Growing Young: Youth Minister recommended - For Ministers, Adul…Everyone!
Originally Published 9/20/2016
As a twenty-four year old who has lived in three different states in the past six years and been either a student or staff in church youth groups ranging from 3 to 100s, it it’s clear to me that there are plenty of churches who don’t know what to do with/about young people. That’s a problem. As a youth minister (to identify my perspective), I think everyone that cares for the future of the church needs to have access to this book. Whether you come from an urban/suburban/rural/middle-of-nowhere church, a two-week old church plant to a 300 year old congregation, and regardless of denominational affiliation (personally I’ve been part of churches of Christ and Southern Baptist churches) this book can give you some really good ideas.
To be clear, this isn’t a book about someone’s “new” ideas on how church or youth ministries should run. It’s a book based on research/interviews with dozens of churches from all over the country (in a diverse set of demographics). The authors are clear that Growing Young is NOT a how-to book. Instead they unpack Six Core Commitments that they found already in practice in churches that were doing well to grow young (engage/equip young people). Some of these core commitments aren’t anything novel (and the authors don’t pretend to make them that way). However, some of these are very difficult to put into practice and constantly require our attention. In each chapter, Growing Young gives its readers several tangible ideas on how to implement these commitments.
This book covers the highlights from several other prominent ministry ideas/books/philosophies. In some ways, the Fuller Youth Institute team made this book to be a one-stop shop kind of project. It blends so much good information into one manageable/accessible package that is almost too good (my head hurt while reading sometimes because of how bright the inside of my skull became when so many lightbulbs lit up). It gives leaders from all backgrounds some very important tools for helping the church (intergenerational ministry, empowering students through their gifts, leadership styles, service/justice issues, importance of adult involvement in the lives of teenagers, ministering to families, etc).
Growing Young is balanced. At times it provides facts, information, and other metrics. In the same chapter it provides stories/testimonies that coincide with those pieces of data. Then soon after that you get a gentle, but firm reminder that it is important that our churches get it together and implement their findings if we want to be part of the bigger story of God’s work in His kingdom.
The authors are deeply passionate about the subject. They present their material in a humble, inspiring manner. This book is written by those who care deeply for God’s kingdom for those who care deeply about God’s kingdom. I don’t see any serious negative qualities in this book other than it sometimes was painful to read (man can only take so many “rip, stab, stabs” to heart upon realizing his/his church’s mistakes in the past). It’s not going to be the final word on ministry ever written, nor was it intended to be. Growing Young is passionate, informative, and most importantly (to me at least) helpful.
learn more about this book at http://churchesgrowingyoung.com/