Leaven Leaven

Volume 10 Issue 1 Youth Ministry Article 9

1-1-2002

Resource Guide for Youth Ministry Resource Guide for Youth Ministry

Markus H. McDowell

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation McDowell, Markus H. (2002) "Resource Guide for Youth Ministry," Leaven: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 9. Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol10/iss1/9

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~~~ Resource Guide~r, "r=.~'WYouth Ministry

MARKUS H. McDoWELL, EDITOR

The following is a brief annotated bibliographyof some major resources recommended by expe-rienced youth workers. The bibliography includesbooks, websites, training programs, and musicresources. (See also the book reviews in this issue.)Thanks to Walter Surdacki, Scott Talley, Paul Talley,and Chris Hatchet for their input.

BOOKS

A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends ona Spiritual Journey by Brian D. Mcl.aren.

This dialogue between two friends explores thefuture of ministry in the postmodern church. It willchallenge and stretch the Western mind to look atChristianity and ministry from a whole new perspec-tive. This book is one of the easiest to read andmost comprehensive descriptions of postmodernismavailable. A burnt out pastor makes friends withhis daughter's science teacher, who leads him to anenthusiastic embracing of postmodernism as appliedto the Christian message. In this fictional conversa-tion, McLaren describes the path toward postmodernChristianity as a journey of Holy Spirit-guided faith"through the winds and currents of change." Theconservative pastor in his story comes to accept theBible as a pre-modern text that presents its messagein stories and does not have to conform to our mod-ern expectations. This book is one of the most chal-lenging yet thought provoking texts available.

When Kumbaya Is Not Enough: A PracticalTheology for Youth Ministry by Dean Borgman.

This is one of those books that will cause you tostand back and examine yourself and your ministry.The youth ministry world needs such books to steerus back on course. While the field of youth ministry

is enjoying tremendous popularity, a book like thisis tremendously helpful to help keep this movementin check by giving the crucial theological frameworknecessary for youth ministry. It is relevant and accu-rate in its understanding of youth culture, particu-larly of urban youth culture.

Family-Based Youth Ministry: Reaching the Been-There, Done- That Generation by Mark DeVries.

Traditional youth ministry must incorporatefamilies into its programming. Mark DeVries breaksground by challenging youth ministers to include theother generations of the church. So often youth min-istries barricade themselves into their own cornersof the church and cut themselves off from the othersegments of the congregation that have so muchto offer today's young people. DeVries gives greatideas to the youth worker who wants to bridge thisgap, but does not know how to do it.

Participating in God's Life by C. Leonard Allen andDanny Gray Swick.

Have you ever wondered what happened to theHoly Spirit in the Church of Christ? Allen and Swickaddress the overwhelming interest in spiritualityin today's world and the challenges the Church ofChrist faces in light of that interest. While this textdoes not directly address youth ministry, it is none-theless relevant to youth ministers. Today's youthminister truly works with a foot in two worlds, onein the world of young people sold out on all differ-ent forms of spirituality and an older world wherespirituality is a mystical term that many are uncer-tain about. Navigating vision and direction throughthese channels can be a difficult and challengingtask. Allen and Swick give the youth minister vitalperspective necessary to understand from where

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we have come and why the Church of Christ viewsspirituality as it does. They also give guidelines onhow to proceed with this information.

Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church:Inclusive Congregational, Preparatory, Missional,Strategic by Mark H. Senter III (general editor),Wesley Black, Chap Clark, and Malan Nel.

Four Views is a dialogue from four differentperspectives on how youth ministry and the churchought to work together. It seeks to answer thesefour questions: Should youth ministry reflect thechurch culture or the youth culture? Should youthministry focus on mission and outreach or should itsfirst business be to nurture its own teenagers in thefaith? Are a church's teenagers full-fledged membersof their church, completely integrated into the fulllife of the congregation-or should adolescence bea time of preparation for future leadership in thatchurch? At what point does a youth group becomeits own church? What if this is done deliberatelyand strategically? Four Views is definitely not a textfor the beginning youth worker; it is best handledby the veteran youth worker who has had a chanceto understand the different dynamics between youthministry and the church.

Youth Ministry Management Tools by Ginny Olson,Diane Elliot, and Mike Work.

I wish I had this book the first two years of mywork as a youth minister. It provides the youth min-ister with a fairly comprehensive view of the admin-istrative process involved in the ministry. The bookhas everything from all the checklists you need forplanning a major event, to many of the legal formsyou need, to how to organize your time effectively.This is a must-read for a youth minister in his or herfirst two years of ministry. While it may not be themost exciting page-turner, it will help you organizeyour ministry and time to lessen your stress tremen-dously.

