First Things First of Greater Richmond

RESOURCES BY SUBJECT l FTF LIBRARY

Youth & Singles Education Resources

Under Development; Send us your recommendations to info@FirstThingsRichmond.org

Love Thiinks or How PICK a Partner or How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk (or Jerkett) Curriculum and workbook by Dr John Van Epp. (Family Therapist) Great for youth when presented with clips from contemporary movies to illustrate. www.NoJerks.com. Also wonderful in the College Setting with an emphasis on the process of developing a healthy relationship. Secular Workbooks available or with Christian supplement. Link here for more info.
Love U 2: Relationship Smarts for youth A positive, asset building relationship program to help teens become wiser about relationships, smarter about sex, more skilled in communications and more informed about marriage and families. Several excellent Programs: Increasing your relationship smarts for teens and Sex Smart for older teens. http://www.dibblefund.org Dibble Fund with resources to help teens including the Connections Program. These are some of the best resources for public school classes... where many children have not had healthy relationships leading to marriage modeled at home. "Love is in the Air" article on paying attention to romantic lives of teens (Link Here)
PREP, PREP & Christian PREP are perhaps the best packaged Marriage and Relationship Skills programs available. They can be used with teens, young adults, engaged or those already married. A complete list of presenters in the Richmond, VA area is available. Area Providers include: St Giles Presbyterian Church, Bon Air Baptist Church and First Things First of Richmond
CONNECTIONS: Several excellent Programs: Dating & Emotions for grades 8-12 and Relationships & Marriage (+PREP) for grades 11-14. and NEW Love U2 Relationship Smarts grades 8-12 http://www.dibblefund.org Dibble Fund with resources to help teens including the Connections Program. These are some of the best resources for public school classes... where many children have not had healthy relationships leading to marriage modeled at home.
"Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity" is a new book by Lauren Winner
Within My Reach (PREP for individuals) developed especially for low income audiences
NEW FROM THE NATIONAL MARRIAGE PROJECT at Rutgers University Ten Important Research Findings on Marriage and Choosing a Marriage Partner -Some Helpful Facts for Young Adults- http://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/pubTenThingsYoungAdults.pdf ... they also have the State of the Unuins each year with the latest research.
Love Sex and Relationships Book and 8 week Video Curriculum by Dean Sherman available from Youth With A Mission at www.ywampublishing.com. This is the best Biblical View on this topic, perfect for 16-30 years old singles in a church setting. Works especially well when followed by a how to like How To Avoid Marrying a Jerk
GET S.M.A.R.T.! Skills Make Adult Relationships Thrive at James Madison University (JMU) A program to introduce students and staff to proven healthy relationship and marriage skills (Relationship 101 Intro) link
Report on effectiveness of Abstinence Education: by Robert Rector A report dated April 8, 2002 looking at various programs. Posted by Heritage Foundation.
http://www.teenpregnancy.org A link to this informative and creative national site to reduce teen pregnancy.
Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry by Lisa Bevere. tackles these tough issues by moving us from rules to relationship. There is no question we need a renewal of purity, but what we're doing is not working. How far can you go? Ask yourself: What do you ultimately want? Immediate and temporary gratification that wanes with the passage of time? Or passion and exclusive intimacy that endures and intensifies? God wants to move us beyond the restraint of the law (which arouses sin) and plant us into a garden of longing -- where our sexuality and passion is carefully guarded and cultivated until the time for its awakening. This is a book for every daughter in waiting and every woman who has never known desire in her life and marriage.
Family Honor: Family centered Faith Based programs to promote chastity with the catholic Family Life http://www.familyhonor.org
http://www.medinstitute.org The Medical Institute for Sexual Health The Medical Institute for Sexual Health is a nonprofit and nonpartisan educational organization founded in 1992 by obstetrician/gynecologist, Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., MD to confront the global epidemics of nonmarital pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease with incisive health care data. For over a decade, The Medical Institute�s mission has been to identify, evaluate and communicate credible scientific data in practical, understandable and dynamic formats to promote healthy sexual decisions and behavior.
http://www.whyknow.org/ Abstinence Education Programs
http://www.notmenotnow.org/ Making Smart Choices about Sex; for youth with information for parents as well
http://www.abstinence.net/ Abstinence ClearingHouse; Networking people for Abstinence
July 22-25, 2008 Abstinence Clearinghouse Conference at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL www.abstinenceconference.com.
Abstinence testimony to congress May 22, 07; Hundreds of abstinence education advocates, most of who are still in high school, gathered on Capitol Hill today to educate Congress about the widespread support for abstinence education. News release link here.