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Think about sin and the crossthe way that salvation changes who we are and how God sees us. Its a central part of our faith, and yet its one of the most confusing and difficult things to teach. Especially to a room full of teenagers.In Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry, Andrew Root invites you along on a journey with Nadiaa fictional youth worker who is wrestling with how to present the cross to her own students in a meaningful way. Using Nadias narrative, along with his own insights, Root helps you reimagine how the cross, sin, and salvation can be taught to students in a way that leads them to embrace a lifestyle that chases after Jesus, rather than creating teenagers who just try to be good.

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Exploring Issues Adolescent Guys Face and Strategies to Help Them

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Youth workers need to fully understand the inner workings and development of adolescents in order to really meet their needs. In Teenage Guys, Dr. Steve Gerali presents the stages of development that adolescent guys go through, providing stories from his own experiences in ministry and counseling as well as practical research findings to equip youth workers (both male and female) to more effectively minister to teenage guys.With advice from counselors and veteran youth workers, youll find helpful suggestions on how to minister to teenage guys and their families. Each chapter includes discussion questions to help you and other youth workers process the issues your own students face and learn how you can help them and mentor them through this tumultuous time. In addition to concepts like mentoring and rites of passage, Dr. Gerali also walks readers through the seven areas of development young guys go through.Youll understand more about: Cognitive development Identity formation Social development Emotional development Physiological development Sexological maturation Faith formation

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A Practical Guide to Avoiding Burnout in Your Ministry

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There are so many benefits to being a youth worker: You get to hang out with teenagers, watch their lives transform, and help them become adults who live for and love Jesus. But when you signed on the dotted line to work in youth ministry, nobody mentioned the negative side effects: isolation, criticism, a general feeling of being constantly overwhelmed, relentless questioning from parents and church leaders. The list can go on... But your frustration doesnt have to overtake you, or take you away from ministry. Inside the pages of this book youll find humor, comfort, and encouragement for those times when you feel like you cant go any further. Youth ministry veteran, Steven Case, will help you through just about every scenario that adds to your discontent, including complaining parents, dealing with tragedy, and deciding when to leave a bad situation. Find practical tips to help you deal with the challenges of youth ministry, and get soul-renewing ideas to help you continue on, despite the struggles, so you can get back to enjoying youth ministry like you used to!

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Knowledge may get your students pretty far in life, but it wont be enough to get them through some of the daily challenges they will face as Christians. And it wont help them grow in their faith. What students really need is God's wisdom, and for that theres no better place to start than the book of Proverbs. Through engaging activities and thought-provoking questions that get right to the heart of Proverbs, your students will see that even though this book was written thousands of years ago, the instructions still apply to them. By the end of this study, your students will know how to answer questions that include:  How do I know what path to take?  What does God have to say about premarital sex?  How should I respond to money?  How should I treat other people?  How should I handle criticism?Written with the busy youth worker in mind, Studies on the Go: Proverbs provides Scriptural depth and substance to be tackled in a manageable time frame. The questions are real, down-to-earth, and straight to the point to get students quickly into Proverbs so they can hear Gods word on a practical level. Designed for Sunday school classes, youth groups, and small groups, this curriculum is guaranteed to get your students excited about and engaged with the Bible.

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Youth Ministry Nuts and Bolts, Revised and Updated

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Organizing, Leading, and Managing Your Youth Ministry

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Youth ministry veteran and bestselling author, Duffy Robbins, offers an updated and revised edition of his book about the important, behind-the-scenes mechaincs of youth ministry. The tasks of budgeting, decision-making, time management, team ministry, staff relationships, conflict resolution, working with parents, and a range of other issues, are the things that keep a ministry together and functioning well. Nobody gets into youth ministry because they want to think about these things; but a lot of people get out of youth ministry because they didnt think about them. All youth workerswhether paid or volunteer, full-time or part-timewill find Youth Ministry Nuts and Bolts to be a thoughtful, fun, practical guide to youth ministry administration.

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Its Influence and Implications for Ministry

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"Adolescent culture is always changing, making it difficult for youth pastors to keep up. Even college students who are a few years out of high school find it challenging to stay current with the changing culture of teens. However, when equipped with tools that help them think critically about culture on a broad scale, youth ministry students can be prepared for a strategic ministry to teens that effectively addresses the youth cultural context. This academic resource uses a multi-disciplinary approach to understand culture by exploring the nature, theology, ecology, and ethnography of culture, then combining these different perspectives to develop a critical approach to youth culture."

