Youth ministry resources

Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide

Cameron Cole and Jon Nielson, eds.
(Crossway: Wheaton, IL, 2016, 214 pp.)

This book shows how to lead a youth ministry that brings lasting change in the lives of young people. Cole, Nielson, and 12 other contributors cast a vision for youth ministry rooted in the gospel, while also providing a practical guide on how to do that ministry. The book gives a solid theological foundation and shows how to implement the basics of everyday ministry.

Part One explores seven foundations for effective youth ministry: gospel centrality, discipleship, expository teaching, relationships, community, partnering with parents, and generational integration. The first section of each chapter shows how the gospel shapes specific categories of ministry. Then each author explains how to practically implement the gospel in that area of ministry.

In the first chapter, Cole shows how the gospel must be at the heart of youth ministry. He outlines two central themes in ministry, “We long to see God heal, redeem, and free young people as they trust Jesus personally, and we long to see God birth something beautiful and redemptive in this broken world through their lives as they bear witness to their Savior” (p. 24). Cole looks at the fundamental problem in people by going to Genesis 3 and seeing what it teaches. He then looks at the solution found through Jesus defeating sin on the cross. “God can accomplish the purpose of ministry to youth (lasting change) through the gospel as they believe in Jesus and follow him forever” (p. 31).

Part Two looks at practical applications focusing on small-group Bible study, volunteer training, music, retreats, and events. Nielson shows how to help students personally engage with the Bible and how to equip youth for ministry. He gives some excellent practical considerations for leadership training in youth ministry.

Part Three discusses the fruit of a gospel-centered youth ministry, offering guidance on leading students in evangelism, serving the poor, and conducting short-term missions. Elisabeth Elliott gives some helpful guidelines for how short-term mission teams that go overseas and serve in a fruitful manner.

Each chapter ends with several resources on the topic of that chapter. There are links also to the Rooted Ministries website (http://rootedministry.com), as Cole and other contributors are advisors for this ministry.

While written from a North American perspective, this book will help any youth worker or volunteer. It should also be read by all in ministry to see what a good model for youth ministry looks like. 

Reviewer rates it 4.5 out of 5 stars ★★★★½

Brief reviews of other resources

Global Youth Ministry: Reaching Adolescents around the World

Terry Linhart and David Livermore, eds.
(Zondervan, 2011, 256 pp.)

This book gives perspectives on different approaches used for reaching youth around the world based on the context in which they live. In the chapter on youth ministry in Asia, Yoshito Noguchi (youth pastor in Osaka) has a helpful short essay on a youth church model in Japan.

A Sociology of Japanese Youth: From Returnees to NEETs

Roger Goodman, Yuki Imoto, and Tuukka Toivonen, eds.
(Routledge, 2012, 216 pp.)

This book addresses youth issues in Japan (from the 1970s to the early 2000s). Its eight chapters focus on bullying, otaku, returnee children, compensated dating, corporal punishment, child abuse, social withdrawal, and those not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). Drawing on fieldwork, the authors explain why particular youth problems appeared when they did and what we can learn from these problems. Japanese has a rich vocabulary to describe the problems of young people, but the authors point out the frequent distortions that tend to infect the ways issues are handled.