conversations and many more. They envision future curriculum featuring how to approach conversations on politics and technology between youth and their families or within their faith formation communities.
The Rev. Dr. Christine J. Hong, associate professor of educational ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary, provided theological framing for the project on sexuality.
“At the core of Brave Conversations is the belief everyone is made in God's image, lovingly formed, and still being formed,” Hong wrote in her introductory letter to facilitators. “This curriculum endeavors to remind youth and educators alike that bodies, minds, spirits, and the way they work together are good and sacred.”
Kim Ness, PYWA board member and co-editor, emphasized the curriculum’s accessibility. “We were really intentional about making this approachable for parents, recognizing that they’re the ones who should be the first voice in our young people’s lives,” she said during a recent webinar introducing the resource.
The curriculum begins with values clarification and progresses through identity, influences, body anatomy, relationships, consent and safety and sexual health. Each 90-minute session includes opening activities, biblical grounding, interactive lessons and take-home materials for parents.
Ness and Williams gathered a group of youth leaders over Zoom to introduce the curriculum and learn about their experiences addressing sexuality within a faith formation context. When a youth leader asked about what to say when asked whether or not youth should have sex, Ness encouraged youth leaders to come “back to the why and the repercussions instead of the shame — we focused a lot on removing shame as part of this.”
A team of six writers from diverse backgrounds and ministry contexts developed the content during a summit at Columbia Theological Seminary in January 2024. The writers include the Rev. Heather Wood Davis, Shannon Guse, the Rev. Joann Haejong Lee, Hiram A. Pérez-Cordero, the Rev. Natarsha Prince Sanders and the Rev. Jeremy Wilhelmi, alongside editors Ness, Williams and the Rev. Carol Steele.
During the introductory webinar, participants cited numerous barriers to sexuality education in churches, including parental concerns, congregational discomfort and lack of resources. However, they also identified compelling reasons for churches to address these topics.
“We have a lot of kids in my youth group who are questioning their sexuality, their gender identity, and I just feel like we’re doing a huge disservice if we don’t talk about those things,” said one Texas-based youth leader. “I think we need to give them the language to be able to talk about it.”
Another participant noted that “most parents are not talking with their youth about it, and it becomes taboo. For the parents, it takes a kind of burden off of their shoulders, but also it’s an advantage to them to even learn how to have those conversations with their kid.”
The curriculum is available for $100 through pywa.org, with a 20% discount for congregations with fewer than 100 members.
Free preview materials include Hong’s theological introduction video, her letter to colleagues and the table of contents.
The resource can be adapted for various settings, including weekly youth group meetings, weekend retreats or one-day events. Each session includes parent materials to facilitate ongoing conversations at home.
“As you prepare to teach these lessons, remember there is no perfect curriculum, educator or learner,” Hong wrote. “You don’t need years of theological study to teach these lessons; you only need the willingness to remain present and brave.”
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