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For You and Youth
Nothing has captured the imagination of the church more than youth ministry. But nothing in the church changes more! When a book on youth ministry is printed, it may be out of date before it even reaches the store.
Some resources, however, are essential for the youth minister’s toolbox. Youth ministers I know include the following in that category.
This Way to Youth Ministry
By Duffy Robbins (Zondervan)
Robbins is a veteran of 25 years in youth ministry and is a frequent speaker and seminar leader on the subject. He is a staff member for Youth Specialties and chairman of the department of youth ministry at Eastern University.
This book is an academic study of youth ministry. It runs counter to caricatures of youth ministry as being shallow and superficial. Robbins’s book would be great for college or seminary classes on youth ministry, but youth ministers on the field will find it helpful, as well.
The book includes many stimulating stories, and Robbins connects youth ministry to trends in church history while frequently quoting from classic authors in church history. He provides both the big picture and the details. Robbins will challenge you.
The book is part of Zondervan’s Youth Specialties-Academic series. Robbins’s other books on youth ministry include, Youth Ministry Nuts and Bolts and Youth Ministry That Works.
Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry
By Doug Fields (Zondervan)
If this book’s title reminds you of the works of Rick Warren, that is no accident. Fields developed his approach as youth minister at Warren’s Saddleback Church.
This book is a simple idea done well. It adapts the Purpose-Driven models of Rick Warren to youth ministry in the local church. How much you like this book may well depend on how much you resonate with Warren’s models. The reader will benefit even if he does not fully accept the principles of the Saddleback approach. This book specializes in philosophy of youth ministry over specific programming ideas.
Fields has supplemented this book with others that deal more with the specifics, like Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry and Would You Rather.
Great Talk Outlines for Youth Ministry
By Mark Oestereicher (Zondervan)
There are actually two volumes of these message starters, both of them ideal for youth audiences and their notoriously short attention spans. These are more than just collections of outlines. There are illustrations and suggestions for using video clips and music. The book also includes a CD supplement with the outlines and other message enhancements.
Everyone knows good youth ministry is more than pizza, wild games, and edgy music. Youth deserve our best efforts, and our best efforts require us to make a serious study of an area that doesn’t seem "serious," but is in fact vital.
Mike Shannon is dean at Cincinnati (Ohio) Bible Seminary.
PREVIOUS COLUMNS:
January 18, 2006 - Dealing With the Dark Side
January 4, 2006 - Libraries Without Walls
December 21, 2005 - Communication Concepts from Secular Circles
December 7, 2005 - Words of Wisdom for Women's Ministry
November 23, 2005 - Magnificent Help from the Magazine Rack
November 9, 2005 - Invigorating Volunteers; Developing Disciples
October 26, 2005 - Overcoming Overwhelm
October 12, 2005 - Big Ideas for Smaller Churches
September 14, 2005 - A Potpourri of Books
August 31, 2005 - A Potpourri of Web Sites
August 17, 2005 - Hart-to-Heart Talks
August 3, 2005 - Ken Can Help
July 20, 2005 - Easum Has Some Advice
July 6, 2005 - Finding Illustration Gold Mines
June 22, 2005 - Get Real with Bobb Biehl
June 9, 2005 - Let Len Lend a Hand
May 29, 2005 - A New Angle on Church Growth
May 15, 2005 - It's Your Turn
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