An Episcopal friend of mine recently received a call to a position that included doing some youth ministry, something that he’s never done before. He wrote asking for a recommendation of some youth ministry books that a more progressive person might be able enjoy reading and find fruitful. Some of these I’ve read, and some just look like really good resources. So, here are my Top 10 Youth Ministry Books (in no particular order):
- Postmodern Youth Ministry, by Tony Jones
- Contemplative Youth Ministry, by Mark Yaconelli
- The God-Bearing Life by Kenda Creasy Dean & Ron Foster
- Starting Right, edited by Kenda Creasy Dean, Chap Clark & Dave Rahn
- Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teengaers, by Christian Smith
- Growing Souls: Experiments in Contemplative Youth Ministry
- Practicing Discernment with Youth: A Transformative Youth Ministry Approach, by David White
- Practicing Passion, by Kenda Creasy Dean
- Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry, by Andrew Root
- Presence-Centered Youth Ministry, by Mike King
So what do you see missing that you would have included?
I just want to echo the plug for Contemplative Youth Ministry. Man, I wish I had that one when I was in youth ministry! I’ve found it really helpful in my ministry to adults and college students. It’s a MUST READ.
Youth, Gospel, Liberation by Michael Warren
Your first two years in youth ministry by Doug Fields
Family Based Youth Ministry by Mark Devries
Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students, by Richard Dunn
Mike took mine. I would say Fields’ Your First Two Years is interchangeable with Starting Right, but DeVries has really earned my respect with FBYM. In fact, my pastor and the children’s director and I have each read it, and tomorrow night we’re hosting a discussion group for interested stakeholders from the congregation. I think it has real potential to spur them towards giving me the freedom to tweak and question the youth ministry paradigms in our church…
…oh, and Dunn’s. Nice call Tony: you posted yours as I was typing mine :)
Awakening Youth Discipleship by David White is also great.
As is, A Tribe Apart: A Journey into the Heart of American Adolescence by Patricia Hersch.
I’m sure you meant to write, “in no particular order except for the first book, which is the best youth ministry book of all time.”
:-)
wait, no “Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry”?
Family Based Youth Ministry by Mark Devries
I attended the NYWC in Charlotte, NC a few years back. Mark was a speaker in a short term intensive at the conference. It was one of the best seminars I have attended.
If you are in youth ministry, it is a must read.
You can add
Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers by Chap Clark
i would add in nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus – not because it’s youth ministry related, but because the type of leadership that nouwen describes is the type that i believe youth ministry should have: a humble, authentic approach to discipleship by example, rather than a programmed-entertainment model.
I would two book – “Changing the world – through effective youth ministry” by Ken Moser – and having read all the books on the list I think is probably the best book on Youth Ministry. Secondly “reThink – Is Student Ministry working” by Steve Wright
GREAT list – we use most of these titles somewhere along the line in our YMLI certif series of programs – have added a couple I’m not familiar with to my “to look at/read” list.
it is kind of funny–I had this same post up a few days ago.
Here are a few more:
Staring Right.
Experiential Youth Ministry Handbook. John Losey.
A New Kind of Youth Ministry. Christ Folmsbee.
Would You Rather. Doug Fields.
Adventures In Missing The Point. McLaren and Campolo.
Joined Up: An Introduction to Youth Work and Ministry – Danny Brierley
Accompanying Young People on Their Spiritual Quest – Maxine Green
Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freire
Great list!
I agree 100%
let’s hope new books are being written now to follow in the way of these ones and continue down similar paths
Thank you for this post. Great books.
We just added a link to this post on Kenda Dean’s website. Let me know if you write any more and we can add more links.
http://kendadean.com