Books About Youth Ministry
Here is a recommended reading list of books about Youth Ministry. Keep checking back, as this list will be edited and updated to keep current with new recommendations.
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Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers (New Growth Press, 2021), by Mike McGarry
This book is written for volunteer youth workers and reflects the heartbeat of this site: half the book is dedicated to theological questions students ask, and half is given to equip youth workers to grow in the skills it takes to be a fruitful youth worker.
A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry: Teenagers in the Life of the Church (Randall House Academic, 2019), by Mike McGarry
Youth ministry today has fallen on hard times. Many churches continue to employ the same methods that have become entrenched over the last few decades, while others are questioning the need for youth ministry at all. Michael McGarry explores the foundation of youth ministry in the Old and New Testaments and brings that together with Church history in a compelling way. This book should be high on the reading list for pastors and elder boards as they prepare to launch or restructure the youth ministry in their church.
Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide (Crossway, 2016), edited by Cameron Cole and Jon Neilson.
Establish the gospel as the fulcrum of your youth ministry. These practical essays by Jon Nielson, Elizabeth Elliott and others provide a sure theological footing for implementing cross-centered principles. Stressing Christ’s victory over sin and death, youth pastors will find generous insight into exploring students’ function in the life of the church.
Remodeling Youth Ministry: A Biblical Blueprint for Ministering to Students (Welch College Press, 2017), by Chris Talbot
This book offers important foundations on which you can build your youth ministry as well as helpful corrections for the future. Recognizing that philosophies of youth ministry have been articulated as models of ministry, Talbot offers a remodel. Remodeling is hard work. But now may be the time to remodel your structure of youth ministry with the blueprint of God's Word. Instead of rebuilding the youth ministry house, Talbot proposes a remodel.
Rebooted: Reclaiming Youth Ministry for the Long Haul (IVP, 2018), by Tim Gough
Tim Gough seeks to redress the balance. He takes us on an expositional journey through the Bible as he sees it relating to youth work, pulling out purposeful themes through key stories and passages. He offers guidelines which can be used by any leader as he casts this strong, healthy biblical vision to inspire us. He is passionate about growing youth ministry that can outlive the youth worker.
Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel (New Growth Press, 2018), by Drew Hill
Alongside is a much-needed resource that unpacks the challenges teenagers face and how youth leaders and parents can share the gospel with them at this crucial age. Full of practical insight and biblical knowledge, Alongside is an invitation to love teenagers well with the hope of the gospel.
Adoptive Church: Creating an Environment Where Emerging Generations Belong (Baker Academic, 2016), by Chap Clark
Teens and emerging adults don't feel at home in the church because they are not fully included in the church body. How can congregations nurture young adults, welcome them as siblings into God's household, and empower them to become fully embedded contributors within and to their faith community? Integrating the latest research on adolescent faith and young adult ministry for the local church, this book presents a new way of thinking about youth ministry.
Engaging Generation Z: Raising the Bar for Youth Ministry (Kregel Press, 2021), by Timothy McKnight
To disciple the youth in student ministries today, we have to understand the unique characteristics of Generation Z, and apply lessons learned from recent decades of youth ministry. Following an overview of the beliefs, attitudes, and practices of Generation Z, McKnight provides youth pastors and volunteers with a complete plan for discipling adolescents through the local church.
Trained in the Fear of God: Family Ministry in Theological, Historical, and Practical Perspective (Kregel Academic, 2011), edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones
Trained in the Fear of God encourages the church and its leaders and pastors to shift away from the current “silos” paradigm of age-specific youth ministries to a more holistic approach rooted in ministry to and by families. Stinson and Jones draw upon the expertise of seventeen scholars and practitioners to provide the biblical and theological foundation for doing so, followed by practical steps in implementing foundational insights.
