Book Reviews

Human culture changes. People live, think, eat, and relate in ways that are different from one place to another and from one time to another. However, the lasting principles for ministry are found in God’s unchanging Word. A lot of books have been written to speak to today’s youth culture. But, when you train people to lead youth ministry all over the world, teaching eternal principles is all that makes sense. And for those of us in smaller churches, a lot of the big idea books don’t really connect anyway. Fortunately, what God said is true whether you minister in Swinney Switch, TX; New Berlin, IL; or Anaheim, CA where I live.

Roger Glidewell, Founder and Executive Director of Global Youth Ministry and President of the Institute for Global Youth Studies trains students to do ministry all over the world then places them in ministry contexts where they can flesh out the ideas. He recently allowed me to read one of the books he has developed for his courses: Youth Ministry by the Book, A Biblical Framework. It is a great resource that provides a simple plan for doing youth ministry that can be applied to any ministry context.

Glidewell believes the purpose of youth ministry is to bring glory to God. We could focus on a lot of objectives, but ministry only brings God glory when he is the focus of all we do. In fact, Glidewell warns, “We should avoid thinking that somehow we are able to develop a human strategy that will accomplish eternal goals.” There are a lot of ways to fill a youth room. Glorifying God is a different goal.

Glidewell also teaches the importance of building a team to do ministry . . . even in a very small church. He wrote, “For the youth minister to build relationships with youth is vital. But if you desire to have long-term effectiveness there is a relationship even more important: You must build a team of leaders who will help to extend your reach and multiply your effectiveness.”

Glidewell sites 1 John 2:12-14 as a picture of the maturity levels at which your students may be. Some students are at the point of “Availability.” They are new believers who may have little understanding and more bore easily but they have made a commitment to Christ and are eager to get involved. Some students are at the point of “Accountability.” They are growing in their faith. They are becoming more effective in their investment in ministry. A few students may be at the point of “Ability.” They are mature in their faith and can serve as an example to others. Of course, some students are at the point of “Apathy” and have no real relationship with Christ. Glidewell suggests that youth ministry should find ways to engage all four groups. Sound hard? He says to start with what you have and build from there.

Youth Ministry by the Book has been published for youth at Global Youth Ministry and are not available in bookstores. If you would like a copy, the price is $14.99 plus shipping and you can order it by emailing info@globalyouthministry.org.

Finding a good resource that addresses how to do youth ministry in the small church can be a challenge. Few books have been developed that show insight into the dynamics of small church youth ministry. Youth Ministry in Small Churches by Rick Chromey is a good introduction to youth ministry in the small church.

Chromey understands the difference involved in ministering with teenagers in a smaller church–both the challenges and the advantages. He says, “Relationships make small churches different. Everybody knows everybody. People know and meet each other’s needs. When a tragedy occurs, the whole church weeps. When something great happens, the whole congregation rejoices” (p. 24).

The focus of Youth Ministry in Small Churches is healthy youth ministry, not big youth ministry. (While a healthy youth ministry always involves reaching out to lost youth, a big youth ministry does not necessarily indicate a healthy youth ministry.) Chromey suggests these elements for building a healthy ministry:

• One-to-One Relationships–The dynamics of a small church allow youth leaders to be directly involved in the lives of your students.
• Need Oriented Programming–Because youth leaders in small churches tend to know the needs of the young people involved in the ministry, they should be able to design ministry that focuses on their life needs.
• Family Support and Ministry–In a small church, youth leaders should know the parents of youth well. Providing support and encouragement for the whole family should be a significant part of your ministry.
• Spiritual Growth and Discipleship–The focus of ministry in a small church is not the program. It is the spiritual development of the teenagers in the group. Youth leaders should look for ways to disciple students that are unique to the needs of those students.
• Friendship Evangelism–While small churches have trouble creating huge event evangelism, the truth is that friendship evangelism tends to be more effective at disciple-making. Youth leaders need to equip students to make Christ known to their friends . . . and model a lifestyle of evangelism for their students.
• Missions and Service–Youth in small churches need opportunities to use their gifts in meeting the needs of other people.

The major draw-back of Chromey’s book is that it is dated. Released in 1990, the book includes a lot of examples that seem old fashioned. Chromey’s style of writing uses lots of illustrations and examples, and many of them won’t really work in churches today. However, there is much that can be drawn from the book if the reader overlooks those things that have passed out of season.