5 Must Read Books Concerning Young People's Ministry

If you are new to Young People's or have been involved in Young People's ministry for a long time these 5 books would hope you understand young people and their culture, as well as, develop a well-rounded plan for ministry with young people.

1.  “Almost Christian” by Kenda Creasy Dean – A statistical look at the development of faith for millenials and those to follow. Interesting points on faith differences between generations.
2.  “Sustainable Youth Ministry” by Mark DeVries – Consistency makes a huge difference for youth, and avoiding burnout by building a sustainable ministry begins with introspection of yourself as a leader.
3.  “Safe Sanctuaries” by Joy Thornurg Melton – Building safe space for ministry to happen means lessons for adult leaders as well as your church as a whole. A must have!
4.  “You Lost Me” by David Kinnaman – An exploration of why young people are leaving mainline denominations in the US and rethinking their faith. This one is perhaps most powerful when thinking about youth after they have left youth ministry (whether via graduation, moving, or choice).
5.  “Sticky Faith” by Kara Powell Brad Griffin – This original concept has grown into a full-blown resource with several different print versions and online offerings, and is associated with the Fuller Youth Institute. Combination of resources for youth workers and parents.

10 ways to use Facebook in Your Ministry

This is a link to an article that I found particularly interesting. In a recent study by the Barna Institute it found that 94% of young people do not respond to e-mail. The best way they communicate is through social media (Facebook, twitter, etc.)

I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/2011/05/10-ways-to-use-facebook-in-your-ministry/

Fast Facts for Young Adults

• In 2006, 69 million people in the US are projected to between the ages of 18 and 30 (Census Bureau) 

• Young Adult’s appreciate and are spiritually fed by a variety of worship styles.  There is no specific style of worship that is a magic wand for drawing young adults. 

• There is a wide diversity of Young Adults.  YA’s are: married, single divorced, in College, never went to college, in the work world, in professional schools. 

• In a recent Barna survey, it noted that 94% of young people do not respond to e-mail. 

• Young Adults, like most generations in the church, want a place where they can meet God as they are and feel comfortable asking the “tough questions.” 

• There is a diversity of family and “home” experiences from which Young Adults come (traditional, divorced, one-parent homes, same-sex parents, being raised by someone other than parent). 

• We are in the midst of a generational shift-the GenXers are at the place where they are “suppose to come back to the church” because they are getting married and having children.  But they are not returning to the church for a variety of reasons. 

• GenXers have an intense need for inter-generational, inter-racial and inter-faith relationships, which transcend typical interactions and environments often found in churches. 

• Technology has impacted the 18-30 year olds in significant ways-not only are they ultra “plugged in”—it also feeds the dynamics of  “Helicopter Parents”, hyper-multi-tasking, and increases the gaps in the haves and have nots. 

• The church must look at non-tradition ways to engage in issues of faith.  This has an impact on: Sunday school, worship, mission trips, evangelism, service opportunities, where church gathers, etc. 

• Studies show that there is NOT a decrease of young people entering seminary BUT there is a decrease in those who are in seminary who are choosing ordination for traditional preaching ministry.  Only ½ of those graduate with an M.Div. 

One final word of note about young clergy: currently there are 15,954 ordained elders in the United Methodist Church. Only 951 are under the age of 35 (or 5%). Within 20 years, 14,000 our clergy will be retired.

Something got change!

Realistic Integration of Youth Ministry and the Church

This comes from Kirk Johnson and Josh Griffin, contributors to Simple Youth Ministry. I like most of their stuff and this one really stood out me. Enjoy !

All this talk about working to integrate our students into church before they have to make a huge leap from youth group to the adult services is helpful. But what isn’t helpful is the voices who simply want you to drop everything you’re currently doing (and is working) and go with some new plan.

Sometimes you have to get rid of something and start over completely—but we’re not convinced this is one of those times. So here are a few suggestions to help you take baby steps toward the integration of youth ministry and the church.

Serve together…mostly
An easy way to get some quick intergenerational ministry happening in your church is to combine some of your service projects immediately. Consider cancelling the majority of your youth group service projects and join those in place for the church at large. Imagine the conversations that will take place as people serve food, rake leaves, or paint together. Chances are the older people in your congregation will be just as surprised as your teenagers at how fun it was to serve side-by-side!

Worship together…occasionally
Most youth groups have their own worship service or Sunday School happening at the same time the rest of the church is gathered for worship. What if you completely cancelled your youth stuff once a month so the teenagers could attend church with their parents? Sure, some might choose to stay home that weekend, but it’s a fairly simple way to make a statement that says, “25% of the time, our church worships together…and we need the teenagers to be part of the action!”

Mission trips…maybe
One of the big steps we’re considering is to integrate mission trips. Offering a Spring Break trip? What if everyone got involved? Is there a big church-wide trip to South America or Africa? Get behind it and take some students! Each church has their own missions agenda/format, but this is something worthy of consideration.

Overnighters…never
Hey, there are some things adults are happy are totally separate from them. Keep overnighters this way…but be thankful for the adults who do show up, give up sleep, and care for your students.

High School Graduation Gift Idea

Here is a great idea for any high schooler who you know is graduating this year.

If you want to keep your graduating seniors involved in their faith, especially when they are away from home, then you'll want to get them a subscription to Relevant magazine. 

Relevant magazine is a periodical specifically devoted to the spiritual enrichment of Christian young people. The magazine it published every other month (6 times a year) and is filled with articles, devotionals and information dealing with young people’s culture and faith. There is a lot about this magazine that I like, starting with its price. A years subscription is only $14.95. It also is not filled with a lot of advertisements, and what few advertisements are in the magazine have to do with Christian related events.

They have recently come out with an electronic version for the iPad and that's where they take it up a notch.  The electronic version has embedded video, special web links, and found it with the various articles. 

To learn more about this excellent resource visit http://www.relevantmagazine.com/