Cover subtitle: Your instant reference guide for youth ministry facts, resources, and research.

Ever wonder why the average career in youth ministry is so short-lived? Its not because the youth minister grows up into real ministry. Too often, it is becausewithout adequate boundariesthe youth minister is swept away, burned out, or chewed up. From someone that has been there, author Joel Lund brings the ultimate guide for a healthier ministry and a healthier you.

This all-in-one guide is designed to better equip clergy and the church leaders to meet their congregations' needs in a spiritually grounded and scientifically sound manner. Succinct, easy-to-read chapters summarize all a pastor needs to know about a given problem area, including its signs or symptoms, questions to ask, effective helping skills, and, most importantly, when to refer to a mental health professional. Synthesizing what research says about treatment approaches for mental health issues, this user-friendly reference is filled with guidelines, case scenarios, key points to remember, resources for further help, advice on integrating scripture and theology with the best available research, and tips on partnering with others to provide the best possible care for each church member. Each chapter is designed for quick lookup by problem area, empowering church leaders to understand and help meet the challenges facing the children, adults, families, and communities that they serve.

Generation X has been called the least wanted generation of all time. Things such as abortion and the pill have limited their numbers. Zustiak puts a spin on the X factor (an unknown quantity). If this generation will find their value in Christ, they could accomplish great things for Christ.

If you long to reach kids and see their lives changed by God, this comprehensive guide shows you how. Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry will do for youth ministry what Rick Warren's Gold Medallion award-winning, The Purpose Driven® Church is doing for pastoral ministry. It's an indispensable guide to creating and maintaining youth ministry for the long run. It will help you create a solid spiritual team that builds the foundations of the Christian faith into the hearts and lives of young people. Forged around the fundamental purposes of evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship, Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry uses the experiences of Saddleback Church to illustrate what a healthy Youth ministry can be. Nine transferable principles help you - Connect with the power of God for passionate, committed leadership - Define the purpose of your ministry and communicate it effectively - Identify your potential audience - Create programs that reach your audience and fulfill God's purposes - Implement processes that move students to maturity - Enhance your ministry with clearly defined values - Team up with parents to involve the whole family - Find volunteers and develop them into participating leaders - Persevere through tough times and thrive in an ever-changing environment. Balancing both theory and practice, Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry can be applied to any church setting, regardless of size, denomination, facilities, resources, and existing leadership. Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry will help you develop a ministry that equips students rather than a ministry that coordinates events. Doug Fields says, "My goal for this book is to coach you through a plan to build a healthy youth ministry that isn't dependent on one great youth leader and won't be destroyed when the youth worker leaves the church. It's not a book on how to grow your youth ministry with six easy steps; it's about identifying, establishing, and building health into your church's youth ministry.

As youth grow in faith, they learn to pray always and to pray in all ways. Ministry Resources for Prayer and Worship is designed for those who work with and walk with youth in this journey of discipleship.The manual includes three sessions for teaching youth to pray and practice praying in different forms. The manual includes eleven communal prayer services that can be used on a variety of occasions throughout the year. Also contained in the manual are strategies and resources for helping youth communities develop patterns of prayer and for including youth in preparing prayers and liturgies. Each manual in the Total Youth Ministry series includes a CD containing its electronic version, customizable handouts, and theme-related links. CD System Requirements Intel(R) Pentium II(R) processor Microsoft(R) Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT(R) 4.0 with Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 64MB of RAM (128 MB recommended) 800 x 600 or higher screen resolution Adobe Reader 6.0 60MB of available hard-disk space (for installation of Adobe Reader 6.0) Multi-read CD-ROM drive Internet Explorer 5.01 or 5.5 or Explorer 6.0 or 6.1

Effective churches understand the need for effective families. We know you're concerned with the state of family today. What if you could turn your church into a powerful family of families? Now you can! This comprehensive guide recognizes that each church and its families are unique. So it provides you a variety of clear and practical tips on . . . - Building strong family foundations - Enriching family ministries - Connecting families to other families Â- both inside and outside the church - Building a happier, healthier, and more effective church