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130 Ways to Involve
Parents in Youth Ministry Publisher - Group Publishing |
- Favorite Features:
- shows practical, do-able ways to get parents on your team and side by involving them in the youth ministry
- 39 jobs for parents to get them involved
- steps to take to begin a parent support group
- letter to send so you can request information and determine their interest
- tips to lead a parent group
- 16 activities/fun times for parents and teens to enjoy together
- 18 service projects
- three complete meetings for parents and teens together -
- objectives
- activities
- reproducible resources
- one complete communication retreat for parents and teens
- 19 ideas to keep in touch with and to support parents
- 15 ideas to encourage parents
- 13 ways to handle conflict with parents
- reproducible resources, forms and surveys
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Real Teens
Author - George Barna Publisher - Regal Publishers |
- Favorite Features:
- point of book explains why teens are important and give a picture to help us understand today's teen and what makes them unique
- looks at lifestyles and influences -
- media
- music
- technology
- sub-cultures
- what teens are thinking and feeling -
- how they view themselves
- how they view politics
- matters of the heart -
- friendships
- family
- inside their heads -
- major concerns
- future
- purpose
- goals
- giving
- morals & truth
- postmodern impact
- looks at the races and how it impacts teens
- background
- life styles
- attitudes
- faith
- relationships
- technology
- faith and spirituality
- commitment
- what they believe
- religious behavior
- involvement in church
- value and attendance in church
- challenges with teens
- information for parents
- information for youth workers
- information for church leaders
- background information on the research
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Messy Spirituality
Author - Michael Yaconelli Publisher - Zondervan |
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- Favorite Features:
- Mike challenges our perceptions of Who Jesus Is, what He is like and what true followers are like
- challenges followers of Jesus to be truly honest and stop pretending
- challenge to be real
- challenge to let Jesus take us beyond our past
- encourages us to live in God's love and grace
- presents the truth that Jesus accepts us with all our imperfections in our "messiness"
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the Youth Builder
Authors - Jim Burns & Mike DeVries Publisher - Gospel Light |
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- Favorite Features:
- walks reader through each component of what it takes to develop and maintain truly effective youth ministry
- strong emphasis on necessity of developing a relational ministry with staff and with teens
- stresses necessity of protecting your own family time - excellent!
- walks through what the culture today's teen lives in is really like
- explains why ministry to youth has to include ministry to the family
- looks at the true purpose of a small group and why it is a necessary part of relational youth ministry
- explains how to disciple and involve teens in real ministry and how to develop teen leaders
- looks at how to grow volunteers
- thoughts on budget, programming, effective teaching
- insights on counseling youth -
- family problems
- substance abuse
- suicide
- abuse
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Postmodern Youth Ministry
Author - Tony Jones Publisher - Youth Specialties/Zondervan |
- Favorite Features:
- supplemental web site
- emphasis on being a missionary to teens
- focus on need for committing long term to reach teens and "save them from a world that wants to steal their faith".
- focus on authentic community and the need to develop it among youth
- comments throughout from people in youth ministry responding to Tony - interesting
- stresses importance of parents discipline their children
- looks at the history of pre-modern, modern and post-modern church and what we must do to effectively reach the postmodern youth - very heavy reading, but gives a lot to think and work through
- intriguing suggestion that youth ministry is really young adult ministry
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The Ideas Library
on CD-Rom Version 2.0 Publisher - Zondervan/Youth Specialties |
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- Favorite Features:
- more than 3000 ideas for effective ministry -
- games
- crowd breakers/mixers
- creative meetings, lessons or Bible Studies
- discussion and lesson starters
- worship
- holidays/special days
- publicity
- fundraising/administrative ideas
- camps/retreats
- service projects/missions
- managing a youth ministry
- skits/dramas
- area to submit your best, original ideas - they will pay if they publish them
- panic section for instant lessons
- questions and answers area
- ability to copy and paste ideas to make your own resources
- great for Middle/High school - can even work with adults to liven things up!
- easy to use - even I could use it!
- Windows/Mac compatible
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Youth Worker's Guide
to Parent Ministry Author - Dr. Marv Penner Publisher - Youth Specialties/Zondervan |
|
- Favorite Features:
- walks youth/family pastors through nine levels of parent ministry
- focus on building bridges with parents by supporting families
- nine levels -
- acknowledge importance of parents
- affirm value of family/parent relationships
- communicate with parents
- encourage parents
- connect parents with each other
- equip parents
- involve parents in the ministry
- educate parents
- co-nurture teens
- five cries of a parent
- eight reasons parent ministry can be hard work
- questions to reflect and discuss
- ideas for affirming parents
- complete lesson on communicating with parents
- reproducible resources
- challenge to give parents complete listening information and to effectively communicate
- family needs assessment
- parent/teen workshop to improve communication
- ideas for encouraging parents
- complete parent meeting to help parents celebrate the good in their kids
- reproducible postcards to encourage parents
- ideas to help parents connect with each other
- complete parent meeting to connect them
- list of recommended resources for parents
- levels to involve parents
- benefits and draw backs
- complete parent meeting to get their input
- job description for parent's advisory council members
- resources to teach parents about teens
- ideas how to partner with parents
- ministry ideas with single parents, blended parents, parents who are not believers, parents of other faiths/who attend another church, parents whose kids are spiritually indifferent, with abusive/dysfunctional parents
- community contacts list
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Outbreak
Author - Greg Stier Publisher - Moody Press |
- Favorite Features:
- designed for a youth pastor and his leadership team to work through together, one chapter a week
- each chapter includes questions at the end to work through and mandates to help your houth ministry be infectious about evangelism
- information on how to develop an "e-team" utilizing the gifts/strengths of the kids in the youth group
- looks at how to become infectious in sharing your faith and teaching your teens to do the same
- practical, clearly presented so any youth leaders would know the steps to follow and what to watch out for
- last chapter summarizes and challenges reader to do it!
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The Quest for Christ
Authors - Ken Baugh & Rich Hurst Publisher - Group Publishing |
- Favorite Features:
- questions throughout to help you think through content/information as you read
- focus on helping young adults, "know Christ personally and intimately, not just knowing facts about Him".
- outlines six elements for discipleship
- outlines four false assumptions regarding discipleship
- "Quest Experience" assignments throughout to help readers understand/live the things being taught
- heavy emphasis on need for relationships that are safe for young adults to grow
- travel log throughout
- eight signposts to guide young adults through to discipleship
- travel tips to apply content in your setting
- common questions and answers
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'Round About the Church
Copyright © Lynda Freeman
Last Updated Aug. 18, 2003
Web Page by Lynda Freeman
Send an e-mail to Lynda at LyndaFreeman@roundaboutthechurch.com