Book Review: Youth Ministry on the Front Foot
Written by Kara Martin
From the age of 16 I was involved in leadership of youth groups, at school, in church, and at uni. I grabbed resources from wherever I could, and relied a lot on my own energy and creativity.
How I wish I could have accessed a book like Youth Ministry on the Front Foot over these years. It deals with all the major issues facing youth group leaders:
• Lack of time. Youth groups suck up a heap of emotional energy and time. Social networking just adds to the issue - youth leaders are now connected to their ministry 24/7. They simply do not have time to read a lot of books. However, this book provides great ideas and teaching in small, manageable chunks. Your busy leader can dip in and out of the relevant parts at just the right time.
• Lack of energy for application. Linked to the 'lack of time' issue is the problem leaders have in applying what they read. They are so busy doing all the application work with teens that it is hard for them to have the energy to apply knowledge to their own leadership. This book has application guides after each topic, stepping through application personally, or with the youth work team.
• Lack of organisation. Youth work is messy work. Youth workers have to keep across cultural trends, as well as church trends. They usually love being youth workers because of the passion and connection and spontaneity; but those things are not usually linked with structure and administration. This book recognises those competing demands and provides resources for organisation as well as ideas for teaching.
• Feeling on the outer. Stereotypically, youth group leaders are on the edge of church society. They are sometimes eyed with suspicion, especially if playing Halo seems to take up more time than teaching the Scriptures! This book addresses issues of managing relationships within the church community.
• Lack of prioritisation of self-care. Another issue is the leader’s ability to ensure they are growing personally. Spiritual as well as physical and emotional burn-out are real issues. This book addresses those concerns.
• Lack of networks. This varies, but sometimes youth group leaders can become isolated. This may be because they are too competitive, but usually it is just a symptom of lack of time or energy. This book is a ready-made network, drawing on expertise from 13 experienced youth ministers, as well as youth ministry educators.
The book is divided into four sections:
• Youth ministry: dealing with the foundations of establishing effective youth ministry, including connecting the word to the world.
• The youth leader: helping the leader to do their ministry in a godly way, including topics on prayer and integrity.
• Principles for youth ministry: the largest section, looking at all different aspects of the work, including topics on Bible talks, youth camps, dealing with parents, and female leaders teaching.
• Developing youth leaders: ensuring there is ongoing consistency of leadership, including identifying emerging leaders, and issues of accountability.
The book is not perfect. There seems to be an over-emphasis on Bible teaching, and less of a focus on other aspects of gospel-focused youth ministry such as worship, caring and social action. However, there is some openness to these areas.
I have teenage kids myself now, and I have been giving their youth minister lots of books on prayer and leadership. I found out the poor guy is overwhelmed with books from other parents as well, which he will never have time to read because he is too busy discipling our kids!
However, this is one book that I know will be an ongoing useful resource, adding value rather than stealing time from his work. I will be giving him a copy of this book, and telling him to give the others away if he doesn’t have time.
KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with the School of Christian Studies (http://www.socs.org.au), and Wesley Institute (http://www.wi.edu.au) and is an avid reader and book group attendee. Kara does book reviews for Hope 103.2’s Open house (http://www.theopenhouse.net.au).
Purchase Youth Ministry on the Front Foot.