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500 Sentence-Finishers to Get Your Students Talking

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Sometimes you just need the right question to get your students talking. (And then sometimes you cant get them to stop talking!) The latest in the best-selling Quick Questions series, When I... gives you 500 finish-the-sentence statements that will get students talking. With everything from silly to serious, youll get your students finishing sentences like: When I was a baby... When I have to confront somebody... When I see my parents kiss... When I see a homeless person... When I confess my sin...Perfect for ice-breakers, road trips, small group discussions, or just about any other ministry setting, this is a useful resource for anyone in youth ministry, whether paid or volunteer, rookie or veteran. When I... will open up opportunities for discussions and conversations that will draw students and leaders closer together and will lead to new insights into whats happening in the hearts and minds of students.

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Real-Life Stories to Give You Hope for Healing

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Everyone has secrets. Some you might whisper into a friends ear, while others may stay locked inside you for years...maybe even forever. Its those secrets that you tuck away that eventually control you. You may think youre okay, but really, your secrets can be tearing you apart from the inside out. Secret Survivors tells the compelling, true stories of people who have lived through painful secretsthings that they kept to themselves until they could no longer bear the pain alone. As you read their stories, youll be drawn into their journeys towards healing, and youll understand why its so important to share your secret with someone else in order to start your own healing process. Read the stories of people, who as teens and young adults, dealt with issues like:Date rapePhysical abuseCuttingPornography addictionEating disordersIncestDrug and alcohol addictionAbortion You may find a story that sounds similar to your own secret pain, or you may learn more about secrets that a friend or family member is dealing with. Whether your own story is represented in these pages or not, youll feel a connection to the people in these stories, because we all have some kind of pain tucked away. But you dont have to feel alone in your pain anymore. After you read the stories of these survivors, youll find the strength you need to share your own secret and start healing your heart and soul.

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You want whacked-out, run-till-you-drop games? Here they are. You want sedate games for small, quiet groups? Got 'em. Inside Games are more than 400 indoor and outdoor games teenagers love to play: - Balloon Games . . . Twice the fun of a church board meeting, with only half the hot air. An inexpensive good time. - Basketball Games . . . All of them slam dunks. - Volleyball Games . . .What self-respecting youth group doesn't love a good volleyball game? They'll go crazy for these bizarre mutations of the sport. - Indoor Games for Large Groups . . .Reserve your church's gym or fellowship hall for the night, and turn to page 35 for this collection of games! - Living Room Games . . . Great for parties, informal gatherings -- or anytime you've got a roomful of people just sitting around. And more -- indoor games for small groups, mind reading games, and dozens of Ping-Pong variations. Whether you're a youth worker or a recreation leader at a church, school, club, or camp --  Games is your storehouse of proven, youth-group tested ideas.

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"Sadly, studies show that there are few differences in the attitudes and actions between people who claim to be Christians and those who dont choose that label. But everything we read in the Bible says we should be transformed; we should be different than the rest of the world.What would it look like if you lived the life God desires for you? How would your life be different if you abandoned your typical routine and refused to settle for anything less than the best God has in store for you?In Thrive, youll find 20 life-impacting studies that will draw you into the Bible and help you understand who you are and who God wants to help you become. Youll discover what the Bible says about how God made you, what kind of life he has planned for you, and how you can survive the tough times of your life. Even if you struggle to keep your faith alive at times, God wants to help you thrive. The reality is, God loves us just the way we arebut he also loves us too much to leave us that way."

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Not-So-Secret Findings about Youth Ministry

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Deep Ministry in a Shallow World will show you a new way to prayerfully reflect on the questions you face in your youth ministry every day so you can find the answers that will take it to deeper places. Thats because authors Chap Clark and Kara Powell have gathered significant research findings that will help shift your ministry paradigm.Did you know that: the typical strategies we use to build relationships with kids might actually cause them to trust usless because of what this generation has endured? recent research on communication could help us move past the witty talks and funny stories we work so hard to develop and instead actually connect the Bible to kids lives? studies show that offering students just Jesus and not helping them at home, school, and in their neighborhoods might not help them very much at all? The authors research also led to their development of the Deep Design problem-solving processa revolutionary model that will give you better tools than ever before to address every last issue youll encounter in youth ministry.

