The Indispensable Youth Pastor
Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin
Group Publishing, 2011, 173 pp., $15.99
The Disconnect: Bridging the Youth Pastor and Senior Pastor Gap
Doug Franklin
Group Publishing, 2011, 160 pp., $14.99
Before You Hire a Youth Pastor
Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin
Group Publishing, 2011, 248 pp., $7.99
As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. Youth pastors and senior pastors need each other, yet they often find themselves at odds. Great churches often hire great youth pastors only to discover they have irreconcilable differences. DeVries, Dunn-Rankin and Franklin offer sage advice in this trilogy from Group for helping churches, pastors and youth pastors understand one another within the larger framework of the complexities of church ministry.
Ministry with teenagers and their families can overwhelm anyone, and the person in the best position to defuse those pressures and tensions is often a well-prepared youth pastor. The Indispensable Youth Pastor is truly an indispensable read in preparation for those moments that could otherwise blindside the very person best situated to bring wisdom, reflection and reconciliation to these challenging moments in ministry.
Challenges in ministry always find healthy resolution when the pastor and youth pastor have a healthy relationship. The Disconnect is all about pastors and youth pastors understanding one another in such a way that their relationship becomes a catalyst for dynamic ministry. Creatively written for pastors and youth pastors, this is a great tool for restoring a strained relationship or deepening a strong relationship of mutual trust, respect, support and sacrifice.
You may be indispensible, and you may have great staff relationships, but eventually you will be involved in a conversation about hiring a good youth pastor. Perhaps the position for which you are hiring is an assistant for your ministry, a neighboring church or your replacement. The best gift you can give church leaders before they form a search committee is Before You Hire a Youth Pastor. More than a hiring manual, this book will transform a church’s worldview on student ministry. The authors skillfully promote the philosophy that student ministry is the responsibility of the whole church community in partnership with a youth pastor who is perfectly aligned with the church’s vision for developing a dynamic and sustainable student ministry.
