YS Academic – serie

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.

This comprehensive, research-informed textbook reviews all aspects of traditional and contemporary theories and experience in youth ministry, but also points to the future by analyzing youth culture and charting innovative paradigms in the art and craft of teaching. The book is fueled by the urgent need in youth ministry to better reach students, to inform them about God’s will for their lives, and to encourage change in their lives beyond the youth group setting. Features include: • Website dedicated to the book, including chats hosted by the author • Scriptural instruction on reaching the minds, hearts, and souls of students • Cultural analysis of adolescents in ministry contexts and in the larger community • Explanation of learning styles: auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic • Explanation of multiple intelligences: imaginative, analytic, common sense, dynamic • Tips on creativity: where to find ideas, list of teaching methods

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Youth Ministry (But Had No Way of Finding Out) Duffy Robbins, Len Kageler, and 10 of the most respected names in youth ministry, give you a hands-on, in-the-trenches look at the issues you’ll face in youth ministry. Essays by Chap Clark, Helen Musick, and others provide case studies, guided discussions, and questions for reflection that bring to life the theory and theology of This Way to Youth Ministry. Here are some of the topics: • How will you balance your spiritual development with the needs of your group? • When is it a good idea to ignore the wishes of your boss? • Under what circumstances is it right to ask a student not to come to a group? • How can you know if you’re called to youth ministry? • When is it right to “fire” a volunteer? • When is it right to “fire” yourself? Raw and relevant, this guide is full of first-hand experience from Dr. Chris Hall, Amy Jacober, and Allan Jackson, to name a few. Kageler and Robbins bring nearly 50 combined years in ministry to these essays and create a virtual ministry experience, allowing students to experiment with the issues and concepts found in This Way to Youth Ministry.

Starting Right: Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry is the first academic textbook that introduces youth ministry students (whether undergraduate or graduate level) to a marriage of solid research, real life, and accessible design. Whereas most college-level texts may reflect a thorough (though impenetrable) mastery of the field, they tend to expect readers to plow through unnecessarily thick prose and bland design because “it’s good for them.” Youth Specialties doesn’t agree. In this debut title to a continuing academic book line, college and seminary students will be introduced to real-life research, real-life youth ministry dilemmas, and real-life solutions. Contributing writers represent a spectrum of Christian Education thought and practice, as well as widespread recognition in their field…transdenominational, yet the perfect background to ministry in any denomination or ministry organization This text includes thorough indexes, design, and graphics that compel readers from page to page (now that’s a first for a college text!); organization that permits professors to use any part of the text, in any order, rather than plod through the entire book from beginning to end; a perfect primary text that gives students a rich, academic, and readable (though not “popular”) grasp of every aspect of youth ministry a typical Intro course touches, while also serving as an ideal secondary text.

Today’s relentless, consumer culture—dominated by popular media’s emphasis on bigger, better, and more, and catering to teenagers’ every want and desire—is leaving our youth adrift in a sea of conflicting messages. Messages that youth workers and faith communities need to decode and redirect from consumption as the primary purpose of youth. Consuming Youth explores the shifts needed to move from the fragmented, isolated and consumer driven story for youth and towards a more compelling story of meaning, purpose and a life lived differently than the one served up by consumer culture. If you’re involved in the lives of teenagers, whether as a youth pastor, youth worker, volunteer, church leader, parent, or students of youth ministry, you’ll want to read this book to discover how a culturally invented and socially accepted version of adolescence, sustained by consumer culture, has shaped youth work and through the suggestions offered work together to discover ways in which you can re-imagine youth ministry and what it means to be a teenager.