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Helping Your Kids Serve Others and Right the Wrongs around Them

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It doesnt take a long list of statistics to convince you that our world is broken. Mission trips, service projects, and supporting children through relief organizations are just a few of the ways that many youth workers engage their students in serving the least, the last, and the lost. As good and helpful as these things may be on the surface, thats where they remainat the surface. The problems run far deeper than an occasional paint job or fundraising project can solve. But its not hopeless. Deep social justice is possible in your youth ministry.Following their bestselling book, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, Kara Powell and Chap Clark provide you with research and insights that will help your ministry get to the next level. In addition to helping you further understand the Deep Design method (introduced in their previous book), their practical Kingdom of God theology will help you go beyond simply trying to motivate your students to serve those in need, and invite your students (and maybe even your leaders) to wrestle with why those people are in need in the first place. Youll hear from well-known social justice leaders and youth workers who are making a difference in urban, suburban, and small town settings including: Jim Wallis (Sojourners) Tony Campolo (Eastern University) Lina Thompson (World Vision/Vision Youth) John Perkins (Christian Community Development Association) Shane Claiborne (The Simple Way) Larry Acosta (Urban Youth Workers Institute) Rudy Carrasco (Harambee Christian Family Center) Jeremy Del Rio (Community Solutions, Inc.) Noel Castellanos (Christian Community Development Association), and more In addition to expanding your personal justice commitments, Deep Justice in a Broken World will help you reflect with your own leadership team, and will provide you with online resources to take you even deeper into the journey. So go ahead, dig deeper into what it means to heal the broken world in which we live. Take your ministry deeper into social justice.

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Embracing First-Century Practices in Youth Ministry

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How many times have you poured your heart and soul into something for your youth ministryonly to have it fall flat, leaving not much more than a fond memory in the minds of students, let alone amazing life-change in their hearts? Youre not alone. Far too often, we build plans and programs and then stop to ask God to bless them. We all want a transformational student ministry, but we need to remember that God has to be the one doing the transformations in the lives of our students. Based on the principles found in the book of Acts, Moving Forward by Looking Back will help you look back at how God transformed lives through the early church, and look forward at how those principles can be applied to your youth ministry today. As you reflect on the book of Acts, youll explore how your youth ministry can implement the principles of: Adorationengaging students with God Communityengaging students with Gods people Truthengaging students with Gods Word Serviceengaging students with Gods world With practical ideas that are easy to apply in any ministry context, whether youre a rookie or a veteran, a professional or a volunteer youth worker, this book is an invaluable resource for any youth ministry that wants to see its students transformed by God.

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(Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message

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The Been there, done that culture is starving for reality. Hardly satisfied with the modern conventions of citing facts and figures and pushing propositions, emerging churches are jumping into the narrative form of communication with both feet. But not all emerging church leaders have an inherent handle on the craft and skill of using narrative as a sermon form. Experiential Storytelling zeros in on the hows and whys of narrative, as well as the importance of sharing personal experience to double your storytelling ammunition. In addition, author Mark Miller goes several steps further, giving examples of real-time, hands-on experiences for church members as innovative extensions of traditional teaching and preaching that offer them greater scriptural understanding and ownership of the gospel story.Chapters include: The Dawning of the Age of Experience Once Upon a Story Awakening the Sleeping Giant in the ChurchC*R*E*A*T*I*V*T*Y Reimagining the Sermon Elements of Experiential Storytelling Killer Apps

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Showing Your Friends How to Live Like Jesus

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Before Jesus left his disciples he said to them, go and make disciples of all nations. It wasnt just a command for those twelve disciplesits for everyone who follows Jesus. But what does it mean? In Duplicate This youll learn the foundations of discipleship and what it means to make a disciple, and youll be equipped to walk with your friends as they learn what it looks like to follow Jesus. Youll find answers to the spiritual questions that your friends may be asking, like: How can the Bible be accurate when its so old? Is it true that Jesus was born of a virgin? How can I avoid sin? Why cant I feel God all the time? In addition, youll get tips and other tools that will help you be an effective disciple to your friends and help you duplicate your faith in others.

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Does This Sound Familiar? Hey, Gimme a Break! Aw... You Just Dont Understand! Try to see it my way for once! ... the lines of every teenager through history, right? Not this time! The dirty little secret is that your parents were actually your age once. Believe it or not, they went through a lot of the same junk youre going through now (including with their parents!) ... and another dirty little secret is that some day youll be trying to make sense of your kids and their lives. Read This Book Or Youre Grounded! gives you six chapters with a lot of sound-bites and cool boarding-inspired cartoons, plus wisdom and common sense with an attitude. Read This Book Or Youre Grounded! includes two chapters on understanding, two on getting along one on special needs and concerns; and a final wrap-up of marching orders to put all this wonderful wisdom into practice. God is here, too: author Wayne Rice lays a spiritual foundation for mutual respect, common understanding, and getting along with parents in all ways. This book can change your life... change the life of your family... and change your relationship with those sometimes-weird parental units who hang around the kitchen, hog the TV, and act like its their own house.

