Len Kageler and Chap Clark
IVP Books, 2014, 224 pp., $13.89

If you pick up my copy of Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society by Len Kageler, you’ll notice that nearly every page in the last three chapters is dog-eared. It’s that good. In this book, youth ministry researcher, professor and practitioner Len Kageler explores the question, “How do we ground our young people in the faith while encouraging their relationships with friends of other faiths?” To do so, Kageler presents research on youth ministry in Muslim and other religious communities. I found learning about Muslim youth ministry absolutely fascinating, especially the many ways in which we employ similar methods for reaching our respective youth. Perhaps more interesting to me, though, was his exploration of other Christian youth ministries that may not adhere to the traditional view that “the only way to know God is through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.” Instead, such ministries “happily affirm their Christian faith but also affirm there are other equally valid ways to know God.” My experience in suburban, North American youth ministry is that I encounter such ministries far more frequently than I do people of entirely different faiths. While this book is excellent overall, where Kageler truly excels is in his practical, research-based suggestions for how to conduct youth ministry among teens living in a multifaith world. His suggestions include:
• Grounding teens in their Christology—their beliefs about Jesus
• Giving teens space for “positive doubt,” which is “the notion that as the adolescent brain gets its cognitive upgrade we should expose our students to other points of view regarding faith.”
• Involving teens in interfaith experiences that, to be clear, don’t mean participants “give up their respective faiths but rather harness the compassion implicit in that faith for the good of others.”
As someone particularly interested in Christology, I especially appreciated Len’s closing chapter. In it, he explores the Christology “expressed in the seven I-am statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John” and the “two most important paired words in the entire New Testament, ‘In Christ.'” He does so knowing that “our Christology uniquely connects us with both Jesus’ presence and power as we engage in student ministry in a multifaith society.” This chapter is so strong, it alone is worth the price of the book. Without a doubt, this book is one I’d include on a short list of must-reads for those in youth ministry. Kageler clearly shows that “most Christian young people today do not understand their own faith, let alone the faith (or nonfaith) of others.” Yet, rather than just raise an alarm, he also delineates a clear path forward. I’m convinced that by using his suggestions for how to help young people understand their own faith, we can help it flourish in the midst of a multifaith society.
—Jen Bradbury, youth ministry, Illinois

Len Kageler’s new book definitely will get a reaction from its readers. Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society has a unique spin on how youth are being reached and shaped in religious communities besides the Christian faith. I applaud Kageler’s work and his pushing some buttons for Jesus followers to consider how youth ministry is operating in the global community. This is an outstanding theological and sociological work that youth workers need to read.
—Dr. David Olshine, professor and director of Youth Ministry, Family and Culture at Columbia International University, Columbia, S.C.; author of Youth Ministry: What’s Gone Wrong and How to Get it Right

Today, youth ministry in the United States is no longer done in a culture that is predominately Judeo-Christian. It is in a setting where many are choosing no religious faith or embracing a different religion other than Christianity. In Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society, Kageler provides an excellent exploration of today’s cultural milieu and how youth workers should approach ministry to teens in light of this new context. In addition to his well-articulated insights, he supports his discussion with helpful research related to demographic trends. One of the unique elements of this book is the exploration of youth work by other religions in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society should be on every youth worker’s reading list, because we all are facing the challenges a multifaith society presents. It will get you thinking about how to interact with people of a different faith and how to teach teens to strengthen their belief while not isolating themselves from the world in which they live.
—Jonathan Grenz, professor and M.Div. Program Director, Palm Beach Atlantic University; more than 25 years of ministry experience, serving as associate pastor in youth ministry, lead pastor and director of a parachurch youth ministry; ministry experience has spanned the Midwest, Northwest, southern California, south Florida and western Canada. He has been a full-time faculty member at Sioux Falls Seminary, and an adjunct professor at Taylor University, College and Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta.

