Youth Pastoral Helps, Sermons and Church Leadership

274957: 101 Ideas for Making Disciples in Your Youth Group

101 Ideas for Making Disciples in Your Youth Group
By Kent Julian / Zondervan

* Veteran youth worker Julian invites you to explore missional ACTS that really work with teens! A doration of a God that moves in our lives; C ommunity based on Christ's love; T ruth-and-Grace making Scripture central to belief and behavior; S erving the whole person and sharing the gospel. Includes 25 hands-on activities that fit your ministry! 176 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

252474: Creative Teaching That Changes Lives: How to Teach Teens for Holistic Impact

Creative Teaching That Changes Lives: How to Teach Teens for Holistic Impact
By Dan Lambert

This book will help teachers in a variety of Christian youth ministry settings more effectively to plan and to teach so that their efforts will genuinely impact the lives of the teens they serve. This long-needed book will be used by professional youth workers to enhance their own practice; will equip volunteers; and will become a foundational text in college and seminary classrooms. This book is a comprehensive, research-informed text whose passion is fueled by the urgent need in youth ministry to better reach students, to inform them about God's will for their lives, and to have students experience change in their lives they can experience beyond the youth-group setting. No other text in print so fully helps youth workers teach teens holistically. This book combines adolescent development theory, educational theory, and practical applications and ideas. With this book's comprehensive outlook, teachers and youth leaders can have greater opportunities for a richer impact on students for the sake of the Gospel.

833374: Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth
By Walt Mueller

Before we can reach today's youth with the truth of the gospel, we need to see what they see and hear what they hear. We need to catch the messages encrypted in their culture and understand what's really being communicated.

In Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture Walt Mueller, founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, helps us to navigate the troubling and confusing terrain of teen worldviews so that we can effectively and compassionately pass along good news: our God is their God, our Savior can be their Savior.

718873: Resolving Conflict, Encounter Digital Bible Lessons, Biblical Principles for Resolving Differences

Resolving Conflict, Encounter Digital Bible Lessons, Biblical Principles for Resolving Differences

Part of an excellent DVD series suitable for youth group discussions. Empower students to interact first-hand with the Bible and learn how God helps with the struggles they face every day. With Encounter Digital Bible Lessons, teachers don’t just explain the passage; they help teens engage the Bible in meaningful ways.
More Encounter Digital Bible Lessons Materials
Find subjects such as: World Religions, Wise use of Media, Overwhelming evidence of Jesus' miracles, death and resurrection. Relationships at home, hard issues teens face in today's world.

432013: Eyes Wide Open, Revised and Updated

Eyes Wide Open, Revised and Updated
By William D. Romanowski

Romanowski's Eyes Wide Open has been one of the most-used Christian college textbooks on popular culture. This revised and expanded second edition is now even more useful for students. It has been expanded to delve more deeply into how Christians can most profitably and critically hear, read, and view popular culture; it more clearly explains how popular culture is art; and it furthers the discussion on media sex and violence. All of the chapters have been updated with fresh examples from the world of film and popular music. Other helpful additions include endnotes, a bibliography, an index, study questions, and end-of-chapter summaries.

Grounded in Christian principles, this accessible and engaging book offers an informed and fascinating approach to popular culture. Romanowski provides affectionate yet astute analysis of familiar, well-loved movies and television characters from Cinderella Man to Homer Simpson. He speaks with expertise on films from The Chronicles of Narnia to Crash and music from Mozart to U2, bringing sources as diverse as Shakespeare and Allan Bloom into the discussion.

Romanowski's confessional approach affirms a role for popular culture in faithful living. Practical, analytical approaches to content, meaning, and artistic style offer the tools to participate responsibly and imaginatively in popular cultural activities. An engaging read, this new edition introduces students and thoughtful readers to popular culture---one of the most influential forces in contemporary society.

40450: First Two Years of Youth Ministry

First Two Years of Youth Ministry
By Doug Fields

In this sequel to his bestseller Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry, Fields offers 10 valuable steps to beginning a successful program. You'll learn the importance of going before God, focusing on relationships, communicating your desires, identifying your personal values, developing and teaching your purpose, pursuing leaders, evaluating and creating programs, and more. Ideal for veterans or first-timers. 208 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

24044: Fresh Ideas: Worship-Piping Hot Resources for Youth

Fresh Ideas: Worship-Piping Hot Resources for Youth
By Jim Burns

This is book eight of the Fresh Ideas Resource series written to help any youth worker turn their youth meetings into dynamic exciting events that kids will look forward to attending! This resource will give leaders ideas on their own personal spiritual preparation for leading worship as well as the characteristics of today's youth. It describes and gives ideas for using the tools of worship and contains short devotionals, readings and other brief worship ideas for any meeting or event. Reproducible checklists and planning sheets will aid the youthworker preparing for worship in any setting. Worship experiences for retreats and camps are included along with what to do when the senior pastor asks you to prepare a "Youth Sunday."