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80 sure-fire scripts and other onstage fun to illustrate  your lessons and enliven your events! - Just for Fun . . . Short stunts, funny skits, sight gags, easy prep -- we've got 'em all. If you have even one or two students who love hamming it up and making spectacles of themselves, you'll find plenty of funny fodder here. - Spontaneous Melodramas . . . Fueled by groans, catcalls, cheers, and boos from your small or large audience, student actors in these no-rehearsal melodramatic spoofs will bring down the house. Don't know what spontaneous melodramas are? Plunge into an entertaining and instructive explanation of what they are and how to use them for the most effect, beginning on page 51.  - Sketches with a Point . . . Drama is an ideal medium for grabbing people's attention and priming them for a meeting, a talk, or a Bible study. Have a particular topic in mind? Find your topic (in the topical index, page 7), and you're on your way to just the right script. Whether you're a youth worker or recreation director in a church, school, club, or camp -- Drama, Skits, & Sketches is your storehouse of proven, youth-group tested ideas.

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Reaching Out to Unchurched TeenagersFive facts about the unchurched:1. They believe all religions have value.2. They are spiritual, not religious.3. They dont know what Christianity really is.4. They dont know what they believe.5. They are looking for something that works.If you want to make an impact on this generation, these are five basic rules you must understand. Author Jonathan McKee writes that by taking the time to learn students unique situations you show you care about them as people, not as mission projects.Informative and full of real-life examples, Do They Run When They See You Coming? provides vital information you need to better understand students outside your youth group. Yet this book isnt a sociological or marketing survey; the tangible guidelines and methods inside help you get into the mind of unchurched studentsso you can get to know their hearts. Because, as every youth worker knows, real ministry is always about getting to the heart.

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A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

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Does God really exist? Lee Strobel wasn't so sure. So, he decided to use his award-winning journalistic skills to investigate the creation story and prove once and for all if the claims about God the Creator are true. The Case for a Creator Student Edition adapts Strobel's bestselling book to present hard-hitting findings as well as Lee's journey from skepticism to belief in an easy-to-follow manner so you can make a decision about God for yourself. This student edition provides an apologetic look at Christian theology and philosophy for teens.

When Lee Strobel was a high school freshman, science convinced him that God didn't exist. Since then, however, incredible scientific discoveries have not only helped restore Lee's faith, but have strengthened it.

Lee is not alone. More and more scientists, confronted with startling, cutting-edge evidence from many areas of research, no longer believe the universe just "happened" or that life arose by mere chance. Behind a universe of staggering complexity, they are seeing signs of a Master Designer.
Are your science textbooks still telling you the same "facts" that Lee's did years ago? Prepare to be astonished by what some of today's most respected experts have to say about:
The birth of the universeDarwinism and the origin of lifeThe astounding fine-tuning of the cosmosAmazing molecular machines and DNA research
Weigh the evidence for yourself. Then consider this question: Could it be that the universe looks designed ... because it is?

The Case for a Creator Student Edition:
Presents the arguments for and against Christianity teens and young adults often ask and encounter so they can see the real factsUses logic and solid information to examine why Christians believe what they doPresents Christian philosophy and core theology in an apologetic for teensCan also be used in the classroom, small groups, bible studies, or as a family devotionalContains infographics and charts to make the facts clear
Check out these other books from Lee Strobel for young adults:
The Case for Christ Student EditionThe Case for the Real Jesus Student EditionThe Case for Faith Student EditionThe Case for Grace Student EditionThe Case for Miracles Student EditionThe Case for Christ Graduate Edition

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Experiments in Contemplative Youth Ministry

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The Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project was formed in 1997 to participate in the renewal of youth ministry in the Christian church. Its mission is to foster Christian communities that are attentive to Gods presence, discerning of the Spirit and who accompany young people into the way of Jesus. Our mission is founded on the biblical vision of the human person who is created in the image and likeness of God and whose deepest longing is for communion with God and others in love. In response to Christs invitation to abide in him (John 15:4), we believe that the central purpose of youth ministry is to open the minds and hearts of young persons to an intimate relationship with God in Christ through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. We seek to fulfill our mission through retreats, workshops, training events, written materials, and relationships that promote a contemplative approach to youth discipleship. The contemplative approach to youth ministry is based on a Christian communitys commitment to cultivate attentiveness to Gods Presence in the lives of young people and is supported in the following seven ways: SABBATH, PRAYER, COVENANT COMMUNITY, ACCOMPANIMENT, DISCERNMENT, HOSPITALITY, AUTHENTIC ACTION.