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 with his own wisdom, Len offers insights gained from his 2006 survey of more than 300 burned out or fired youth workers who come from a variety of ministry contexts and denominations. If you’re new to youth ministry, or you’ve been at it for a while and feel like you may be on the verge of burnout, The Youth Ministry Survival Guide will help you: • deal with conflict and compromise • determine the causes of burnout (and how to avoid them!) • discover how your personality, and the personality of those you work with, affects the dynamics of your ministry experience • develop the best plan for working with senior pastors, church leadership, parents, and students, so you can… • do youth ministry in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond! Don’t let burnout force you out! Inside this book you’ll find steps you can take to help build fences against failure, and you’ll learn what it takes to survive and thrive in youth ministry.

Ever wonder why the average career in youth ministry is so short-lived? Its not because the youth minister grows up into real ministry. Too often, it is becausewithout adequate boundariesthe youth minister is swept away, burned out, or chewed up. From someone that has been there, author Joel Lund brings the ultimate guide for a healthier ministry and a healthier you.

In this companion volume to The Universe Next Door, James W. Sire offers his refined definition of a worldview and addresses key questions about the history of worldview thinking, the existential and intellectual formation of worldviews, the public and private dimensions of worldviews and how worldview thinking can help us navigate an increasingly pluralistic universe.

"As time went on, I increasingly found myself longing for a new youth ministry experiment, one that was truly different. I felt a growing sense that if I wasn't willing to risk failure by piloting something new for the sake of Christ, then I needed to hang it up," writes veteran youth worker Matt Overton. Part memoir, part ministry how-to, and part call to innovative action, Ministry and Marketplace chronicles Matt's journey into youth ministry as social enterprise. That first foray into a new way of doing things-via a landscaping company that employs teenagers-has since evolved into The Columbia Future Forge, a nonprofit that includes a full-scale mentoring program. The Forge does something youth ministries, though well-intentioned, often don't: meet the practical, day-to-day needs of teens, just as much as their spiritual ones. The bonus is that the social enterprise model is financially sustainable, in a time when church-sourced youth ministry funds are drying up.Not all youth workers will be ready to dive into social enterprise, but all readers can learn from the lessons Matt imparts through stories of his own experiments, successes, and bumps along the way, and will find encouragement to explore new possibilities-all in the faith that following God's call will transform the lives of the teens in their communities.

The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide for Teenagers isn't a normal book. It's not even a normal Zombie survival guide. It's a story of three teenagers enduring and surviving against the odds, adapting where many adults failed. Not many teenagers survived "The Havoc," probably because most didn't acclimate and learn like these three.So what's the secret to their survival?Good question. The answer lies in these pages, a journal written by a teenager named Chris.Each section includes some discussion questions to help you digest what you just read. These questions will point to the Bible here and there for some wisdom that has stood the test of time: wisdom for surviving your real world.

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 wonderful and easy read helps new and future youth workers set patterns in life and ministry that will keep them whole and healthy, and away from burnout.