Growing Young
Author
Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffen
Who should read it
Growing Young is a broadly accessible book that will benefit youth ministers, youth ministry leaders and church leaders.
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
A.S.K.: Real World Questions / Real World Answer
Author
David Robertson
Who should read it
This book is written for Christian teenagers, addressing their questions, curiosities and doubts about the Christian faith. Youth leaders will value the way Robertson frames his answers to the questions. Curious non-Christian teens will find clear, accessible answers to some of their own questions about the Christian faith of their friends.
Why
David Robertson has produced a clear, concise and readily accessible book on 52 questions that Christian teenagers have asked about their faith. Robertson sourced the questions from real-life teenagers across the globe and had provided succinct, yet substantive, answers that also bear witness to the authors pastoral heart. From the nature of God (“If God talked to Samuel, why can’t he talk to me?”), science and faith (“Why doesn’t Christianity accept the Big Bang?”), suffering (“Why did God kill my father and we suffered because we became orphans?”), theological quandaries (“Do dogs go to heaven?”) to the big cultural issues of today (“What should be a Christian’s response to mental illness?”), each chapter contains a bible reading, key verse, a two page explanation, questions to consider, recommended further readings and a prayer of response.
Publisher
Christian Focus Publications, 2019