Many people run scared from the middle school youth room. But (thankfully!) there are people out there who are actually drawn to those young teens. Although often times they’re not equipped to deal with the unique challenges that middle school ministry presents, or they’re just not sure what to do when a room full of young teens (who are “part child, but not quite adult”) are running around the youth room. Finally, there’s a comprehensive guide to middle school ministry, from two veterans of this unchartered territory. Mark Oestreicher and Scott Rubin help youth workers understand the importance of middle school ministry, the development process for young teens and their implications for ministry, and how to best minister to these sometimes misunderstood students. They share their experiences (as middle school pastors and parents of middle schoolers), giving youth workers he encouragement, hope, and training they need to succeed in middle school ministry.

This updated and expanded version of an industry classic by one of America's best-known youth pastors unlocks the keys to a healthy, impactful middle school ministry.

A comprehensive, expanded and updated edition of a classic work, Junior High Ministry, this is a non-academic though practical manual for approaching and implementing ministry to early adolescents.

What is youth ministry actually for? And does it have a future? Andrew Root, a leading scholar in youth ministry and practical theology, went on a one-year journey to answer these questions. In this book, Root weaves together an innovative first-person fictional narrative to diagnose the challenges facing the church today and to offer a new vision for youth ministry in the 21st century. Informed by interviews that Root conducted with parents, this book explores how parents' perspectives of what constitutes a good life are affecting youth ministry. In today's culture, youth ministry can't compete with sports, test prep, and the myriad other activities in which young people participate. Through a unique parable-style story, Root offers a new way to think about the purpose of youth ministry: not happiness, but joy. Joy is a sense of experiencing the good. For youth ministry to be about joy, it must move beyond the youth group model and rework the assumptions of how identity and happiness are imagined by parents in American society.

It seems like no matter how good the economy is, there's never enough money in the youth budget. That's why $5 Youth Ministry is packed cover to cover with effective, easy-to-implement ideas--that all cost about $5 or less. And most importantly, this book goes beyond just icebreakers and games--every page is written to help build and grow relational youth ministry.

Join the conversation as experts propose, defend, and explore Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church.In a dialog that often gets downright feisty, four youth ministry academicians delineate their distinct philosophical and ecclesiological views regarding how youth ministry relates to the church at large--and leave a taste of what’s profound and what’s not in these four typologies:Inclusive congregational (Malan Nel). What happens when a church thoroughly integrates its adolescents, making them full partners in every aspect of congregational life?Preparatory (Wesley Black). Why and how should a church consider its teenagers as disciples-in-training and its youth ministry a school of preparation for future participation in church life?Missional (Chap Clark). What does a church look like, whose youth ministry does not necessarily nurture "church kids" but is essentially evangelistic? Whose youths and youth workers are considered missionaries?Strategic (Mark Senter). How feasible is it for a youth ministry to become a new church on its own--the youth pastor becoming the pastor, and the new church planted with the blessing of the mother church?In Four View of Your Ministry and the Church, solid academic writing and an inviting tone and design create a compelling text for both in-the-field, practicing youth workers and undergraduates and graduate students.