This comprehensive, research-informed textbook reviews all aspects of traditional and contemporary theories and experience in youth ministry, but also points to the future by analyzing youth culture and charting innovative paradigms in the art and craft of teaching. The book is fueled by the urgent need in youth ministry to better reach students, to inform them about God’s will for their lives, and to encourage change in their lives beyond the youth group setting.Features include:• Website...

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...

CPYU President Walt Mueller's critically acclaimed book, Understanding Today's Youth Culture, is widely recognized as one of the most thorough and comprehensive overviews of youth culture today. This Gold Medallion Book Award winner is used as a seminal text in colleges, universities, and seminaries around the world, but is especially noted for its honest and easy to read style. The book approaches youth culture from a distinctively Christian perspective and contains chapters on a variety ...

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...

Think of it as a lean, mean Bible doctrine course--without the lecture. But with lots of options, videos, music, and drama. And small group work. And reproducible, interactive worksheets with eye-catching designs and soul-searching content. (Like, what else do you expect from St. Paul when he sits down to write the meatiest book of doctrine in the Bible?) in the 12 clear, complete sessions of Creative Bible Lessons in Romans. Author Chap Clark guides kids (and you) through the Big Ideas in...

You know them as hilarious, boisterous skits that get kids involved, whether they're hamming up front, or in the audience cheering for the good guys, hissing the bad guys, and getting nearly as animated as the onstage actors. Better yet, these no-rehearsal skits are comic takes on 24 classic Bible stories, from Babel to Zacchaeus. Use these skits to take your students into or out of your Bible lesson -- for the humor never buries the central message of the Bible passage. Inside you'll find...

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...

In the best-selling footsteps of Would You Rather . . . ?, What If . . . ?, and Have You Ever . . . ? comes Unfinished Sentences — another collection of sometimes lighthearted, sometimes poignant, and always provocative discussion starters guaranteed to get teenagers talking, thinking, debating. Get the discussion ball rolling with 450 incomplete sentences that can be used anytime, anywhere for breaking the ice, stimulating discussions, building community, getting kids to wrestle with spir...

From the time they’re born, boys are given a “code” to live by: don’t cry, don’t play with dolls, don’t be a wimp…you get the picture. For a middle school guy, it’s tough enough to figure out what it means to just be yourself—let alone how to become a man. Breaking the Code is an eight-week study that will help them discover what it really means to be a man. With fun, interactive activities and age-appropriate discussion questions, you’ll find that this study will help small groups of midd...

"When you stop to think about your future, you might be excited. Or confused. Or just totally scared. But when you know where you’re going (or at least who’s leading you towards your future), you can take that giant leap with confidence.With all the influences in your life pushing you one way or another, it’s good to know that you can count on God to guide you once you catch on to his plans. Nobody expects you to have it all figured out by the time you finish this book. But you’ll be on yo...

"Most contemporary young people operate far enough from Moses’ moral compass that it never occurs to them that “OMG” (“oh my God,” in teenspeak) has anything to do with the Ten Commandments, much less that it breaks one of them. After all, the phrase is a nearly ubiquitous adolescent throw-away line...Yet Christians should hear the phrase “oh my God” differently. Youth ministers, parents, teachers—anyone who has ever loved an adolescent—know that “OMG” can be a prayer, a plea, a petition, ...

Anyone up for FizzerTag? Pucks and Pigskins? How about Missile Mania? You'll find something for any group -- regardless of age, ability, or skill -- in this revised volume of Play It! Inside are more than 150 of the hottest games from the original bestsellers Play It! And Play It Again! Inside you'll find outdoor and indoor games, games for small and large groups . . . relays . . . summer and winter games. . .water games. . .active and non-active games. These community-building games are s...