Today’s relentless, consumer culture—dominated by popular media’s emphasis on bigger, better, and more, and catering to teenagers every want and desire—is leaving our youth adrift in a sea of conflicting messages. Messages that every youth worker must be able to decode and redirect away from the material world towards helping young people become who God created them to be: givers instead of receivers, servers instead of consumers. Consuming Youth is for any adult who recognizes that follow...

You may have noticed them—the kids who are hiding their pain under long sleeves or wristbands. Or you might never notice them—the ones who seem to have life together except for the deep secret that they keep hidden beneath their clothes. This is no longer a fringe issue that occurs only in the most extreme cases. The truth is that many teens today are dealing with their emotional pain by inflicting physical pain upon themselves, whether we can see it on the surface or not.While we may neve...

A practical guide for those struggling to build a community of believers in a culture that wants to experience belonging over believingWho is my neighbor? Who belongs to me? To whom do I belong? These are timeless questions that guide the church to its fundamental calling. Today terms like neighbor, family, and congregation are being redefined. People are searching to belong in new places and experiences. The church needs to adapt its interpretations, definitions, and language to make sens...

Ask away . . . and get your students talking with these provocative questions. Would You Rather . . .? gives you 465 stimulating either-or questions that will get your students talking, laughing, debating, and thinking. Questions like Would You Rather . . . watch a soap opera or make fun of one? . . . be gossiped about or lied to? . . .get shot from a cannon or walk a high wire? . . . make a child cry or kick a puppy? . . . attend the Last Supper or discover Jesus' empty tomb? You can use ...

Teaching prophecy is a specialized skillThe difficulty arises in the attempt to be accurate in an arena where the Lord himself has told us that no one knows and that no one will figure it out. This is why He uses the image of a thief coming in the night.However, there is much we do know. All we need to do is teach what we know and clearly label as speculation what we do not know for sure. What we do know for sure is: The King is coming soon!We are responsible to war...

Meet students where they are.With Small Group Strategies, you can effectively guide students in your small group toward the most important relationship they will ever have—a lifelong relationship with Christ. Respected authors Laurie Polich and Charley Scandlyn offer 30-plus years of collective youth ministry experience to these proven ideas, which offer:•a strategic approach to small group ministry•hundreds of ideas to reach students at every level•practical applications that foster spiri...

It’s more common in youth ministry than we want to admit—burnout and failure. Exhaustion, frustration, disappointment, and conflict bring many youth workers to a point where they either choose a new church, a new career, or someone makes that choice for them. After thirty years of youth ministry experience, Len Kageler wants to help youth workers avoid the pitfalls that are common to their calling, and give them the tools to not only survive, but also to thrive in youth ministry. Along wit...

A Survival Guide to Working with Students in PainThis book provides a wide range of appropriate interventions and fundamental people-helping skills, as well as critical help for youth workers to recognize their limitations and learn the principles of effective referral. This practical and informative book is essential for any untrained youth worker, and will be a vital tool for any youth pastor to share with their staff.

"Jelly-filled!" "Bart!" "Meatloaf!" "Jujubes!"These are just some of the answers your students will be calling out when you say to them "NAME YOUR FAVORITE . . ."Name Your Favorite . . . is the newest book in the best-selling "Quick Questions" line (including Would You Rather . . . ?’ What If . . . ?; Have You Ever . . . ?; and Unfinished Sentences)--another collection of discussion-starters guaranteed to get teenagers talking and thinking about their favorites, with questions like:NAME YO...

Out from Under: equipping kids for life out of the shelter of youth group This book dives into our youth ministries, helping youth workers think intentionally about developing a ministry that is geared toward helping prepare kids for what’s to come. This begins by helping them intentionally think through what it is kids will be facing and then helping them think through preparation for those times. This book dives into ministry philosophies that help or hinder this preparation.

Okay, so they used mule mail instead of e-mail -- but they were still surprisingly modern men and women. With emotions, decisions, and dilemmas as raw and real as the students sitting in front of you every week. David and Rahab, Daniel and Ruth--even with their rough edges, they passionately loved Jehovah in a way today's adolescents can understand and emulate. Here are 12 Old Testament character studies, including-- Believe it or not -Abraham: Living by faith is not for wimps - Faith over...

Video games are big business, generating billions of dollars annually. The long-held stereotype of the gamer as a solitary teen hunched in front of his computer screen for hours is inconsistent with the current makeup of a diverse and vibrant gaming community. The rise of this cultural phenomenon raises a host of questions: Are some games too violent? Do they hurt or help our learning? Do they encourage escapism? How do games portray gender? Such questions have generated lots of talk, but ...