Tried and tested books to help your youth ministry
Whether it’s a practical training session, a deep dive on a theological topic or ministry principle that will drive my ministry, or a book about a skill that will help me with the myriad of important things in ministry (pastoral care, Bible teaching, leadership…), the through line for me is that learning drives me forward.
With that in mind, the youth ministry team at Youthworks Ministry Support has been doing a lot of reading recently, and we’ve reviewed a few books that we reckon might help you in your ministry.
This article has been written by AI
It seems like every second conversation I have revolves around A.I. - and in the midst of all of these conversations, I’m making decisions (often internally, or intuitively) about whether I will use A.I. or not and what tasks or processes I will or won’t use it for.
In youth ministry, where our words matter so much, one important question is ‘What will I (and won’t I) use A.I. for?’
Two ways to get quiet discussion groups talking
Think of a time where you’ve asked a question in a discussion and everyone falls silent… is it the good kind of silence, or the not-so-good kind?
One kind of silence is productive, while the other is detrimental to forming a good group culture. One kind of silence promotes discussion, the other hampers it.
Here are two simple tools that will help you create a platform for the types of discussion where you get the good kind of silence.
Fostering a love of God in youth ministry
In this article, I want to parse out what I think are 2 (perhaps self-evident) essential aspects to loving God, and their implications for the kind of youth ministry we’ll do.
What Happens When Young People Own Youth Ministry – A Story from Norwest Anglican
Al James recently spoke to Tim Scoular, Youth Pastor at Norwest Anglican Church, about the changes they made in their youth ministry to increase participation, ownership and service among young people. Read more to hear what Tim had to say.
Why Mission is Only Half the Answer
Over the last few years, there has been a corrective occurring in our churches, kids' ministries and youth ministries. More and more I’m hearing about evangelism being put back on the agenda and discussion around strategies for mission and how to increase “mission heat”.
Discipling youth through identity struggles
How might the concept of Identity Moratorium impact on the way you disciple young people going through identity formation?
Equipping Youth with Biblical Ethics – Al James talks to Mike Snowdon
Al James talks to Mike Snowdon about his new book A New Freedom: How God’s Word Equips You for Life.
Tell Me More
As youth leaders, we long to share our lives with the young people we disciple, but for all kinds of reasons, so often we’re met with a brick wall of one-word answers.
Responding as Disciples to a Time of Unrest
The young people in your youth or children’s ministry might be: scared, sad, uncertain, confused, angry or any number of other responses.
And all of this raises the same question I had for my family: as a community of believers, how do we deal with this collective adversity?
Leading Well in Times of Change
Young people are experiencing a lot of change right now. For some, it’s more change than they’ve ever known. Learn how to lead young people well as they settle back into youth ministry.
3 tips on running great youth ministry meetings.
Learn how to run great meetings for your youth ministry.
Helping young people build resilient faith
Reading four books may fee unattainable but Youthworks makes this easier by giving you summaries of key learnings from recent literature on building resilient faith in youth
What impact has COVID-19 had on Youth and Children’s Ministry?
A report which has researched how how youth and children’s ministers were affected by COVID-19 this year
What Happens When Churches Collaborate
Collaborating with other churches in effective ministry to young people is a great way to connect with others in the collective task of mission
You are a youth coach, not just a youth leader: discipling young people to mature in leadership
Coaching not just leadership leads to long term flourishing discipleship.
Responding to young peoples’ fears with real hope
How to help young people understand our times and find hope
Sharing the gospel without sharing the virus
Why we must keep holding out the gospel to young people during COVID-19