Mike Yaconelli composes his thoughts and passions regarding the nine core realities of youth ministry: veracity (youth ministry must expose students to the life-giving truth of Jesus Christ), authenticity (authentic youth workers will draw young people to Jesus Christ), audacity (youth ministry must push students, parents, and the church outside their comfort zones), sanctuary (youth ministry must provide a safe place for students), diversity (youth ministry must challenge young people to embrace diversity), humility (youth ministry should be clothed in humility), intimacy (our relationship with Jesus is our youth ministry), mystery (youth ministry must foster mystery, rediscover astonishment, and leave room for unanswered questions), and creativity (youth ministry must free students and youth workers to discover and express their God-given creativity). As an added resource, each member of the CORE(TM) seminar team, including authors and speakers such as Laurie Polich, Efrem Smith, Marv Penner, Duffy Robbins, contributes sidebars throughout the book responding to Mike's thoughts.
Do you want to teach solid Biblical truth to your kids without their eyes glazing over as soon as you say open your Bibles? Now you can, with Creative Bible Lessons in John: Encounters with Jesus. Following in the successful path of Youth Specialties' instant bestseller Creative Bible Lessons on the Life of Christ by Doug Fields, veteran family life and youth workers Janice and Jay Ashcraft have created 12 lively, ready-to-use lessons that actually make it fun to dig into Scripture. The Ashcrafts utilize creative learning techniques to spark your kids interest and keep them actively involved in each lesson, including: - Learning Games - Discussions - Video and Music - Skits, Melodramas, and Role-plays - Digging Deeper Investigations - Interactive Worksheets - And much more! These lessons are clear, easy-to-use, and complete. You'll be able to build in-depth, creative Bible teaching into your busy schedule with Creative Bible Lessons in John: Encounters with Jesus. 12 lessons.
Who you are and who you want to be don't always match up. Like most teenage girls, you've probably spent lots of time in front of the mirror wondering what you'll be when you grow up--or dreaming of who you'll become. Is it a supermodel, an actress, a dancer, or is it a businesswoman, a mom, or even a pastor? Brooklyn Lindsey grew up dreaming of being a supermodel. She even had a chance to do some modeling and became a festival queen. Her experiences taught her a lot about what she did and didn't want in life. But it wasn't until she became a youth pastor that she realized God had already set her supermodel dream in motion. God had plans for her to be a different kind of supermodel. God has a plan for you, too--and it's probably bigger than anything you could ever imagine. Read along as Brooklyn shares stories of triumph and tragedy as an aspiring model, and learn how your faith and your friends play a significant role in who you are and who you'll become. In Confessions of a Not-So-Super Model you'll begin to reshape the way you see yourself and the way you dream. You'll discover that being a supermodel doesn't always require fabulous hair and a great figure.
Families can be complicated, and this reference guide is here to help you get through whatever issue you might face--from frustrations with your parents to what to do if your family is breaking apart from divorce, or even if there's been abuse in your home. With seventy-five short chapters that cover almost twenty major topics, there's plenty of understanding, advice, and wisdom to help you navigate issues with your family AND strengthen the bonds that matter most.
Middle school is tough, and figuring out who you are during this time can sometimes mean more issues with your family members--from not feeling understood to wondering why you can't have a little more freedom and trust now that you're not a little kid anymore. And maybe your family itself is changing in ways you never thought could happen. In this book, everything from dealing with small frustrations to dating, getting more privacy, handling issues with siblings, and what to do when a parent lets you down or even hurts you physically is discussed and explored, giving you advice and ideas on how to navigate the issues in your family today.