Outside The Lines: Pour Your Heart into It:How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Timeby Howard Schultz.

Are you a minister looking to develop a visionfor ministry larger than you ever imagined? This isthe book for you. Howard Schultz is the chairmanand CEO of Starbucks responsible for taking a smalllocal coffee bean shop and turning it into a nationalcommodity. He tells the story of his no-compromiseapproach to achieving his vision of sharing greatcoffee with the world after witnessing Italy's obses-sion with coffee and observing how the corner cap-puccino bar had become a "Third Place" (a placeoutside of home and work for people to enjoy life).Schultz has brought the Third Place to America inthe form of the local Starbucks. Many of his phi-losophies and management principles can easily beadapted to your ministry's approach to vision. Not tomention that, if you love coffee, you will learn somefascinating things about dark roasted coffee that willhelp you enjoy your coffee experience even more.

Seven Checkpoints for Youth Leaders by AndyStanley and Stewart Hall.

This is a great tool for evaluating the founda-tional priorities of youth ministry.

Starting Right: Thinking Theologically About YouthMinistry, edited by Kendra Creasy Dean, ChapClark, and Dave Rahn (A Youth Specialties Book).

This book looks at the theological foundations ofyouth ministry. It is a required textbook at LubbockChristian University in its Master's program foryouth ministry.

What I Wish My Youth Leader Knew About YouthMinistry: A National Survey by Mike Nappa(Standard Publishers).

In this book, Mike Nappa presents the results ofa nationwide survey of teens about youth ministry,youth ministers, and youth programs.

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New Directions for Youth Ministry by Wayne Rice,Chap Clark, and others.

The authors of this book take a candid look atthe strengths and weaknesses of several new youthministry strategies.

The Youth Worker s Encyclopedia of Bible TeachingIdeas: Old Testament (Loveland, Colo.: GroupPublishing, 1994).The Youth Worker s Encyclopedia of Bible TeachingIdeas: New Testament (Loveland, Colo.: GroupPublishing, 1994).

These are a collection of devotions, prayers,games, skits, and activities arranged by biblicaltexts, with a topical index at the end of the book.

God at the Mall by Pete Ward.This book presents a unique perspective on

youth ministry by Peter Ward, a youth worker andteacher at King's College in London. Ward presentsa theologically based vision of youth ministry thatfocuses on reaching unchurched teens from a socio-logical understanding.

TRAINING

Building a Healthy Youth Ministry: The Strategy ofJesus (www.sonlife.com).

This one-day seminar hosted by local churchesnation wide is probably the best training availablefor youth ministry. The basic strategy seminar isfocused on understanding a basic model of minis-try that is founded solely on the life and strategy ofChrist. Jesus' mod.el is a theologically sound philo-sophical skeleton that many religion programs over-look. This training will help you enable your stu-dents to win the lost, build believers, and equip themfor peer ministry through Jesus' timeless principles.Sonlife also offers advanced training nationwidethat is focused on sharpening your vision and settingdefined goals for your ministry.

Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry/PrincetonUniversity s Institute for Youth Ministry

This is an international center dedicated tostrengthening the theological task of ministry withyoung people. It focuses on practical theological

reflection in the area of youth ministry. Participantsenjoy presentations by distinguished lecturers (thePrinceton Lectures on Youth Church and Culture),casual discussion with presenters, worship, seminars,and reflection with colleagues in mentor groups.The forums are held in April on the PrincetonTheological Seminary campus and in January in dif-ferent locations around the country. This conferenceis highly academic in nature, as well as extremelythought provoking.

WEBSITESwww.ministryandmedia.com

This website takes an interactive look at ministryand media which includes ideas, discussions, andmovie clips.

www.youthministry.comThis is the website for youth ministry. It includes

everything from games to job listings. This websitetakes all the resources of Group Publishers and cre-ates an easy to use format. Included are lesson ideas,chat rooms, articles, curriculae, and all things con-nected with youth ministry.

iouno.uouthspecialtiee.orqThis is the Youth Specialties website. Youth

Specialties has been on the cutting edge of youthministry for 35 years.

MUSIC

Interline (www.interlinc-online.com) is one ofthe best resources for Christian music. For a fewhundred dollars a year, a subscriber gets a packagesix times a year containing 12 new Christian CDs,posters, Bible study guides based on the music, con-cert information and tickets, videos, and much more.Also included is information telling the youth min-ister what's "hot" in the field of Christian music andthe media in general. Playing a new CD as teenagersarrive for class is a good way for them to be intro-duced to Christian music and to create discussion onrelated topics.

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