Youth Ministry Is Easy…and Nine Other Lies is a new book by first-time author Aaron Shaver. In this quick, 102-page, easy-to-read book, Shaver tries to take on the nine classic misconceptions and outright lies of the youth ministry profession. As a youth pastor himself, Shaver dives headfirst into the greatest hits on the youth ministry playlist of things we hear all the time. He addresses things such as Parents Are Your Worst Enemy, Great Youth Pastors Go Solo, and Losing Cool Points with Teens Is Fatal, to name a few.
The book’s heart and intention is great, keeping youth ministry workers—paid, unpaid and underpaid—going, while debunking the common lies of the youth ministry world. It is written in a laidback style with a mix of advice, interviews and helpful hints. As the author says at the beginning of the book, this is not intended to be deep doctrinal thesis on youth ministry, but an anecdotal and practical guide to help the average in-the-trenches youth worker, parent and lover of students.
I downloaded this book, because the title caught my attention (the affordable Kindle version is $4.99). It is a great book for those new to youth ministry and a great give-away for veteran youth workers who are helping the newbies. I’m using it personally in current youth ministry coaching and encouraging I am doing.
