Andrew Root reviews the history of relational/incarnational youth ministry in American evangelicalism and recasts the practice as one of "place-sharing"--not so much "earning the right to be heard" as honoring the human dignity of youth and locating God in their midst.

For more than 50 years, relational or incarnational ministry has been a major focus in youth ministry. But for too long, those relationships have been used as tools—as a means to an end—where adults try to influence students to accept, know, trust, believe, or participate in something. While our motives may be good, it’s possible that by focusing on these goals, we’re not ministering the whole person. When we choose not to engage in the full life of a student, we run the risk of failing them and our ministry. In this thoughtful and insightful book, Andrew Root challenges us to reconsider our motives and begin to consider simply being with and doing life alongside teenagers with no agenda other than to love them right where they are, by place-sharing. As he shares stories of his (and others’) successes and failures in relational youth ministry, you’ll find practical ideas to help you recreate the role of relationships in your youth ministry. If you’re involved in the lives of teenagers, whether as a youth pastor, volunteer youth worker, church leader, or parent, you’ll want to read this book and work together to discover the value of place-sharing in the lives of teens. You’ll see that it’s time to tear down the old structure of relational youth ministry and start again.

What is youth ministry actually for? And does it have a future? Andrew Root, a leading scholar in youth ministry and practical theology, went on a one-year journey to answer these questions. In this book, Root weaves together an innovative first-person fictional narrative to diagnose the challenges facing the church today and to offer a new vision for youth ministry in the 21st century. Informed by interviews that Root conducted with parents, this book explores how parents' perspectives of what constitutes a good life are affecting youth ministry. In today's culture, youth ministry can't compete with sports, test prep, and the myriad other activities in which young people participate. Through a unique parable-style story, Root offers a new way to think about the purpose of youth ministry: not happiness, but joy. Joy is a sense of experiencing the good. For youth ministry to be about joy, it must move beyond the youth group model and rework the assumptions of how identity and happiness are imagined by parents in American society.

Publisher's description: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry shows how classic disciplines, symbols and practices that have sustained the church over the centuries can shape the worldviews, virtues and habits of young people today. Come explore the deeper terrain of an ancient faith; your students are sure to follow.

Even if you know you’re called to youth ministry and are passionate about the students in your group, you’ve probably had a few of those moments when you’ve wondered why you’re doing certain things in your ministry, or wondered why you’re even doing youth ministry in the first place. If you’ve ever stopped to ask, “What’s the point of youth ministry?” ... In Taking Theology to Youth Ministry, Andrew Root invites you along on a journey with Nadia—a fictional youth worker who is trying to understand the “why” behind her ministry. Her narrative, along with Root’s insights, help you uncover the action of God as it pertains to your own youth ministry, and encourage you to discover how you can participate in that action. As you join this theological journey, you’ll find yourself exploring how theology can and should influence the way you do youth ministry.

In Youth Ministry and Theology Shorthand, David Bailey explores the dialogue between practice and theological education through the lens of youth ministry. This qualitative study illuminates how youth ministers talk about their work amongst young people. Through the slowing down of the youth ministry process it is discovered that youth ministers speak in theological shorthand. Theological shorthand is a paradox: it is both meaningful--it fuels long-term sacrificial service amongst young people--and it is problematic, as it risks untethering youth ministry from the wider narrative of the Christian story. The book will appeal to youth ministers, clergy, academics, graduate and post-graduate students, but also informed volunteers involved in youth ministry. Through the discipline of practical theology, it correlates the voices of the youth ministers, a set of materials used to deepen faith, and contemporary expressions of sung worship. These are then brought into conversation and explored via different aspects of Trinitarian theology to deepen the theological grammar within contemporary youth ministry and to help develop theological literacy.

Research in youth ministry has excelled and developed rapidly over the last four decades. Youth ministry is not just a church practice, but has become an emerging academic discipline, with a variety of methodological, theoretical, and contextual approaches. This academic handbook offers an assessment of contemporary youth ministry research to assist students doing bachelor, master, and doctoral research, and youth ministry scholars, in their studies of youth ministry. By examining youth ministry research through the lens of the following five fundamental questions, the reader is challenged to engage with state-of-the-art theory, methods, and findings from current youth ministry research: • Who are the youth in youth ministry? • Where is God in youth ministry? • What is the purpose of youth ministry? • Who is the youth minister in youth ministry? • How to research practices in youth ministry? The academic handbook is a must-read for everyone who is interested in systematic reflection on youth ministry and youth ministry research.

You may not be a dynamic speaker, know all the latest rock musicans, or even dress in the latest fashions, but if you love young people and desire to invest in their lives, your influence can be life-changing. This book can help.

The loss or disaffiliation of young adults is a much-discussed topic in churches today. Many faith-formation programs focus on keeping the young, believing the youthful spirit will save the church. But do these programs have more to do with an obsession with youthfulness than with helping young people encounter the living God? Questioning the search for new or improved faith-formation programs, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulates how faith can be formed in our secular age. He offers a theology of faith constructed from a rich cultural conversation, providing a deeper understanding of the phenomena of the "nones" and "moralistic therapeutic deism." Root helps readers understand why forming faith is so hard in our context and shows that what we have lost is not the ability to keep people connected to our churches but an imagination for how and where God could be present in their lives. He considers what faith is and what steps we can take to move into it, exploring a Pauline concept of faith as encounter with divine action.

Youth ministry succeeds because it directly reflects Jesus Christ's approach. It's not overvalued today; it's undervalued. The hard work required for its success has been misunderstood and misrepresented. The first part of the book establishes that case and analyzes the pros and cons of current, varying philosophies and approaches, merging their best aspects into the holistic approach demonstrated by Christ. Part 2 introduces Attachment Relationship Ministry (ARM), a lens distinguishing four primary adolescent relational styles depending on how secure or insecure teens are with God and parents. Part 3 encourages strategic relational ministry sensitive to those styles, explaining why youth leader efforts succeed or fail. Chapters offer realistic discipleship and evangelism suggestions depending on attachment styles and practically empowering youth workers (volunteers, newbies, experts, and interns) to focus energy and time more wisely. These recommendations relate to spiritual formation, leadership selection, parental approach, and trending issues, such as ministry to LGBTQIA teens. For too many teens today, feeling insecure in crisis is a way of life. Learn how to take what you've done well and make it better. All church leaders should read this book, logging the critical importance of providing ministry specifically targeting teenagers today.