The Practical Youth Ministry Handbook

Today's youth ministry is tomorrow's mainstream theology

Top tips from successful youth workers about how to develop & maintain your youth ministry...grow in your role as a youth worker...& even how to avoid common mistakes.

Drawing on the wisdom of insightful leaders around the country, Josh McDowell's Youth Ministry Handbook equips youth workers to help kids connect with God--and with their parents, their peers, and a world in need of Christ. Featuring articles from Dawson McAllister, Barry St. Clair, Jim Burns, Tony Campolo, Al Menconi, John Maxwell, George Barna, and others, this is an invaluable leadership resource with practical, useful ideas for today's youth workers.

"Most contemporary young people operate far enough from Moses’ moral compass that it never occurs to them that “OMG” (“oh my God,” in teenspeak) has anything to do with the Ten Commandments, much less that it breaks one of them. After all, the phrase is a nearly ubiquitous adolescent throw-away line...Yet Christians should hear the phrase “oh my God” differently. Youth ministers, parents, teachers—anyone who has ever loved an adolescent—know that “OMG” can be a prayer, a plea, a petition, a note of praise, or an unbidden entreaty that escapes our lips as we seek Christ for the young people we love." from the book Using six lens the authors detail current practices and tease out underlying questions as youth ministry becomes more self-consciously aligned with practical theology. Contributors include: Kenda Creasy Dean, Mike Carotta, Roland Martinson, Rodger Nishioka, Don Richter, Dayle Gillespie Rounds, and Amy Scott Vaughn.

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.

Using engaging fictional accounts of youth leaders, the author offers accessible, practical advice on a broad range of essentials required for the successful youth ministry. The comprehensive manual shows adults who work with youth how to build relationships with youth, recruit and educate leaders, prevent burnout, find appropriate resources, and more.

This book provides more than eighty activities youth workers can use to help students connect.

Since forever altering the course of the youth ministry world with his best-selling, groundbreaking book, Purpose-Driven® Youth Ministry, Doug Fields’ mind—but especially his heart—has been focused on the many unique needs of new youth workers.Doug translated his passion, insight, and vision for his beloved “rookies” into what you’re now reading, Your Fist Two Years in Youth Ministry—hands-down the most comprehensive companion to not only surviving, but also thriving, during the most crucial phase of youth ministry. Employing his renowned wisdom and humor—as if you and Doug were chatting over a long, relaxing meal—the author disarmingly relates stories and principles from his own successes and failures over 20-plus years in youth ministry. In the end, he offers treasure troves of practical advice, all in the hope that new youth workers can travel a smoother path and achieve real longevity in a church culture that all too often chews them and spits them out.Doug covers all-important issues such as:· Dealing with discouragement· Establishing a solid spiritual foundation· Building effective relationships with students· Resolving conflict· Ministering to parents and families· Trailblazing change· Working with volunteers· Defining a realistic job description· And many others!In addition, a chorus of insightful sidebar voices joins your conversation with Doug, among them ministry veterans Jim Burns, Steve Gerali, Mike Yaconelli, Helen Musick, Chap Clark, Marv Penner, Rick Warren, Jana L. Sundene, Bo Boshers, Duffy Robbins, Tony Campolo, and Richard Ross, all who’ve composed extensive, topical essays for each of the dozen chapters.Your First Two Years of Youth Ministry is a must-have tool for new youth workers, volunteers, seminary professors and students, senior pastors, elders, church boards—even veteran youth workers who’ve been ministering in unstructured environments and are now asking, “What did I miss? What can I still learn?”The first two years of youth ministry are never easy. But never fear. Doug fervently assures us: “Hang on. Hope’s coming!”