My Family:
If your vision is out of focus, simple tasks like driving, reading, and writing become difficult to do well. Faith is not all that different. In order to follow Jesus and become more like him, it helps if you can see your faith clearly--it helps to have a theology that you live by. Theology is simply the study of God and the Christian faith, and the understanding of how God and faith play out in our everyday lives. In Clear, you'll walk through the foundations to a Christian theology so that you can better understand God and bring his truths into focus. You'll learn more about: - God - Jesus - The Holy Spirit - Humanity - Sin - Salvation - The Church - Heaven At your own pace, you can work through the interactive exercises in this book to grow closer to God and to bring your faith into focus. You'll have opportunities to study the Bible, pray, put your new knowledge into action, and much more. If any part of your faith seems a little blurry, this book will help you see it more clearly.
One reason for writing these books is that most curriculums that are now available for youth leaders and their students are just skimming the books of the Bible (example: 4-12 lessons on the Gospel of John that do not go beyond the surface of the text). We are talking about writing books that would have the entire Biblical text printed in each book. Books that actually go deeper into the meaning of the text. We are thinking of dozens of word and character studies, with many fascinating historical and personal stories, followed by in depth thought provoking questions. This series of books will include insights and observations not usually covered in typical commentaries.
Missional Youth Ministry offers a new paradigm for youth ministry. Using blog entries and responses, authors Brian Kirk and Jacob Thorne invite readers into a conversational, engaging, and compelling discussion about why program-based, entertainment-focused ministries fail to develop young people into life-long participants in the mission of the church. They also propose a new way forward. For all those working in the trenches of youth ministry who long to offer teens a deeper, more substantial, more active role as members of the body of Christ, Missional Youth Ministry is a practical and theologically-sound guide for building a ministry grounded in prayer, worship, community, education, mission, and spirituality.
Everyone has secrets. Some you might whisper into a friend's ear, while others may stay locked inside you for years...maybe even forever. It's those secrets that you tuck away that eventually control you. You may think you're okay, but really, your secrets can be tearing you apart from the inside out. Secret Survivors tells the compelling, true stories of people who have lived through painful secrets--things that they kept to themselves until they could no longer bear the pain alone. As you read their stories, you'll be drawn into their journeys towards healing, and you'll understand why it's so important to share your secret with someone else in order to start your own healing process. Read the stories of people, who as teens and young adults, dealt with issues like: -Date rape -Physical abuse -Cutting -Pornography addiction -Eating disorders -Incest -Drug and alcohol addiction -Abortion You may find a story that sounds similar to your own secret pain, or you may learn more about secrets that a friend or family member is dealing with. Whether your own story is represented in these pages or not, you'll feel a connection to the people in these stories, because we all have some kind of pain tucked away. But you don't have to feel alone in your pain anymore. After you read the stories of these survivors, you'll find the strength you need to share your own secret and start healing your heart and soul.
Sadly, studies show that there are few differences in the attitudes and actions between people who claim to be Christians and those who don't choose that label. But everything we read in the Bible says we should be transformed; we should be different than the rest of the world. What would it look like if you lived the life God desires for you? How would your life be different if you abandoned your typical routine and refused to settle for anything less than the best God has in store for you? In Thrive, you'll find 20 life-impacting studies that will draw you into the Bible and help you understand who you are and who God wants to help you become. You'll discover what the Bible says about how God made you, what kind of life he has planned for you, and how you can survive the tough times of your life. Even if you struggle to keep your faith alive at times, God wants to help you thrive. The reality is, God loves us just the way we are--but he also loves us too much to leave us that way.
Following the first volume of this series, A Youth Worker's Commentary on John, Vol 2 digs deeper into the miracles and teachings of Jesus as told by John. Covering the remainder of John's gospel, chapters nine to twenty-one, you'll find this resource to be an invaluable aid for your message and lesson preparation. The authors give you a solid understanding of the Gospel of John, including its historical context, rationale, and meaning. You'll see how to apply the wisdom gained from these passages to the needs and issues you and your students are working through.
