More than Volleyball: Will Our Kids Eventually Get It?
Sometimes I wonder why I’m in youth ministry. Sometimes it feels like the most useless job in the world. Every Wednesday night, my kids show up, kind of sing the songs, and fidget throu...
GoBible Digital Audio Bible
GoBible, LLC, $99.95, www.gobible.com In the struggle to find a way to fit Bible reading into our daily schedule, many of us have turned to audio, trying to squeeze in devotions at the gym or in the ca...
From Whatever to Certitude
Why is a relationally based youth program important to Christian formation? Becauseour young people tend to experience and express faith in a culture that stresses individualism and youth. They have too fe...
The Bible from Scratch—Catholic Edition
St. Mary’s Press, 2006, 260 pp., $14.95, www.smp.org Highlighting both the stories of the Bible and its truth, The Bible from Scratch will be enjoyable for teens (or even adults) who might be intimidated...
Youth Ministry: Kids Need You
How connected are young people to the adults in their lives? How connected do they want to be? How connected do they need to be? More than 50 pastors, youth ministry leaders, authors, and scholars gathered la...
Youth Ministry Through Metaphor
At a recent ski weekend, I heard a young guy say, “Jesus is the Camino.” I pictured a beat-up old car that looked part truck. What did Jesus have in common with that? I wondered. It turns out t...
The Deepest Longing of Young People: Loving without Conditions
Saint Mary’s Press; 2006; 136 pp.; $14.95, www.smp.org Jerry Goebel spends his life with high-risk kids; visiting them in “juvey” (juvenile hall), attending court, tilling gardens, connecting...
What Do I Say to a Friend Who’s Gay?
Kregel Publications, 125 pp., 2006, $9.95, www.kregel.com What do I Say to a Friend Who’s Gay? tackles a controversial and thus frequently neglected area of ministry. In 125 pages Chase scratches the sur...
Rock Solid Teacher: Discover the Joy of Teaching Like Jesus
Gospel Light, 2006, 144 pages, $17.99, www.gospellight.com Gregory Carlson is Director of Global Training, Awana, and the Director of the Rorheim Institute for the Awana Adult Discipleship Training Network. H...
Learning to Listen Vital to Youth Ministry
In 1994, I left my job in youth ministry and enrolled in seminary, hungering to learn a way of ministering grounded in continual attentiveness to God. I soon discovered I wasn’t alone in my desire to find...