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500 Dynamic Discussion Starters to Get Your Teenagers Talking

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This collection of 500 discussion prompts will get your students laughing, thinking, sharing, and getting to know each other. From the silly to the insightful, these Top 3 choices are great for icebreakers, time killers on road trips, and much more. Heres a smattering of whats inside: What are your top 3 fast food restaurants? What are your top 3 fears? What are your top 3 cartoon characters? What are your top 3 names of God?While these prompts may seem elementary, they are effective, efficient ways to get inside your students heads and hearts. Think of them as gateway questions that can lead to deeper revelations of whats really going on with your kids.

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You know, were an interesting breed. We pour our whole life into ministrygiving physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, even financially. And, we do all of this to encourage students to live like Christ beyond youth group. Even when we struggle, fail, or find ourselves at the end of a long month feeling drained and discouraged were still called to show our students the love of Jesus. The Youth Worker Book of Hope offers you encouragement and hope in those moments of darkness by using experiences and advice from people who have been through the valley and learned from it. Youth workers from around the country have contributed personal stories of their own desire to quit, confrontations with parents, struggles with running the ministry, getting fired, and many more. Youll read about how other youth workers messed up and how they found hope at the end of a seemingly hopeless road. In tough times its easy to get lost. The Youth Worker Book of Hope meets you while youre still struggling and draws you in to the hope of God.

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A practical and personal approach to apologeticsfor students. How many times has your teacher asked you a question, and you stare blankly at the ceiling, hoping to discover the answer lingering there? Its frustrating when we dont know the answers to the questions were asked by others, but it can be even more frustrating when we dont know the answers to the questions we are asking ourselves. Have you ever asked one of these questions? Does what I think really matter? What is truth? Is God there? Has God spoken? Am I important enough? Am I good enough? Whats so great about heaven?If youve ever wondered about any of these questions, youve come to the right place. In Living with Questions, Dale Fincher will help you look at each of these questions in such a way that youll discover clues, helpful tools, and answersand what they all mean for your life and your faith. The answers you find will put you on a path to dig deeper and gain confidence in your faith. As Dale addresses the big questions that hes been asked by students across the country, youll find that youre not alone in your doubt, confusion, orquestioning. As you learn to live with questions, even the answers are only steps in the right direction. Youll find how they whet the appetite to go deeper into your purpose on this planet and to discover something bigyet very personalthats worth living for.

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As the world's youth population continues to grow and interact globally in an instant through blogging, texting, and social networking, youth ministry is adapting in equal fashion. Authors Terry Linhart and David Livermore offer advice that's substantiated by more than twenty prominent worldwide youth leaders: be prepared. Global Youth Ministry is the first textbook to recognize the phenomenon of global youth ministry and to coordinate leading youth ministry voices in a discussion of the theological, theoretical, sociocultural, and historical issues that shape ministries around the world. Traditionally, students of international youth ministries have had to wade through a range of sources, perspectives, and agendas. This versatile text distills all that, and focuses on real-world experiences, challenges, and issues that are part of international ministries. This book is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate-level students and youth ministry leaders who have a heart for missions, social awareness and spiritual empathy, and a desire to serve young people around the world.

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Exploring Issues Adolescent Girls Face and Strategies to Help Them

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Girls are more than just sugar and spice. Weve all figured that out. What we havent figured out completely is how theyre wired, why they do the things they do, how the world around them affects their choices and opinions, and what that means for youth ministryuntil now.In Teenage Girls, youll find advice from counselors and veteran youth workers, along with helpful suggestions on how to minister to teenage girls. 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 the traditional issues people commonly associate with girls, such as eating disorders, self-image issues, and depression, author Ginny Olson will guide you through some of the new issues on the rise in girls lives. Youll understand more about issues related to:Family  Addiction  Emotional well-being  Mentalhealth  Physical welfare  Sexuality  Spirituality Relationships

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Youth Workers Share Their Worst Failures and Best Advice

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"Everyone makes mistakes. But why make the same ones that other youth workers have already learned tough lessons through? Whether youre a youth ministry volunteer or youve just stepped into a full-time youth ministry position, chances are that you dont know everything...not yet anyway. Here youll find wisdom from seasoned veterans who have been there and done that so you can avoid the pitfalls theyve found themselves facing.With true stories from real youth workers, youll get the truth that you just dont learn in your seminar classes or volunteer training meetings. With thought-provoking questions, relevant Scripture, and practical applications, youll learn from some of the common, but avoidable, blunders of youth ministry veterans such as:  Soul care slip-ups Team building terrors Relationship errors Parent problems (or is it problem parents?!) Programming pitfalls Budget blunders Moral minefields Authority ailments Crisis controlWhile most people will cover up their mistakes and hope to never be found out, these brave youth workers are laying it all out there so you dont have to make the same mistakes. Let their encouragement and wisdom be your most-read training manual."

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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