Written specifically for youth workers, A Youth Worker's Commentary on John, Vol 2 has the entire NIV biblical text printed alongside a deep, yet readable, look into the meaning of this marvelous gospel. The book includes dozens of word studies, historical accounts and personal stories, followed by a large section of in-depth, thought-provoking questions to get your students thinking and talking.
As youth workers, we all have our vision--the plan we hope to make real in our ministries--to change the lives of teenagers as we introduce them to Jesus. But how often have you found yourself wondering if your picture is just wrong--or thinking you just don't know how to make your ministry match what you envision? In 101 Ideas for Making Disciples in Your Youth Group you'll explore the idea of ACTS to create a disciple-making ministry with the elements needed to create an environment necessary to cultivate this mission. ACTS represents everything a missional youth ministry needs to be about: - Adoration--More than an act, this is a lifestyle that is fleshed out in expressions of prayerful dependence, deep gratitude, and expectancy in what God can do. - Community--This is an atmosphere of genuine caring, authentic relationships, and unity based on Christ's love for his Church and the Church's love for one another. - Truth-and-Grace--The basis of everything that is taught and valued, this is a setting where God's Word is the standard and central to belief and behavior. - Serving-and-Sharing--As a way of life, serving involves helping the whole person by ministering to both believers and the lost by meeting their needs, as well as verbally sharing God's message of grace. As you dig into each aspect of ACTS, you'll discover Jesus' style and see how he cultivated each element in his own ministry. Then you'll explore the youth ministry style of each aspect, where you'll find 25 hands-on, easy-to-implement ideas on how to cultivate the same element in your context in order to create an environment of disciple-making that finally fits your ministry.
When a youth pastor is preparing a lesson, it's sometimes challenging to find a curriculum that really offers depth into the Scripture passages and goes beyond a cursory look at the text. A Youth Worker's Commentary on John is the first in a new series of commentaries developed with youth workers in mind. An in-depth, yet readable approach to the gospel of John, this first volume includes commentary, word studies, personal and historical stories, and discussion questions that will help get students thinking and talking. The gospel of John is the most personal and revealing of all the portraits of Jesus in the New Testament. This commentary has the entire NIV biblical text printed alongside a rich, deep look into the meaning of this gospel. Youth workers will find this to be an invaluable aid for message and lesson preparation. They'll get a solid understanding of the gospel of John, including its historical context, rationale, and meaning, to see how to apply what they uncover to the needs and issues the teens in their group are dealing with.
It doesn't take a long list of statistics to convince you that our world is broken. Mission trips, service projects, and supporting children through relief organizations are just a few of the ways that many youth workers engage their students in serving the least, the last, and the lost. As good and helpful as these things may be on the surface, that's where they remain--at the surface. The problems run far deeper than an occasional paint job or fundraising project can solve. But it's not hopeless. Deep social justice is possible in your youth ministry. Following their bestselling book, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, Kara Powell and Chap Clark provide you with research and insights that will help your ministry get to the next level. In addition to helping you further understand the Deep Design method (introduced in their previous book), their practical Kingdom of God theology will help you go beyond simply trying to motivate your students to serve those in need, and invite your students (and maybe even your leaders) to wrestle with why those people are in need in the first place. You'll hear from well-known social justice leaders and youth workers who are making a difference in urban, suburban, and small town settings including: - Jim Wallis (Sojourners) - Tony Campolo (Eastern University) - Lina Thompson (World Vision/Vision Youth) - John Perkins (Christian Community Development Association) - Shane Claiborne (The Simple Way) - Larry Acosta (Urban Youth Workers Institute) - Rudy Carrasco (Harambee Christian Family Center) - Jeremy Del Rio (Community Solutions, Inc.) - Noel Castellanos (Christian Community Development Association), and more In addition to expanding your personal justice commitments, Deep Justice in a Broken World will help you reflect with your own leadership team, and will provide you with online resources to take you even deeper into the journey. So go ahead, dig deeper into what it means to heal the broken world in which we live. Take your ministry deeper into social justice.