The Youth Cartel's Unauthorized Dictionary of Youth Ministry

Religion & Spirituality

Steve Case

Christian Books & Bibles

The Youth Cartel

Far too many church leaders find themselves frustrated, floundering, or fired because their dreams for the church reach beyond the job description they were hired to fill. Whether you're a pastor, an intern, or a volunteer, you're not the one in charge of the congregation. Thankfully, neither is your boss; Jesus is the lead pastor for every church. His Spirit moves in each of us, and those gifted in leadership can find Christ-honoring practices for leading up- having influence that goes beyond role or experience. This isn't about manipulation or rebellion, but about humbly participating in the mission of God in your church. Leading Up is a leadership fable that unpacks a paradigm and practical tools for leading up in your church. Logan is a young pastor with a big vision for Evergreen Community Church, but cannot seem to move any of his ideas beyond wishful thinking. At a significant breaking point, a mentor comes alongside to mentor Logan on his journey of leadership, transforming both of these leaders and the church in the process. Logan's affecting tale will offer compelling insights for any church leader wanting to expand their leadership skills.

Leading Up: Finding Influence in the Church Beyond Role and Experience

Joel Mayward

When youth workers see their world of ministry&#x2013;what they do and why they do it&#x2013;in a new light, it gives them fresh passion. It helps them to persevere through ministry struggles and clarifies their sense of direction. All youth workers, and particularly rookies and volunteers, need a reminder of who they are as youth workers. The Picture Book Guide to Youth Ministry is all about perspective: The best way to grow a healthy ministry is to be a healthy youth worker. Rather than having an emphasis on doing a lot of stuff in ministry, this book focuses youth workers on being the right person for ministry. With this fresh perspective youth workers will gain insight, encouragement, and practical direction needed to better influence the lives of students.\nUsing a bunch of cheesy childlike illustrations, The Picture Book Guide to Youth Ministry gives youth workers foundational lessons on reaching teens, sustaining their souls, and avoiding ministry meltdowns.

The Picture Book Guide to Youth Ministry

Paul Records

"This book is a refreshing invitation to re-imagine both the depth and praxis of youth ministry and the Church. It's filled with many compelling reasons and inspiring stories of why one church chose to live differently for the sake of young people. Truly admirable and worth reading." -Charles Lee, CEO of Ideation &amp; Author of "Good Idea. Now What?" This is not a book about youth ministry. Well, it s not entirely about youth ministry. This is a book about the church and her relationship with teenagers. And it s a book about leadership. These pages offer an invitation for anyone who loves teenagers. This is a story, a calling, a vision for the church to be more whole, more cohesive, and longer lasting than the six or seven years that make up most youth ministries. In part, this book is a case study about one church who became captivated by a bigger vision for their teenagers and decided things needed to be different. Quite different. And it s a stake in the ground that things must be different in our churches and cities for the sake of this generation and the ones to come. Birthed in the cauldron of frustration and possibility, youth worker and author April Diaz took a big risk when a staff position opened in youth ministry at her church. She led her church by asking some tough questions: <ul>
<li>What if we changed this position from a Youth Pastor to Student Integration Pastor?</li> <li>And what if this was more than a job title, but a change in the way our church views its relationship with teenagers?</li> <li>What if we don't just hire a youth ministry Pied Piper to isolate our teenagers, but hire a youth ministry champion who won t let the congregation forget about her responsibility for the spiritual formation of the teenagers in our midst?</li>
</ul>
Equal parts intervention, idealism, memoir and guide, this tiny book packs a punch you ll be thinking about and wrestling with well beyond the final page.

Redefining the Role of the Youth Worker: A Manifesto of Integration

April Diaz

"Like a prophet from the Old Testament, Morgan Schmidt has called out youth ministry for its idol-making, asserting with flare and depth that youth ministry has been captured by desires other than encountering the living God." Dr. Andrew Root, Luther Seminary What if teenagers wanted to follow Jesus, not just avoid hell? Desire makes us who we are. What teenagers want whether they possess it, long for it, are terrified by it, deny it, pursue it, or give up on it impacts their relationships, dictates their actions, forms their character, and shapes their beliefs. So if they actually want Jesus or the church or the kingdom, then they re more likely to keep wanting their faith beyond youth group. Woo connects teenagers good desires with the Good News. It s an invitation to reimagine the church as a place where students desires are honored; where they will encounter the One who desires and can participate with God in restoring the world. Woo isn t another method or gimmick that will bring students flocking to youth group. Instead, it suggests a way of being one that begins with us. This isn t sexy youth ministry, but it s good. What Others are Saying Morgan Schmidt is a snappy and relatable writer. But above all, she is a prophet blessed with a winsome honesty that sneaks up on you as you re planning your umpteenth mission trip and whispers: Recalculate. For Schmidt, being human boils down to desire; and youth ministry that s honest is about desire too the desires of youth for God, the desire of God for them. With Woo, Morgan Schmidt joins a new class of practical theologians taking aim at the false gods driving the youth ministry industry, and she restores our focus and our hope on young people s God-given desire to become, belong to, and worship as the body of Christ. Woo completely won me over. Kenda Creasy Dean, Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary and author of Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church Woo is, hands down, one of the most sensible and simultaneously exhilarating books about pastoring students that I have read in a long time. Morgan Schmidt wisely guides us to awaken desire rather than run from it, equipping us to form desire to follow in the way of Jesus. Woo invites leaders to see students as real people, with real longings that matter. Don t let the warmth and wit of Morgan s writing fool you this changes everything you ve known about youth ministry. Dwight J. Friesen, Associate Professor of Practical Theology @ The Seattle School of Theology &amp; Psychology, coauthor of The New Parish Woo is a book about desire, the desire of young people to be authentic and real. It is also about the desire for those who serve the Church to be the midwives who help them do just that. Knowing Morgan Schmidt, I can tell you this book is authentic and real. Here is offered one devoted person s theology and praxis around the ministry to youth. I highly recommend it, and I thank God for this offering to the Church. The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel, VIII, Bishop of Olympia

