Youth Religion

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is a Christian missions movement like no other. Since 1960, it has launched wave after wave of young missionaries now into the millions who have impacted every nation on earth by simply listening to and obeying the voice of God. In Values Matter, YWAM Co-founder Darlene Cunningham shares inspiring stories of how God shaped YWAM into what it is today—a large and effective wave-maker for missions through the spiritual DNA carried within its Core Beliefs and 18 Foundational Values.

In the past few decades, the church has experienced rapid and distressing change. Hard-working pastors and leaders often know they need to embrace diversity, creatively engage younger generations, and equip their people to love their neighbors. But since they don't know how to make the changes needed, they feel stuck and wonder, "What do I do now? For these dedicated yet drained church leaders, this research-informed resource from the team at the Fuller Youth Institute offers a clear roadmap to faithfully and effectively navigate change that will revitalize your church.

It's ok for you to have questions about your faith. You aren't the only one that has those questions, and you shouldn't be embarrassed by them. In Discover: Questioning Your Way to Faith, Mike McGarry explores the twenty most common questions teenagers ask.

There is a war against your children. Every day, kids of all ages are bombarded with the enemy's lies that war against their God-given identities and divine destinies. But when kids speak God’s truth over themselves, their minds are renewed and they become rooted in a healthy, Bible-based identity. In God’s Got This: Power Decrees to Overcome Problems, Step into Purpose, and Receive Promises, notable apostolic leader and prophet Tim Sheets teams up with his daughter, Rachel Shafer, to provide a powerful resource—biblical decrees that kids can speak over themselves in every season of life.

In Sticky Faith, the team at FYI presents youth workers with both a theological/philosophical framework and practical programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers. Each chapter presents a summary of FYI’s quantitative and qualitative research, along with the implications of this research, including program ideas suggested and tested by youth ministries nationwide. This resource will give youth pastors what they need to help foster a faith that sticks with all the teenagers in their group long after they’ve left the youth room.

It may surprise you to know that the majority of non-Christians are not hostile to the faith or looking for a fight. In fact, most are open and even curious about spiritual matters. Yet evangelism training and apologetic resources are often geared toward knowing what to say to hardcore atheists and evolutionists, who make up less than ten percent of the unchurched population. If you're ready to have respectful and fruitful spiritual conversations with your spiritually curious friends, neighbors, and family members, Mark Matlock offers this research-based approach.

Transform the competitive sports field into a discipleship opportunity as you help your young athlete become not just a better player but a devoted follower of God.

Sticky Faith delivers positive and practical ideas to nurture within your kids a living, loving faith that lasts a lifetime. Research indicates that almost half of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. This easy-to-listen guide presents both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children’s spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith.

Maybe it was baseball season, with its many Sunday practices, which caused a normally committed family to miss church...only they didn't return when the season ended. For another family, it was the dance recital with its accelerated rehearsal schedule, which was "only temporary" but their return attendance was sporadic before it became non-existent.

When building a children’s ministry at a church, there is so much to consider: Which curriculum should we use? How many volunteers do we need? How do we keep parents in the loop? And that’s before we run into stalled check-in computers, missing activity sheets, and floors that need to be vacuumed. Writing from personal ministry experience, Jared Kennedy shares a four-fold approach for gospel-centered, missional children’s ministry: hospitality, teaching, discipleship, and mission.

This book mines the rich history of the church for spiritual disciplines that have been largely forgotten in the practice of Christianity. After introductory material that considers the human longing for spirituality and setting a working definition of the term (To be enlivened by God's Spirit is the goal of Christian spirituality.), there is a historical and theological exploration of 16 different ancient practices.

Today’s youth struggle with difficult questions of sexual identity. How can a youth worker offer wise care and counsel on such a controversial and confusing subject? Mark Yarhouse, director of the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity, writes to equip youth ministers so they can faithfully navigate the topic of sexual identity in a way that is honest, compassionate, and accessible.

Based on a national survey of hundreds of teenage girls, Jeff Feldhahn and Eric Rice give young men insight into the hearts and minds of teen girls while opening the way to healthier relationships between guys and girls, both now and in their future.

The Church today does not expect what it ought to from children and their parents, and this can be attributed in large part to a flawed concept of youth ministry. This need not and should not be so. This essay discusses the reasons behind the problem and proposes some biblical solutions.

The strong and spicy heat of the gospel is the secret to effective and exciting ministry—just look at the early church! Gospel advancement was at the heart of the early believers’ discipleship, and the book of Acts gives us a vibrant picture of God’s plan to use us to build His kingdom. In Gospelize Your Youth Ministry, Greg unpacks the model found in the book of Acts, unveiling the seven key ingredients present within the early Church.

Cutting. It’s become a buzzword lately, but very few books address it from the perspective of a youth worker or concerned friend. Marv Penner has lived in this world for the past few years, talking with teenagers online and meeting with them to understand what drives them and why they self-injure. In this timely and helpful book, youth workers, coaches, teachers, and others will get the information they need to begin to understand and help (or point to help) kids who cut.

This book offers a measured Christian response to the diverse gender identities that are being embraced by an increasing number of adolescents. Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky offer an honest, scientifically informed, compassionate, and nuanced treatment for all listeners who care about or work with gender-diverse youth: pastors, church leaders, parents, family members, youth workers, and counselors.

Do your kids think that clean, folded clothes magically appear in their drawers? Do they roll their eyes when you suggest they clean the bathroom? Do you think it's your job to pave their road to success? As parents, so often we hover, race in to save, and do everything we can for our kids - unintentionally reinforcing their belief that the world revolves around them. When Kay Wyma realized that an attitude of entitlement had crept into her home, this mother of five got some attitude of her own.

The pressure of being a teenager can be overwhelming. School, sports, jobs, and relationships all press in at the same time. But the hardest thing can be feeling alone, that you have no one to share your most difficult problems with. In The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School, thirty authors from many different backgrounds come together to say, “We get it―and Jesus gets it too. Here’s who Jesus is and how he wants to meet you in this intense time.”

God has dreams - just for you. You are on the most important journey you’ll ever take - the journey of becoming yourself through the love of God. You might sometimes feel inadequate in the world’s eyes, but the truth is that you are beautiful, valuable, and made with a purpose!In Free to Be Me, Stasi Eldredge tells stories about her own struggles and hopes as she helps you recognize God’s truth about your beauty and worthiness. Learn who God created you to be and the amazing dreams he has for you.