Author Professor Abstinence Educator Teacher Trainer Curriculum Writer
La Verne Tolbert, Ph.D., is Founder and President of Teaching Like Jesus Ministries, Inc., a non-profit parachurch ministry that equips leaders in the local church. She is also Director of The Society for Children's Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, a triennial gathering of scholars and practitioners exploring research in the field of children's Christian formation www.childspirituality.net.
Author of Teaching Like Jesus: A Practical Guide to Christian Education in Your Church (Zondervan), Dr. Tolbert's passion is to bring seminary-quality interactive workshops to practitioners who work with children, teens, and adults. Her book has been hailed by Dr. Lawrence Richards as the "best book on Christian education I've read in 20 years!" It’s a favorite in Christian colleges and seminaries throughout the United States.
This is not surprising since the book resulted from questions by students who wanted teach like Jesus when Dr. Tolbert was Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Talbot School of Theology. She taught in the graduate school 4 years after earning her master’s and doctorate degrees. Currently, Professor Tolbert teaches children's pastors and youth pastors as an adjunct at Azusa Pacific University's graduate school.
After completing her dissertation, Dr. Tolbert wrote Keeping You & Your Kids Sexually Pure: A How-To Guide for Parents, Pastors, Youth Workers and Teachers which was originally published by Zondervan. This book, geared to parents and church leaders, stresses the urgency of teaching abstinence. She details her experience on the board of Planned Parenthood and shares research about Planned Parenthood's strategy to establish school-based clinics in public schools throughout the United States. Her study demonstrates that condom availability may encourage sexual activity among teenagers who perceive that in their school environment sexual activity is expected and accepted.
Soon to be published is her latest book, How to STUDY and Understand the Bible. Teaching courses on Inductive Bible Study in churches as well as in seminary led to this work. It is specifically geared to the parishioner who has questions about how to read and study the Bible. Its format is simple—less than 80 pages! A teaching manual for pastors and Christian educators outlines lessons for each of the chapters.
Dr. Tolbert has written children's church curricula and abstinence curricula. Notable is I've Got the Power Abstinence 'Til Marriage Curriculum written with Dr. Shelly Cunningham for the A.C. Green Foundation. She is a sought after speaker who has a passion to train abstinence educators and parents to teach abstinence.
La Verne is married to Irving Tolbert, a banker and church elder who launched a Rites of Passage ministry, a volunteer-based mentorship program for boys 12-16. Modeled after the African tradition, boys receive manhood training for a year and then "graduate" in an African-inspired ceremony. Classes are held on Saturday mornings so that boys enjoy the company of mentors who take them on outings to museums, amusement parks, baseball games, and the like. Elder Tolbert and his village elders have mentored over 350 boys in 11 years. The majority of these youngsters are being raised single-parent homes.
Irving and La Verne have a daughter, La Nej Garrison, a dynamic youth speaker and abstinence educator par excellence! La Nej earned her Master of Arts in Theology of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology/Biola University, and she was the first African American woman to do so. La Nej shares her engaging sexual purity talk with churches and youth groups and is sought after for national conferences, such as Youth For Christ. She has a book in the works and we're eagerly anticipating its completion.
Please visit Dr. Tolbert on Facebook.
Author of Teaching Like Jesus: A Practical Guide to Christian Education in Your Church (Zondervan), Dr. Tolbert's passion is to bring seminary-quality interactive workshops to practitioners who work with children, teens, and adults. Her book has been hailed by Dr. Lawrence Richards as the "best book on Christian education I've read in 20 years!" It’s a favorite in Christian colleges and seminaries throughout the United States.
This is not surprising since the book resulted from questions by students who wanted teach like Jesus when Dr. Tolbert was Assistant Professor of Christian Education at Talbot School of Theology. She taught in the graduate school 4 years after earning her master’s and doctorate degrees. Currently, Professor Tolbert teaches children's pastors and youth pastors as an adjunct at Azusa Pacific University's graduate school.
After completing her dissertation, Dr. Tolbert wrote Keeping You & Your Kids Sexually Pure: A How-To Guide for Parents, Pastors, Youth Workers and Teachers which was originally published by Zondervan. This book, geared to parents and church leaders, stresses the urgency of teaching abstinence. She details her experience on the board of Planned Parenthood and shares research about Planned Parenthood's strategy to establish school-based clinics in public schools throughout the United States. Her study demonstrates that condom availability may encourage sexual activity among teenagers who perceive that in their school environment sexual activity is expected and accepted.
Soon to be published is her latest book, How to STUDY and Understand the Bible. Teaching courses on Inductive Bible Study in churches as well as in seminary led to this work. It is specifically geared to the parishioner who has questions about how to read and study the Bible. Its format is simple—less than 80 pages! A teaching manual for pastors and Christian educators outlines lessons for each of the chapters.
Dr. Tolbert has written children's church curricula and abstinence curricula. Notable is I've Got the Power Abstinence 'Til Marriage Curriculum written with Dr. Shelly Cunningham for the A.C. Green Foundation. She is a sought after speaker who has a passion to train abstinence educators and parents to teach abstinence.
La Verne is married to Irving Tolbert, a banker and church elder who launched a Rites of Passage ministry, a volunteer-based mentorship program for boys 12-16. Modeled after the African tradition, boys receive manhood training for a year and then "graduate" in an African-inspired ceremony. Classes are held on Saturday mornings so that boys enjoy the company of mentors who take them on outings to museums, amusement parks, baseball games, and the like. Elder Tolbert and his village elders have mentored over 350 boys in 11 years. The majority of these youngsters are being raised single-parent homes.
Irving and La Verne have a daughter, La Nej Garrison, a dynamic youth speaker and abstinence educator par excellence! La Nej earned her Master of Arts in Theology of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology/Biola University, and she was the first African American woman to do so. La Nej shares her engaging sexual purity talk with churches and youth groups and is sought after for national conferences, such as Youth For Christ. She has a book in the works and we're eagerly anticipating its completion.
Please visit Dr. Tolbert on Facebook.