Friday Review (10/17/25)
Each week we compile a list of helpful articles from other sites, in a variety of categories, for youth workers to read, reflect on, and/or discuss with parents and volunteers. If you have any articles you’d like to suggest, we’d love for you to share those in the Youth Pastor Theologian Facebook group. That’s a great way to bring them to our attention and to discuss them with like-minded youth workers! (Inclusion in this list does not imply complete agreement with the publishing source, but we have found these articles to be beneficial.)
Youth Ministry
Thick Communities Wanted, from Growing Young Disciples
Young people do not need louder hype. They need a church that is thick with God. When our common life is saturated with the Word, shaped by the Table, stretched by service, and stitched together by love, the lonely will find a home and the hard-hearted will soften.
Peer Evangelism Part 1: Convincing Teens of the Gospel Need, by Tim Bielharz
Whilst it is important to have missional programs as part of your church’s youth ministry, I am going to focus particularly on the topic of peer evangelism. How can we enable the Christian teenagers in our churches to be effective evangelists in the places they inhabit? What do they need, and how can we equip them well for this task?
Biblical & Theological Studies
Don’t Take the Supper at Youth Camp or Get Baptized in the Jordan, by Ben Robin (9Marks)
In what follows, I aim to argue that the ordinances belong to the local church. As such, their most fitting location is in the local church alone.
Fear is Not a Sin by Edward T. Welch (New Growth Press)
Fear and grief are part of most every day. We do not apologize for them; we speak them. Then Jesus immediately responds with his most intimate words and promises. Fear and anxiety, in turns out, are first steps to knowing God’s kingly authority over all things and his heart of compassion for you.
How Do We Define the Church?, by Eric Watkins (Ligonier)
The church is identified by three marks: the faithful preaching of God’s Word, the proper administration of the sacraments, and church discipline. These are the essential qualities of a church. They overlap with the ordinary means of grace: the preaching of God’s Word, the sacraments, and prayer.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
The Distinction Between Influencer and "Be Imitators of me, as I am of Christ.", by O. Alan Noble (You Are Not Your Own)
There is a place for learning from those outside the local church. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t be writing this. But it always must be a supplement to the local church. And any movement primarily driven by online lifestyle gurus, whether secular or religious, cannot give us the human love and discipleship we need to grow and mature in our faith.
Grind Culture, Self-Care Culture, and Gospel Culture, by Mason Ballard (Center for Faith & Culture)
Jesus is better than Instagram influencers. He offers something better than a combination of grind culture and self-care culture, some elusive balance of work and rest. Yes, he offers true rest and gives our work true meaning. But he does something even greater.
Pastoral Ministry
‘Always Together’—A Lesson from the Early Church, by Trevin Wax (The Gospel Coalition)
The early Christians sought one another out all week, not just on Sundays. That got me wondering whether it can be said of Christians today that we’re always together, especially when regular church service schedules have declined among evangelicals in recent years.
The Pastor’s Public Ministry and Generative AI: Perils and Possibilities, by Eric Beach (9Marks)
Should pastors use generative AI in preaching or public prayer or must they refrain? May pastors simply read AI summaries in place of primary sources when they prep for sermons? These questions will only become more prevalent as generative AI is increasingly used and developed.
Family & Parents
Parenting an Autistic Child in 2025, by Amy Mantravadi (Mere Orthodoxy)
What follows are the unique experiences of one set of parents and one autistic boy. Yet, I believe they reflect the experiences of a wide range of parents of children with special needs. This is my meditation on what it is like to raise an autistic child in the year of our Lord 2025: the difficulties, the hope, and the ultimate dignity of human life.
Breaking Generational Patterns of Control in Our Parenting, by Sherene Joseph (Rooted)
Even though I had a charmed childhood in many ways, the scars left by my mother’s control hurt for many decades, well into my adulthood. Suffice it to say, I have struggled with the impulse to control my own children. I desperately needed not only control, but also validation of my parenting style.
From YPT this week
ep.114: Gospel-Centered Teaching & Addressing Topical Issues
How do we preach Christ from Genesis through Revelation while practicing responsible exegesis? And how do we address topical issues if we’re committed to expository teaching?
Friendship Isn’t a Luxury Item for Youth Workers, by Valerie O’Brien
Genuine and deep friendship it is not a luxury item that you give up to be in ministry. Here are four lies that keep us from cultivating healthy friendships in ministry.