Youth Pastor Books

Few areas of Christian ministry are as intense, unpredictable, and chaotic as junior high ministry. Read Controlled Chaos: Making Sense of Junior High Ministry to gain a little bit of hope and help so you can effectively serve the middle school students in your church.

Teenage girls area lot—in the best way. Complex, dramatic, thoughtful, generous, smart, frustrating, energetic, and ever-changing. This is because the teen years are marked by major shifts and growth, making them an ideal time to mentor girls toward a sustained, enduring faith.This is no small task, but it’s familiar territory for Katie Edwards, a long time youth worker, parent, and a former teen girl herself. She’s written Disciplemaking with Girls as a resource for the dedicated, caring adults ready to come alongside girls, build meaningful relationships, and pass down the ways of Jesus to the next generation.

Everybody's Urban: Understanding the Survival Mindset of the Next Generation helps youth workers in every setting—in the middle of a large city or rural small town—move beyond identifying the students in their ministry by where they live or their skin color into real-world strategies to minister to today's teenagers.

Veteran youth worker Kurt Johnston writes, "Getting better at youth ministry is worth the effort because teenagers are worth the effort." With that in mind, he put together this compact, practical, and approachable book for youth ministry volunteers, brimming with insights and wisdom from his decades in youth ministry—including some memorable and hilarious stories of the mistakes that taught him along the way.

Inside the pages of Jesus Centered Youth Ministry, you'll discover the foundation for a ministry that is Jesus-centered along with the bricks for building it. You'll discover that not only is it possible to create this kind of ministry, it's also essential that you pursue this path.

Hierarchical, coercive leadership should have no place in the church. But if we move away from those unbiblical (and ineffective) forms of power-based leadership, we still need to lead. In Leading Without Power, Mark Oestreicher explores—in very pragmatic ways—what it might look like for us to replace power-based leadership modalities with other approaches.

If you’re ready to become more confident, competent and consistent in sharing your faith, then Live Sent book is for you. You’ll receive simple, step-by-step guidance that will equip you to share Jesus effectively in everyday life.

On the Spot: No-Prep Games for Youth Ministry is a helpful resource including over 20 games not needing any preparation. Each 15-minute game is easy to use whenever your teenagers need to have some "fun in a flash."

Protecting Your Children from Internet Pornography exposes the many ways that pornography is menacing people, relationships, society, and—especially—our children. You will be disturbed, shocked, motivated, and empowered to make a difference after reading this book.

Purpose Driven Youth Ministry: 9 Essential Foundations for Healthy Growth will provide principles to help create and maintain healthy youth ministries for the long run, centered around the principles of evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship.

There is a difference between religion and faith. Religion tells stories. Faith has a story to tell. Redefining Normal is an invitation to reclaim the life of faith from inside the religion of Christianity. Dave Rhodes challenges readers to a journey of becoming extraordinary disciples.

Small-Group Leader's Quick Guide to (Almost) Everything is a practical resource for small-group leaders who want to make a big difference in the lives of teenagers and point them to Jesus.

Teaching for Change guides teachers to unravel the mystery of how students absorb and process information. This insight leads to better prepared lessons that will engage the hearts and minds of students. 

Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World: Cultivating Exploration and Ownership will help youth workers shift from being content dispensers to conversation cultivators. Instead of treating teenagers like consumers—even when we really believe in what we're selling—let's create learning environments that lead to faith exploration and ownership.

Lissy Rienow shares the teenage point of view about the toughest issues families face today. Her heart for families shines through as she encourages and equips parents to fight for a stronger connection with their teen. 

When you think about the state of youth ministry today, are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you cheer or fear? Is the glass half full or half empty? Mark Oestreicher offers a fresh take on what’s right in youth ministry—and discovers that perhaps things aren’t as broken as some of us might have thought.

Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry is a must-have tool for new youth workers, volunteers, seminary professors and students—even veteran youth workers. Author Doug Fields offers practical advice, all in the hope that new youth workers can achieve real longevity in an often tumultuous church culture.

Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World: A Hopeful Wake-Up Call is the collection of humble, story-driven, pragmatic, and Jesus-focused reflections of a fellow youth worker forced to reconsider everything he knew about youth ministry: everything except the gospel, that is.

Youth Ministry on a Shoestring: How to Do More With Less offers encouragement and inspiration to begin a "new" way of looking for resources. Lack of funding doesn't have to mean a lack of fun. From the people and things in your church and community, you'll uncover a whole new world of possibilities that can help you do ministry—and do it well.