55525: Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry

Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry
By K. Powell, M. Hutchinson & H. Flies

This book is a useful guide for women in youth ministry as it discusses the challenges and blessings of being a woman as well as four sections that deal with: you, your relationships, your ministry, and the men you work with. This book also covers topics such as the challenges of singleness, marriage and parenthood, mentoring and counseling, making your voice heard and fair treatment and fair pay along with practical helps for your youth ministry.

Kara Powell, PH.D., is executive director of the Center for Ministry to Youth and Their Families at Fuller Theological Seminary, coordinator of the Woman's Youth Network, and small group leader for student Ministries at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California. She's also a member of the emergentYS board, and the author of several youth ministry titles.

Meagan Hutchinson is a youth minister at Saddleback church in Lake Forest California, director of "Let's Talk About It," and a member of the Youth Specialties CORE training team.

Heather Flies is the junior high pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a member of the Youth Specialties CORE training team, and a popular youth rally emcee at school and church events.

67082: Help! I'm Working with Kids Who Are Hurting

Help! I'm Working with Kids Who Are Hurting
By Marv Penner

A growing number of adolescents today are hurting deeply--often more deeply than they or the adults in their lives are willing to acknowledge. Volunteers often report feeling inadequate and unprepared to process the complex circumstances kids are involved in today. Sadly, some may even adopt a more relationally distant stance in their interactions simply to avoid the possibility of "getting in over their heads." While the mishandling of a serious problem in the life of a teenager can have devastating results, youth workers cannot shy away from addressing a hurting teen's needs. You don't need a degree in clinical psychology to play a significant role in the life a hurting teenager. Help! I'm Working with Teens Who Are Hurting offers a wide range of appropriate interventions and introduces reader to the fundamental helping skills they will need to succeed in their ministry. This is also a vital resource because it helps untrained youth workers recognize their limitations and learn the principles of effective referral.

276630: The Youth Ministry Survival Guide: How to Thrive and Last for the Long Haul

The Youth Ministry Survival Guide: How to Thrive and Last for the Long Haul
By Len Kageler / Zondervan

It’s more common in youth ministry than we want to admit—burnout and failure. Exhaustion, frustration, disappointment, and conflict bring many youth workers to a point where they either choose a new church, a new career, or someone makes that choice for them.

After thirty years of youth ministry experience, Len Kageler wants to help youth workers avoid the pitfalls that are common to their calling, and give them the tools to not only survive, but also to thrive in youth ministry. Along with his own wisdom, Len offers insights gained from his 2006 survey of more than 300 burned out or fired youth workers who come from a variety of ministry contexts and denominations.

If you’re new to youth ministry, or you’ve been at it for a while and feel like you may be on the verge of burnout, The Youth Ministry Survival Guide will help you: • deal with conflict and compromise • determine the causes of burnout (and how to avoid them!) • discover how your personality, and the personality of those you work with, affects the dynamics of your ministry experience • develop the best plan for working with senior pastors, church leadership, parents, and students, so you can… • do youth ministry in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond!

Don’t let burnout force you out! Inside this book you’ll find steps you can take to help build fences against failure, and you’ll learn what it takes to survive and thrive in youth ministry.

01680: Making Worship Real: A Resource for Youth and Their Leaders

Making Worship Real: A Resource for Youth and Their Leaders
By Aimee Wallis Buchanan, Bill Buchanan, Jodi B. Martin

Many youth attend church regularly without fully understanding what worship is and why it is the central action of our faith. In Making Worship Real, Aimee and Bill Buchanan along with Jodi Martin provide effective new ways for pastors, Christian educators, youth leaders, and youth themselves to help young people learn about the various elements of worship. This accessible book explains the significance of each part of worship in Presbyterian Church and Reformed congregations and includes activities that have been designed to help youth think creatively about worship. These engaging activities can be used to plan worship services for Sunday mornings, weekend retreats, youth Sundays, and nontraditional worship times. Most importantly, this book is that rare resource that will help youth and their leaders understand why worship is relevant while helping youth lead and participate in worship using their own authentic voice.

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32091: Raising Up Young Heroes: Developing a Revolutionary Youth Ministry

Raising Up Young Heroes: Developing a Revolutionary Youth Ministry
By Efrem Smith

Youth ministry is about much more than Sunday night Bible study and lock-ins. It's about changing the lives of youth and empowering young heroes to change their world. Here is a model for holistic ministry that addresses all the needs of students--body, soul and spirit. Powerful stories from the author's urban, multiethnic context shape the context of this book, while the principles within are designed to serve the whole body of Christ.

