Gospel Centered Youth Ministry

Youth ministry is an essential part of most evangelical churches. And yet, there is a surprising lack of resources written specifically for youth workers focused on viewing all aspects of youth ministry through a gospel-focused lens. Featuring contributions from a host of experienced youth workers from a wide variety of churches, this how-to manual offers guidance related to every facet of youth ministry, from planning short-term mission trips to working with parents. Theologically rooted yet eminently practical, this handbook will equip youth leaders to effectively shepherd the young people under their care—training them to live faithfully in their homes, churches, and schools.

Publisher's description: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry shows how classic disciplines, symbols and practices that have sustained the church over the centuries can shape the worldviews, virtues and habits of young people today. Come explore the deeper terrain of an ancient faith; your students are sure to follow.

The pressure of being a teenager can be overwhelming. School, sports, jobs, and relationships all press in at the same time. But the hardest thing can be feeling alone, that you have no one to share your most difficult problems with. In The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School, thirty authors such as Scott Sauls, Sandra McCracken, Michelle ...

"The strong and spicy heat of the gospel is the secret to effective and exciting ministry just look at the early church! Gospel advancement was at the heart of the early believers? discipleship, and the book of Acts gives us a vibrant picture of God's plan to use us to build His kingdom. In Gospelize Your Youth Ministry, Greg unpacks the model found in the book of Acts, unveiling the seven key ingredients present within the early Church. Today, youth leaders can blend these same basic ingredients together in their own unique, customized recipe to create a gospelized youth ministry that results in dynamic kingdom growth. For youth leaders and adults with a heart for youth ministry who are looking to spice up their ministry and (re)discover the joy, excitement and transformation they?ve been longing to see and that Jesus promised! The gospel is the perfect kick! "

If you long to reach kids and see their lives changed by God, this comprehensive guide shows you how. Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry will do for youth ministry what Rick Warren's Gold Medallion award-winning, The Purpose Driven® Church is doing for pastoral ministry. It's an indispensable guide to creating and maintaining youth ministry for the long run. It will help you create a solid spiritual team that builds the foundations of the Christian faith into the hearts and lives of young people. Forged around the fundamental purposes of evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship, Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry uses the experiences of Saddleback Church to illustrate what a healthy Youth ministry can be. Nine transferable principles help you - Connect with the power of God for passionate, committed leadership - Define the purpose of your ministry and communicate it effectively - Identify your potential audience - Create programs that reach your audience and fulfill God's purposes - Implement processes that move students to maturity - Enhance your ministry with clearly defined values - Team up with parents to involve the whole family - Find volunteers and develop them into participating leaders - Persevere through tough times and thrive in an ever-changing environment. Balancing both theory and practice, Purpose Driven® Youth Ministry can be applied to any church setting, regardless of size, denomination, facilities, resources, and existing leadership. Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry will help you develop a ministry that equips students rather than a ministry that coordinates events. Doug Fields says, "My goal for this book is to coach you through a plan to build a healthy youth ministry that isn't dependent on one great youth leader and won't be destroyed when the youth worker leaves the church. It's not a book on how to grow your youth ministry with six easy steps; it's about identifying, establishing, and building health into your church's youth ministry.

“If all I did for the next 10 years was pass along this book to hungry youth leaders, I would have a fruitful decade.” —Dave Rahn, Senior Vice President and Chief Ministry Officer for Youth For Christ “In this book, Rick calls us to run arm-in-arm with teenagers—to the epicenter of that mystery, that person, that incarnate child, that troublemaker, that up-ender, that ultimate rescuer.” —Mark Oestreicher, Partner, The Youth Cartel There’s a surging hunger among teenagers for Jesus. New research shows that they want a clearer understanding of what Jesus really said and did, and how faith in matters in their lives. In fact, that desire is so deep, it’s #1 on their “wish list” for what they’d like to talk about at church. But are we doing that? Even though we assume that everything we do in youth ministry is about Jesus, the evidence is clear:That’s not what our students say they’re experiencing. So what would a youth ministry look like if it shifted toward a passionate, persistent, and permeating focus on drawing students into a closer orbit around Jesus? Inside the pages of Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry, you’ll discover the foundation for a ministry that is Jesus-centered, along with the bricks for building it. You’ll discover that not only is it possible to create this kind of ministry, it’s also essential that you pursue this path. Eight years after his book was first published, introducing the language and structure of a new way of doing youth ministry, author and longtime Group Magazine editor Rick Lawrence has completely rewritten and revised Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry. It’s packed with new insight, new research, and dozens of field-tested ideas for planting and nurturing a ministry environment that is Jesus-magnetic. Help satisfy teenagers’ hunger for Jesus in richly nourishing and sustaining ways by shifting the orbit of your ministry.

Gives youth pastors, youth leaders, and parents a guide on how to lead a gospel-rich youth ministry that makes the means of graceWord, prayer, sacraments, service, and communitycentral to the ministry.

Michael McGarry explores the foundation of youth ministry in the Old and New Testaments and brings that together with Church history in a compelling way. McGarry presents a thorough biblical framework to think about youth ministry as the church's expression of partnership with the family for co-evangelizing and co-discipling the next generation.