Most adults feel uncomfortable in the teen subculture. From this uneasy position, adults like to 'handle' the teens like children because they are threatening. The purpose of Timeless Youth Ministry is to help people in the church and Christian youth organizations minister to teenagers. As former youth pastors and current professors of youth ministry, the authors have 'been there, done that' in this field. They've run programs, camps, and ministry trips in such diverse places as southern California, east Tennessee, northeast Ohio and Alberta, Canada,to name a few. This book is a needed resource to examine afresh what it means to be an adolescent in today's culture and how those who minister to young people can best reach them.
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!”
Ministry Resources for Evangelization offers faith communities tools and resources to evangelize youth. It offers practical strategies and ideas for outreach to young people and contains twelve gathered sessions to share the Good News.The manual also contains a retreat to engage young people in becoming or continuing as disciples of Jesus. Each manual in the Total Youth Ministry series includes a CD containing its electronic version, customizable handouts, and theme-related links. CD System Requirements Intel(R) Pentium II(R) processor Microsoft(R) Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT(R) 4.0 with Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 64MB of RAM (128 MB recommended) 800 x 600 or higher screen resolution Adobe Reader 6.0 60MB of available hard-disk space (for installation of Adobe Reader 6.0) Multi-read CD-ROM drive Internet Explorer 5.01or 5.5 or Explorer 6.0 or 6.1
Sticky Faith delivers positive and practical ideas to nurture within your kids a living, loving faith that lasts a lifetime. Research indicates that almost half of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. Struck by this staggering statistic, and recognizing its ramifications, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) conducted the "College Transition Project" in an effort to identify the relationships and best practices that can set young people on a trajectory of lifelong faith and service. This easy-to-read guide presents both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children’s spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith. Written by Fuller Youth Institute Executive Director Dr. Kara E. Powell and youth expert Chap Clark--authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people--Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages. Further engage your family and church with the Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith curriculum, and Sticky Faith youth worker edition. Sticky Faith is also available in Spanish, Cómo criar jóvenes de fe sólida.
Youth pastors often burn out, bail out, and are pushed out of ministry. In this book, you'll be given practical insights and action steps to help you build fences against failure.
No matter where you are, your youth group can have a lasting, worldwide influence. This book offers practical suggestions on how your ministry can respond to issues like poverty, immigration, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, and more. You'll help students impact the world around them as they learn how their faith intersects with these global issues.
We need to get organized around here! That is the common cry of youth workers who feel burdened by so much to do in so little time, so many responsibilities and so few results, so much criticism--it seems--so little support. Paul Borthwick agrees that getting organized is essential for effective your ministry, and he has written an essential book to help those of you in youth ministry organize three different areas of your lives: Personal: How do your personal goals and your need for personal growth fit with your youth ministry? If you're married, are your spouse and children helped or hurt by your involvement with kids? Are your other responsibilities suffering? As Borthwick says, Good ministry is the result of a balanced personal life.Ó Professional: Do you see yourself as a youth professional? Is your interaction with pastor and church board characterized by mutual respect? It's the youth worker who will help other people see youth ministry as a profession and not just a fun-and-games operation.Ó Practical: Is your budget balanced? Do you frequently begin activities feeling only half-prepared? Do your volunteers and coworkers know what is expected of them? Better planning and time management can create programs, lessons, and activities that help people grow, learn, and love each other.Ó Part I of 'Organizing Your Youth Ministry' examines the need to the youth minister to organize his or her personal life as well as ministry, setting priorities, and the special challenges of church youth ministry. Part II addresses the philosophical foundations of youth ministry organization: Why do we do what we do? What is it young people really need? How do you work with a team? Where do parents fit in? Part III discusses how to organize the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly administrative demands of the youth ministry, from budgets to retreats, from activities to Sunday school lessons, from choir to missions projects, from discipleship programs to the special needs of junior-high students. Part IV helps us to evaluate our goals and to measure the effectiveness of our youth ministry -- always keeping in mind that, as Borthwick says, the ultimate purpose isn't just to produce better programs or a more efficient discipleship systemÓ but to present each person complete in ChristÓ (Col. 1:28 NASB). So if you, like every other youth worker, have too much to do, too little time to do it in, and sometimes don't know where to begin, 'Organizing Your Youth Ministry' can help. Give it a try -- and you'll find out why Paul Borthwick says that organization can be a ministry in itself.
Mike Yaconelli composes his thoughts and passions regarding the nine core realities of youth ministry: veracity (youth ministry must expose students to the life-giving truth of Jesus Christ), authenticity (authentic youth workers will draw young people to Jesus Christ), audacity (youth ministry must push students, parents, and the church outside their comfort zones), sanctuary (youth ministry must provide a safe place for students), diversity (youth ministry must challenge young people to embrace diversity), humility (youth ministry should be clothed in humility), intimacy (our relationship with Jesus is our youth ministry), mystery (youth ministry must foster mystery, rediscover astonishment, and leave room for unanswered questions), and creativity (youth ministry must free students and youth workers to discover and express their God-given creativity). As an added resource, each member of the CORETM seminar team, including authors and speakers such as Laurie Polich, Efrem Smith, Marv Penner, Duffy Robbins, contributes sidebars throughout the book responding to Mike’s thoughts.
