Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry
Barry Shafer
Zondervan, September 2008, 304 pp., $19.99, www.zondervan.com
Most youth ministers eventually question themselves, wondering if they are making a long-term impact on their students. After similar personal and professional introspection, Barry Shafer concludes “the number one deficiency in student ministry, as I believe research and experience have proven, is good Bible study.”
Biblical illiteracy certainly is pervasive in teenagers and a major reason students struggle to grow in their faith after graduating from church youth ministry. Shafer takes on not only why this is true, but also how to do something about it.
This is a good place to look if you want to start teaching inductive Bible study methods to teens, as well as create a ministry that outlasts you. Unleashing God’s Word has enough creativity in its techniques to avoid a “surefire recipe for boredom,” something today’s attention-challenged youth won’t tolerate.
