Growing Young by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffen

Who should read it

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Related resource

Growing Young is a broadly accessible book that will benefit youth ministers, youth ministry leaders and church leaders.

Building resilient faith in young people

What practices lead to thriving faith in young people after adolescence?

This resource from Youthworks’ Ministry Support team reviews all the latest thinking on how to build lasting faith in young people under God.

Free Download

Why

How can a church Grow young not old? What can churches do to help young people passionately connect with God through a faith community? These are the questions Growing Young, from the Fuller Youth Institute, explores by researching churches in the USA where the average median age of the church is dropping, not increasing. Their research discovered 6 priorities that are common in churches who are growing young. Each priority is analysed and then a variety of actions are explored. It offers up-to-date information and interpretation on how churches are engaging young people well, and it’s full of suggestions from those findings. Each chapter ends with pages of “Ideas for Action” and tools to gauge the health of your church in its efforts to grow young. Whilst it does not offer a rigorous theological or Biblical defence of each priority, the book functions well as a discussion starter for those who want to engage young people in their church.

Publisher
Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016

Sustainable Children's Ministry by Mark DeVries & Annette Safstrom

Who should read it

Recommended for anyone starting out in a children's ministry leadership role and those building a children's ministry from the ground up in a smaller church or church plant.

Why

Subtitled 'from last minute scrambling to long-term solutions', this book looks at the underlying systems and structures in church-based children's ministries (or lack of them). Highly practical, with numerous appendixes full of samples and examples, this book guides the reader to see the need for systems and how to create them. The authors address areas like 'chronic leader shortage', 'workhorse' leadership, working well on a staff team and how to delegate well.

Publisher

IVP Praxis, 2018

The Art of Group Talk by Phillips & Duckworth

Who should read it

This is a must-read for anyone leading a small group of kids. It is a great training resource.

Why

A light, easy to read introduction to leading small groups of kids. Moving from the purpose and goal of small groups down to the practical details of making it work, this is a hugely helpful resources for all leaders. It includes suggestions of items to prepare, ways to deepen relationship with children and helpful clarity on why it's all worth the effort.

Publisher

Think Orange

Relational Children's Ministry by Dan Lovaglia

Who should read it

Recommended for Children's Ministers, key lay coordinators, and any invested leaders who desire to be "change agents" in their local ministry.

Why

In Relational Children's Ministry, Lovaglia aims to help children's ministry leaders hit the "reset button". He considers 5 discipleship invitations modelled by Jesus and discusses ways to put these into practice in children's ministry. Children's ministry leaders will learn how to make their ministry a disciple-making ministry that shapes kids into lifelong followers of Jesus.

Publisher

Zondervan, 2016

Leading KidMin: How to Drive Real Change in Children's Ministry by Pat Cimo and Matt Markins

Who should read it

Recommended for children's ministers, key lay coordinators and any invested leaders who desire to be "change agents" in their local ministry.

Why

Leading KidMin provides a guide on how to assess and realign your leadership of children's ministry within the church. Full of wisdom and stories from the authors' extensive experience in children's ministry, this book provides a clear and accessible guide for re-calibrating your ministry towards your intended ministry goals, and leading the change that you wish to see; with the church, leaders, parents and the children themselves.

Publisher

Moody Publishers, 2016

Family Ministry and the Church by Chris Shirley

Who should read it

Useful for anyone leading a children's or youth ministry. Also recomended for ministry staff teams to read together.

Why

Family Ministry and the Church explores the role of the church in strengthening families and equipping them for discipleship, and the role of the family in building the church. Shirley takes the reader through an exploration of what family ministry is, and why the family and the church need each other. With other contributors, the book delves into how to equip families for ministry at different life stages with the goal of seeing families and churches working together in effective disciple-making ministry.

Publisher

Randall House Publications, 2018