Join the conversation as experts propose, defend, and explore Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church.In a dialog that often gets downright feisty, four youth ministry academicians delineate their distinct philosophical and ecclesiological views regarding how youth ministry relates to the church at large--and leave a taste of what’s profound and what’s not in these four typologies:Inclusive congregational (Malan Nel). What happens when a church thoroughly integrates its adolescents, making them full partners in every aspect of congregational life?Preparatory (Wesley Black). Why and how should a church consider its teenagers as disciples-in-training and its youth ministry a school of preparation for future participation in church life?Missional (Chap Clark). What does a church look like, whose youth ministry does not necessarily nurture "church kids" but is essentially evangelistic? Whose youths and youth workers are considered missionaries?Strategic (Mark Senter). How feasible is it for a youth ministry to become a new church on its own--the youth pastor becoming the pastor, and the new church planted with the blessing of the mother church?In Four View of Your Ministry and the Church, solid academic writing and an inviting tone and design create a compelling text for both in-the-field, practicing youth workers and undergraduates and graduate students.

Most adults feel uncomfortable in the teen subculture. From this uneasy position, adults like to 'handle' the teens like children because they are threatening. The purpose of Timeless Youth Ministry is to help people in the church and Christian youth organizations minister to teenagers. As former youth pastors and current professors of youth ministry, the authors have 'been there, done that' in this field. They've run programs, camps, and ministry trips in such diverse places as southern California, east Tennessee, northeast Ohio and Alberta, Canada,to name a few. This book is a needed resource to examine afresh what it means to be an adolescent in today's culture and how those who minister to young people can best reach them.

This book explores youth ministry and the role of the youth minister by looking at a range of various metaphors for the youth worker, such as 'flawed hero', 'visionary architect', 'party planner' and 'guardian of souls'. Each chapter takes one of these metaphors as a central theme, offers biblical and/or theological reflection on this aspect of youth ministry, explains the relevant theory and the necessary skills, uses real-life stories from practitioners to bring the metaphor to life, summarizes the key principles and values, gives questions for reflection and makes suggestions for further reading.

There are many philosophies and strategies that drive today's youth ministry. To most people, they are variations on a single goal: to make faithful disciples of young people. However, digging deeper into various programs, books, and concepts reveals substantive differences among approaches. Bestselling author Chap Clark is one of the leading voices in youth ministry today. In this multiview work, he brings together a diverse group of leaders to present major views on youth ministry. Chapters are written in essay/response fashion by Fernando Arzola, Greg Stier, Ron Hunter, Brian Cosby, and Chap Clark. As the contributors present their views and respond to each of the other views, they discuss their task and calling, giving readers the resources they need to develop their own approach to youth ministry. Offering a model of critical thinking and respectful dialogue, this volume provides a balanced, irenic approach to a topic with which every church wrestles.

Research in youth ministry has excelled and developed rapidly over the last four decades. Youth ministry is not just a church practice, but has become an emerging academic discipline, with a variety of methodological, theoretical, and contextual approaches. This academic handbook offers an assessment of contemporary youth ministry research to assist students doing bachelor, master, and doctoral research, and youth ministry scholars, in their studies of youth ministry. By examining youth ministry research through the lens of the following five fundamental questions, the reader is challenged to engage with state-of-the-art theory, methods, and findings from current youth ministry research: • Who are the youth in youth ministry? • Where is God in youth ministry? • What is the purpose of youth ministry? • Who is the youth minister in youth ministry? • How to research practices in youth ministry? The academic handbook is a must-read for everyone who is interested in systematic reflection on youth ministry and youth ministry research.

Virtually all churches aim to invest meaningfully in the faith development of the younger generations who have been entrusted into their care. Some churches have a longstanding track record of faithfulness in living out this commitment. Some lose sight of this priority over time and allow their intentionality to fade. This book makes a distinctive contribution to our understanding of children’s, youth, and young adult ministries by appropriating Erik Erikson’s concept of generativity (“the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation”) as a way of exploring congregational life. Eleven accomplished authors representing five different countries provide diverse theological and cultural perspectives on key aspects of what it means for churches to invest intentionally in the faith development of the members of emerging generations. Their chapters challenge us to think about the intergenerational dynamics of our churches, the crucial partnership between church and parents, and what it means to involve young people meaningfully in the life of the church. The intriguing topics explored by this group of authors—and the diverse contexts from which they write—promise to broaden and enrich our thinking about caring for children, youth, and young adults as a vital responsibility shared by the entire congregation.

Every church is called to some form of family ministry, but this calling requires far more than adding another program to an already-packed schedule. The most effective family ministries refocus every church process to engage parents in discipling their children and to draw family members together instead of pulling them apart. In this second edition, Jones expands the definition of family ministry, and broadens the book's focus to address urban perspectives and family ministry in diverse settings.