Woo: Awakening Teenagers Desire to Follow in the Way of Jesus

Morgan Schmidt

If you've ever been boycotted for being a girl, pumped breast milk on a church bus, gotten fat from eating too much pizza, or wondered if women really can do youth ministry (even when they get old)... Whether you're a single or married female in youth ministry, with or without kids... Whether you're a part-time, full-time, or volunteer youth worker... If you're serving in a tiny church or a ginormous church... Or even if you're a guy who wonders how he can better partner with women in youth ministry... A Woman in Youth Ministry is for you. This book is full of stories and rants and blessings and cone-of-silence honesty. Gina Abbas is a storyteller, a listening ear, and an honest coach. She pulls no punches and bares her deepest pain and joy. And over and over again Gina provides encouragement and practical help for youth ministry leaders who sometimes feel like they re going it alone.

A Woman in Youth Ministry: Honest Insight and Leadership Wisdom for Real People

Gina Abbas

Youth workers are in a tough spot these days. On the one hand, we're finding that teenagers who have little to no church background and Bible literacy tend to be hyper tolerant of all religious views except for Christianity. On the other hand, students who grew up in the church and have heard all of the right answers are still struggling to articulate their beliefs and live them out day to day. When these two realities combine in youth ministry, they can make teaching teenagers about spiritual things an infuriating experience. It can feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall. It's been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So maybe it s time we try something different when it comes to teaching theology to our students. That's the hopeful change that Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World addresses. As a follow-up to Brock Morgan's exceptional Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World, this book will help you shift from being a content dispenser to a conversation cultivator. It's time we stop treating teenagers like consumers even when we really believe in what we're selling. Instead, let's create learning environments that lead to faith exploration and ownership.

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World

Jake Kircher

If you think classics like Ker-Plunk™ and Candy Land™ are just for the Sunday school supply closet, think again. Steve Case has taken childhood favorites like these and transformed them into exciting crowd-breakers and main events that can lead to transformative conversations about life and faith. Each of these 24 games includes set-up instructions, a supply list, and rules of play; but more importantly each comes with a set of discussion questions to take players beyond the laughter and fun and into deeper truths.

Bigger Badder Board Games: Megasizing 24 Old-School Board Games for Fun and Conversation

This book is your guide to 90 ordinary days-- the in-between days in the Church, when we aren't looking toward Easter or preparing our hearts for Christmas. But don't think these days don't count. These days still shape and form us. That's because Ordinary Time is marked by growth, maturing, and blooming after seasons of tilling the soil and extravagant spiritual outpouring-- like we experience during Advent or Lent. During Ordinary Time, we see the natural, ordinary, everyday growth that results from living through dry, difficult, pruning seasons as well as seasons of abundant, water-soaked, sun-drenched celebration and Spirit-empowerment. During Ordinary Time, we simply let the fruit that the rest of the year plants in us come to maturity. We let our extraordinary encounters with God enable us to live faithful, ordinary lives in ordinary times.

Ordinary Time: A Journey of Counting, Conforming and Embracing God's Presence in Everyday Life

Erik Willits

Movies can and do have tremendous influence in shaping young lives in the realm of entertainment towards the ideals and objectives of normal adulthood. -Walt Disney Today's youth are growing up in a culture where films are no longer relegated to the big screen and the family television. Movies have spilled onto our computers, our tablets, and even our smartphones. Our young people are saturated in a movie-watching ethos, yet they often don t know how to process the films they consume. How can we guide teens and young adults into viewing films through a Jesus-colored lens? Drawing on engaging stories and thoughtful cultural critique, Jesus Goes to the Movies provides a framework for discipleship and faith formation. It offers youth workers a theology of movies that can be passed to the next generation, equipping them with critical-thinking skills, discernment, and the ability to engage the film culture surrounding them with wisdom, grace, and truth.

Jesus Goes to the Movies: The Youth Ministry Film Guide

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