838226: The Perfect Program and Other Fairy Tales: Confessions of a Well-Intentioned Youth Worker

The Perfect Program and Other Fairy Tales: Confessions of a Well-Intentioned Youth Worker
By David Chow

Seasoned youth pastor David Chow, formerly of The Crystal Cathedral, shares engaging anecdotes and tested advice to remind youth pastors that God is u sing their work--even when it's not perfect. Chow's offers such strengthening advice as "It's not how you do youth ministry, it's what you are." His true confessions of a youth pastor will validate your own ministry growing pains while at the same time encouraging you to keep pressing on toward the goal: developing new disciples for Christ.

833293: The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting with the Movement Shaping Our Culture

The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting with the Movement Shaping Our Culture
By Efrem Smith & Phil Jackson

Hip-hop is here.

The beats ring out in our cities. Hip-hop culture is all around us: in the clothes youth wear, in the music they listen to, in the ways they express themselves. It is the language they speak, the rhythm they move to. It is a culture familiar with the hard realities of our broken world; the generation raised with rap knows about the pain. They need to know about the hope.

Enter the hip-hop church.

Like the culture it rises from, the hip-hop church is relevant and bold. And it speaks to the heart. In this book, pastors Efrem Smith (Raising Up Young Heroes: Developing a Revolutionary Youth Ministry ) and Phil Jackson show the urgency of connecting hip-hop culture and church to reach a generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They give practical ideas from their urban churches and other hip-hop churches about how to engage and incorporate rap, break dancing, poetry and deejays to worship Jesus and preach his Word.

Hip-hop culture is shaping the next generation. Ignoring it will not reduce its influence; it will only separate us from the youth moving to its rhythm. How will they hear Christ's message of truth and hope if we don't speak their language? And how can we speak their language if we don't understand and embrace their culture?

Hear the beat. Join the beat. Become the beat that brings truth and hope to a hungry, hurting generation.

The Last Christian Generation
By Josh McDowell

Research reveals an alarming trend among today's youth---they do not believe that Christ is God's Son or that the Holy Spirit is real; and think that "doing good" is enough. McDowell urges a ministry that provides a relevant introduction to God---a definitive "Christianity 101" that ignites authentic spiritual formation. Comes with free copy of The Da Vinci Code: A Quest for Answers. 208 pages, softcover from Green Key.

63464: The (Peer) Pressure's On: In But Not of the Crowd, Leaders Guide Leaders Guide

The (Peer) Pressure's On: In But Not of the Crowd, Leaders Guide Leaders Guide

Tested with churches across the United States, this new undated curriculum received high marks from users for layout, ease of planning and teaching, clear life application message, and youth enjoyment. The series will include sixteen topical studies for grades 6-8. Each book has 7 sessions with new studies released each quarter. Each quarter, one release focuses on a life issue and the other release focuses on a faith issue. This Leader Guide's includes a step-by-step plans for 7 sessions, plus a retreat model, a worship service, and filed trip or service project. Some pages are reproducible.

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45901: They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations

They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations
By Dan Kimball

Ask members of today's emerging generations what they think of Jesus and chances are you'll get a glowing response. Ask their opinion of the church and the reply will probably be less favourable. Why? Taking both questions to the streets, Dan Kimball returns with critical insights for both church leaders and non-Christians. Kimball looks at six common objections people have to the church. Institutional and politically motivated, judgmental, homophobic, female-repressive, narrow-minded...how accurate are these perceptions? Exploring these objections in this book, Kimball addresses church leaders on the one hand and people who wouldn't darken the doors of a church on the other. This book is a wakeup call to the church.

746835: Uncommon Youth Ministry: Your Onramp to Launching an Extraordinary Youth Ministry

Uncommon Youth Ministry: Your Onramp to Launching an Extraordinary Youth Ministry
By Jim Burns / Gospel Light

This comprehensive and practical resource about relational youth ministry is designed to help youth leaders build active, healthy youth groups that lead students to commitment to Christ through genuine relationships with their peers and youth workers. Theoretical enough to be used as a youth ministry text, yet practical enough for lay leaders to use effectively. Includes information on relational ministry, understanding youth culture, developing student leadership, building youth staff, discipling for lasting commitment, stimulating individual faith, effective counseling, promoting a sense of mission and evangelism, creative teaching of God's Word, interrelating with parents and the whole church, fundraising, emphasizing authentic worship.

Youth Ministry
By Jason Gant / Abingdon Press

Gant focuses on a practical approach to youth ministry needs, emphasizing that young people need to understand a relationship with God through their head, their heart, and their hands. This practical, user-friendly, guide includes: A collection of solid ideas that zero in on helping professional staff and laypersons develop and maintain a thriving youth ministry. Shows leaders how to create a place where youth come to know God personally through youth groups, retreats, and special events. Offers suggestions for building young people's knowledge through Sunday school, small groups, Bible studies, and discussion groups. Includes tips for challenging youth with options to serve through missions, ministry teams, and acts of kindness and mercy.

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