Youth ministers were once missionaries, meeting teenagers where they gathered in schools, malls, and parking lots. But over the past decade, something changed. Youth workers have struggled to connect with anxious kids glued to their phones and have found themselves filling the role of therapist for adolescents coming of age on the internet.We need a new approach. A veteran in youth ministry, Andrew Root explains how the church got here--and why soothing teenagers hasn't alleviated ...

Youth ministers were once missionaries, meeting teenagers where they gathered in schools, malls, and parking lots. But over the past decade, something changed. Youth workers have struggled to connect with anxious kids glued to their phones and have found themselves filling the role of therapist for adolescents coming of age on the internet.We need a new approach. A veteran in youth ministry, Andrew Root explains how the church got here—and why soothing teenagers hasn't alleviated t...

A New Vision for Pastoral Ministry TodayIn Faith Formation in a Secular Age, the first book in his Ministry in a Secular Age trilogy, Andrew Root offered an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulated how faith can be formed in our secular age. In The Pastor in a Secular Age, Root explores how this secular age has impacted the identity and practice of the pastor, obscuring his or her core vocation: to call ...

A New Paradigm for Understanding the Congregation in Contemporary MinistryChurches often realize they need to change. But if they're not careful, the way they change can hurt more than help.Leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers a new paradigm for understanding the congregation in contemporary ministry. He articulates why congregations feel pressured by the speed of change in modern life and encourages an approach that doesn't fall into the negativ...

Unpacking Scripture in Youth Ministry focuses on how to teach and present the Bible in the lives of teenagers. Andrew Root argues that teens are constant interpreters – always asking the questions, who am I? and what do others think of me? – and so youth ministers must teach them to interpret the actions of God as revealed in the Bible. This view is different than teaching biblical knowledge – memory verses and Bible facts – and it’s different than teaching them to interpret the B...

Unpacking Scripture in Youth Ministry focuses on how to teach and present the Bible in the lives of teenagers. Andrew Root argues that teens are constant interpreters – always asking the questions, who am I? and what do others think of me? – and so youth ministers must teach them to interpret the actions of God as revealed in the Bible. This view is different than teaching biblical knowledge – memory verses and Bible facts – and it’s different than teaching them to interpret the B...

In Unlocking Mission and Eschatology in Youth Ministry Root argues that youth ministers should teach teens to recognize that as Jesus’ disciples they are participating in the very action of God to bring forth the future of God.He argues that our service to him on this earth (mission) is a sign of the new reality that Jesus will bring when he returns (eschatology).

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 yo...

Think about sin and the cross—the way that salvation changes who we are and how God sees us. It’s a central part of our faith, and yet it’s one of the most confusing and difficult things to teach. Especially to a room full of teenagers.In Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry, Andrew Root invites you along on a journey with Nadia—a fictional youth worker who is wrestling with how to present the cross to her own students in a meaningful way. Using Nadia’s narrative, along with...

Religion, Theology and Stranger Things*: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope* brings interdisciplinary analysis to the teeming spiritual side of the hit television series. With chapters from social scientists, historians, theologians, and Biblical scholars, the volume addresses the many different theological, religious, and supernatural themes present in the fictional world of Hawkins, Indiana. From spiritualism to secularism, Mormon gender norms to mons...

How Do You Minister to People Who Are Spiritual but Not Religious?Post-Christian life and society do not eliminate a desire for the transcendent; rather, they create an environment for new and divergent spiritual communities and practices to flourish. We are flooded with spiritualities that appeal to human desires for nonreligious personal transformation. But many fail to deliver because they fall into the trap of the self.In the last book of the Ministry i...

Shining a Light on the Problem of InnovationChurches and their leaders have innovation fever. Innovation seems exciting--a way to enliven tired institutions, embrace creativity, and be proactive--and is a superstar of the business world. But this focus on innovation may be caused by an obsession with contemporary relevance, creativity, and entrepreneurship that inflates the self, lacks theological depth, and promises burnout.In this follow-up to Churche...