In preparation
Black, W. (1991) An Introduction to Youth Ministry, Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman. 242 pages. Black looks to ‘inclusive youth ministry’ – involving adults, young people and church members. His vision of youth ministry is taken from Bob Taylor, 'enabling and mobilizing the gifts of many persons to touch, with the truths of the gospel, the lives of youth in every realm of their being' (page 29). Part one examines the foundations of youth ministry; part two, youth ministry with adult learners; part three, youth ministry with youth; part four, ministry with parents of youth; part five the church staff youth minister; and part six, programming for youth ministry.
Dean, K. C., Clark, C. and Rahn, D. (eds.) (2001) Starting Right. Thinking theologically about youth ministry, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing. 398 pages. This well designed student text is accessible, entertaining and informative. A must-read for anyone involved in youth ministry this book has to be the starting point for any serious exploration of the phenomena. The basic premise behind Starting Right is that:
Practical theological reflection - reflection that connects what we believe about God with how we live as disciples of Jesus Christ - is the first task of ministry with young people. (page 17)
It is carefully organized around four foci: understanding the concrete situation; reflecting on present practice (focusing youth ministry through evangelism, the family, community etc.); detecting our convictions and evaluating our practices (exploring the theological framework for youth ministry - repentance, grace, redemption, hope); projecting a more faithful ministry. The quality of the chapters vary - but rarely fail to interest. The most comprehensive treatment of youth ministry we have come across.
Dean, K. C. and Foster, R. (1998) The Godbearing Life. The art of soul tending for youth ministry, Nashville, Tennessee: Upper Room Books. 221 pages. An influential exploration of youth ministry that argues against ministry as something we 'do' to someone else. Instead, it is approached as 'a holy way of living toward God and toward one another' (1998: 9). The writers argue for a shift from a focus on program to relational ministry: 'contact ministry, showing up, hanging out, earning the right to be heard' (ibid.: 26) and then on to incarnational ministry.
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[U]sing relationships for the sake of meeting developmental needs represents a misguided concept of church. Youth ministry focuses on relationships, not only because of who teenagers are but because of who God is. God is a relationship - Christian tradition uses the relational language of Father, Son and Holy Spirit to describe the persons of the Trinity - and this God's love is so generous that the Godhead alone cannot contain it. Significant relationships with other Christians matter because they teach us something about what God is like - the One who can love us in spite of ourselves and who loves us passionately enough to suffer willingly on our behalf. For this reason, we prefer the term incarnational to relational when we speak of ministry. Anybody can have a relationship but only God takes on flesh in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster (1998) The
Godbearing Life, |
Dunn, R. R. and Senter, M. (eds.) (1997) Reaching a Generation for Christ: A comprehensive guide to youth ministry, Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press. 700 pages. Mamoth text with over fifty authors. It has sections on: the framework for youth ministry; structures for youth ministry; context for youth ministry; skills for youth ministry; challenges in youth ministry; resources for youth ministry; and the future in youth ministry.
Long, J. (1999) Generating Hope. Reaching the postmodern generation, London: Marshall Pickering. 264 + xv pages. This book asks the question 'why is evangelism less effective today' - and argues that the church is not making the right points of contact with 'today's postmodern world'. Part one of the book provides a sociological analysis, part two a theological foundation, and part three a framework for ministry.
McDaniel, K. (1999) Youth Ministry. Exploring the needs of your church, London: National Society/Church House Publishing. 103 pages. One of the few English language treatments of youth ministry from this side of the Atlantic (and included here for that reason), this is, essentially, an aid to discussion in churches.
McDowell, S. and Willey, R. (eds.) Josh McDowell's Youth Ministry Handbook. Making the connection, Nashville, Tennesee: Word Publishing. 262 pages. Collection of fifty short pieces that while taking on some of the language of relational ministry is shot through by a model of young people as being in deficit. Interesting as an insight into a fairly aggressive evangelical approach to ministry.
Robbins, D. (1990) The Ministry of Nurture. A youth workers guide to discipling teenagers, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing. 237 pages. Duffy Robbins' influence on the field of youth ministry has been very significant. In this popular guide looks at adolescent spirituality, 'real-life student discipleship' and the process of nurture. He views the goal of youth ministry as helping teenagers to grow spiritually. See also his (1991) Youth Ministry that Works, Wheaton, Illinois: Victor. This is a book about 'foundational' youth ministry that looks to programs.
Senter, M. (ed.) with Black, W., Clark, C. and Nel, M. (2001) Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church, Youth Specialities. 192 pages. Very helpful exchange between four key figures in youth ministry concerning the different distinct philosophical/ecclesiological views of how youth ministry relates to the church.
Ward, P. (1996) Growing Up Evangelical: youthwork and the making of a subculture, London: SPCK. 242 + x pages. Part one provides a partial history of youth work within the Christian church in Britain - with a special emphasis on the impact of evangelism upon the development of practice. Part two explores youth work and worship. Part three, 'safety and subculture' examines a 'subcultural approach to youthwork' and brings out some of the tensions within evangelical youthwork. Pete Ward bravely examines the tendency for evangelical youthwork to build an alternative subculture - and the possibility of fostering closed rather than open perspectives. He asks 'is evangelism essentially adolescent?' This book is important because of the way in which historical material is drawn together, and because of the questions raised for evangelical youthwork.
Ward, P. (1997)Youthwork and the Mission of God, London: SPCK. 160 pages. This was a very significant book in that it discussed different disciplines of youth ministry and explored an incarnational approach to youthwork. Ward discusses the theology of youth ministry, popular culture, and the nature of youth church.
Ward, P. (1999) God at the Mall. Youth ministry that meets kids where they're at, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson. 170 pages. In this accessible book, Pete Ward revisits his earlier criticism of fellowship-based work and brings it more into balance with his interest in relational work. He also looks to youth culture and a contextualized theology of young people.
© Michele Erina Doyle and Mark K. Smith 2002
First published December 2001. Last update:
October 01, 2008