A first-of-its-kind study of Protestant youth ministers reveals the hopes, frustrations, and effectiveness of today’s youth workers.Of the 7,000 youth workers assembled in 1996 under Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, a sample of 2,130 full-time youth ministers from dozens of Protestant denominations and parachurch organizations answered a battery of exhaustive, deliberate questions covering:What they liked best about youth ministryWhat particularly pleased them in their work with youthWhat they found most encouraging or discouragingTheir biggest obstacle to an effective youth ministryTheir biggest concern in youth ministryTheir answers revealed a dedicated group of professionals, concerned a out the students in their ministries, but troubled with a variety of perplexing issues. And their answers form the backbone of Youth Ministry That Transforms, a comprehensive analysis of this groundbreaking study (funded by the Lilly Endowment) focusing on the hopes, frustrations, and effectiveness of today’s youth workers.Spearheaded by Merton Strommen--one of America’s most exemplary and influential thinkers and authors in youth and family ministry--the research-writing team is joined by Karen E. Jones and Dave Rahn of Huntington (Indiana) College’s Link Institute for Faithful and Effective Youth Ministry, and acknowledged leader in the task of undergirding youth ministry with a research base. These three deliver thorough analysis and sound interpretation regarding the state of youth ministry at the dawn of the 21st century.Youth Ministry That Transforms belongs on the desks and in the classrooms of all who are concerned with this developing profession, including denominational and parachurch leadership, professors, youth ministry students, and thoughtful youth workers themselves. It is also an insightful resource for any who want to understand youth ministers and their profession: senior pastors, executive pastors, and other individuals and committees charged with hiring and supervising youth workers.

Video presents 12 performances each between 3 and 10 minutes of sketch-comedy and drama about the biblical characters Peter and Andrew interacting with Jesus. Guide has 12 lessons for the youth leader, based on gospel stories, for use with junior high or high school youth.

Love is something everybody needs and doesn’t know what it really means without knowing the love of God. For in Him only is there real love. And we can’t even begin to understand or fathom what love really means without Him. We look for it in all the wrong places. But we will never find it there. It’s not in mankind; it’s not in anything in this world the way we perceive it. Until we realize that it only comes from God, we will only find hurt and pain and misery. Believe me, I know, there are lots of Christians still looking for love in the wrong places. It’s sad to say. And we are being destroyed and don’t understand why. So, we think God has let us down and we blame Him for our depression, hurt, and pain. We wonder why the Lord doesn’t help us. But what we don’t realize is that God is helping us, even though we don’t know it. You see, the devil is fooling us. He is taking our focus off Jesus and putting it on people and things, so we can’t be all that God has for us to be. The failure is not in God, it’s in us. You may say, “I gave him or her all the love I had and he or she betrayed me. How could they do me like that?” But what we fail to realize is that God is our first love and we must receive His love and give Him our love first. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy.” And that is what he has been doing. But you don’t have to let him get away with it. Jesus came that we might have life and more abundantly. Otherwise, Jesus is life in every area of our lives if we let him. We need to ask Him to lead and guide us in all things. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, in all they ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.” So the failure is not in God, it’s in us for not seeking God’s help. Believe me, I know; been there, done that. I gave all I had to give to the wrong men, yes, men. I say men because I kept trying to please them so they would love me. But it didn’t work. They betrayed me, jumped on me, and stepped on me like a floor mat that said “Welcome.” I know how it feels to be dogged out for love, or so-called love. It sucks! As we receive God’s love, then and only then will we know what love is really about. It’s not a fancy or fairy tale. God’s love is divine. He is not looking at your faults; He is looking at your needs. Man’s love, so-called love, that is, is cold, taking, and not wanting to give. They lie, they cheat, they take away our pride and self-esteem, they pull us down, and then they have the nerve to tell us it’s our fault that they treat us the way they do. The devil is a liar. The devil wants us to believe that we have to take all kinds of abuse; that is just the way it is. But the devil is a liar. We don’t need that kind of man, because you see, he’s not a real man anyway. He’s just something wearing a pair of pants. Remember, we can make it just us and God. God will bring us through. But we must learn to trust Him. I have been through hell and high waters. I’ve been a floor mat, a punching bag. I’ve been stressed out; I have even tried to take my life a few times when I was younger. But I thank God that He said, “You shall live and not die.” Satan was trying to take me out to stop me. Now I know what it is to be dogged out and kicked to the curb. I know how it feels to be turned inside out, not knowing if you are coming or going, not knowing what to do next. For some so-called love. As far as I am concerned, they can keep it. I don’t need it and neither do you. Why take less when we can have the best? God did not make woman to be a man’s floor mat. He made us to be his helpmate. But we can’t help someone if they don’t want to take it.