What Len Kageler does in Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society is truly remarkable. Kageler asks the timely question of how youth ministers can ground their students in the Christian faith adquately while encouraging them to engage those of other religious persuasions. To answer this, Kageler explores the cultural and religious terrain relevant to youth today, including youth work among Muslims, the phenomenon of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism and syncretism here in the United States, the place of the church in a pluralistic society, philosophical approaches to youth cultural engagement, the strong correlation between youth religiosity and positive behaviors, and much more. He includes two chapters focused on youth ministry practices to syncretists, Nones, and those of other faiths. Kageler thoroughly grounds his ministry vision in biblical and theological realities. To top off this already impressive exploration, Kageler constructs a powerful multifaith pastoral rooted in the ministry of Jesus.

While the idea of challenging youth to befriend and engage those of other religious persuasions may cause discomfort for the youth minister, Kageler includes research and data that only serves to support the idea that youth ministers cannot afford to ignore the changing spiritual terrain of youth today. The growth of pluralism, syncretism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and other religions here in the United States requires that youth ministers everywhere construct a robust vision for outreach and ministry to this expanding contingent of people. Kageler’s book is truly one of a kind, as he writes from a solid evangelical perspective yet encourages multifaith engagement on the part of youth. It deserves a place on the shelf of every youth minister committed to cultural engagement for the sake of the gospel.
—Ben Espinoza, director of youth and community life, Covenant Church, Bowling Green, Ohio

Kageler’s book is informative in that not many youth ministry folks are writing about the youth ministry practices of other faiths. In particular, his chapter on “Nones and Syncretists” directly reflects the kind of cultural setting in which most of us are doing youth ministry. Kageler clearly shows how understanding other faiths and interacting with adherents can boost Christian teen faith and be an act of spiritual formation.

The book is encouraging. He lays out the research that shows the difference that teen spirituality makes in the decisions, behaviors and lives of young people. This forms the impetus for much of what we do in discipling youth. The book also is discouraging. Much of the research cited points to the fact that many Christian teens don’t know what they believe or why. They’re sliding toward a wishy-washy faith of irrelevance.

Finally, the book is challenging. I’m challenged to make sure my teens can articulate their faith; challenged to provide them with meaningful opportunities to interact with teens of other faiths and of no faith. This is perhaps the book’s greatest strength—it provides a missional lens through which teens can influence folks of all faiths in their communities.
—Jeff Crosby, 20-year youth guy, Rochester, N.Y.; Youth Ministry Book Summaries

In his work Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society, Kaegler reveals to the church the term youth ministry and all the bells and whistles that go with it, including professional development conferences, no longer is exclusive to Christianity.The mosque down the street from you may be doing a car wash to raise money for a youth pilgrimage to Mecca, or the Buddhist temple across town might be advertising on Facebook that it’s looking to hire a full-time youth director. As a youth minster, you might ask: How do I respond to this? Kaegler’s work helps provide a thoughtful answer that brings in research from the social sciences and brain biology, as well as theology and ministry praxis. This book is not meant for wide audience use; rather, it is best used with ministers and adult volunteers who not only want to wrestle through the subject, but also to begin brainstorming ways to provide a Christian witness that seeks to show love for neighbor without compromising evangelism.
—Jonathan Ruehs currently serves as a campus minister to Concordia University in Irvine, California. He is an 18-year ministry veteran who served for 11 years as a parish youth minister, followed by seven years in higher education, working in a myriad of roles from professor to pastor. He is married with three kids.

I was excited to see a book available to guide youth ministers to impact youth in today’s post-Christian and multifaith culture. As I read the first couple of chapters, I was looking forward to learning how other faiths do youth ministry and gaining insights for what could be done in Christian youth ministry, as well as philosophical and concrete examples of what to do to impact those of other faiths. However, this is not what Youth Ministry in a Multifaith Society contains. The book reads as a collection of lectures in a college course. The first section of the book is beneficial in learning what is happening in regard to youth ministry by those of other faiths. The deep look into Muslim youth ministry is beneficial, but the author could have included focuses on other faiths, as well. Most of the rest of the book made many references to Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, which caused me to consider that if a person reads that book, he or she will receive the same information Kageler provides. His book is a good primer on the topic and could be used to begin training on the subject. However, if one is looking for a collection on specific faiths, ministry to youth and how to make a Christian impact, I’d suggest looking somewhere else.
—Sam Yeager, Allentown, Pa.; youth minister, camp director, and D.Min. student at Gordon Conwell/Ministry to Emerging Generations

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