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
Practical Tips for Helping Students Share Their Faith, Zac Workun (Rooted)
Our students feel discouraged when their unchurched friends are hesitant to attend or decline multiple invitations to church, youth group, or FCA meetings on their school campuses. Here are two practical tips to teach our students how to handle these situations as they evangelize.
Start with the Next Generation, and the Church Will Follow, Avery Bowman (YM360)
With a little intentionality, you can help students celebrate the birth of Jesus, show your hardworking volunteers how much they are appreciated, and even take some time to prepare your own heart for Christmas.
Biblical & Theological Studies
Power For The Mission, James Williams(Growing in Grace)
The remarkable stories of miracles worked through this prophet occur in the context of God’s people walking in wickedness and being led by a wicked leader.
Everything Sad Coming Untrue, Jacob Crouch (Aliens and Pilgrims)
That line, “Is everything sad going to come untrue?” gets me. To know that the war is over and the dead are alive. To know that everything is different now. It’s a shock to the system. What’s amazing is that what Tolkien parallels in his writing is a faint shadow of the glorious reality to come.
Cultural Reflection & Contextualization
We’re Facing a Crisis of Meaning. Here’s Why, Andrew T Walker (Crossway)
In contemporary culture, a profound loss of meaning pervades our collective experience, driven by the erosion of traditional frameworks such as religion, community, and shared narratives. These structures once provided a more coherent sense of purpose, anchoring individuals in a larger cosmic or social order.
Christianity Today and the Sin of Centrism, Nicholas McDonald (The Bard Owl)
But I think it’s easy to mistake that kind of rejection of political tribalism for moral reasoning itself. Simply asserting that “I am not of the Left” and “I am not of the Right” isn’t a compelling moral argument alone. At worst, it’s a rhetorical attempt at an ethos point which claims to be above the fray, much like the famous Eastern parable of the three blind men and the elephant.
Pastoral Ministry
Six Comforts for Pastors, Darryl Dash (Dashhouse)
As pastors, we need to put our confidence in something more secure than how well things seem to be going. Here are six comforts for pastors that will last and sustain us, no matter how well or poorly our ministry seems to be going.
Can't You Just be Like Me? Bobby Scott (Desiring God)
Because our church communities face different civic problems, it’s not uncommon for our members to pursue different political remedies. Yet we don’t stumble or divide over our tertiary differences. We know our Lord loves all of our differing churches, and we are by grace through faith striving to worship him in spirit and truth.
Family & Parents
The First 100 Books for the Children’s Section of Your Church Library, Tim Challies (Challies)
Today I am sharing 100 books that will expand the library so it is as useful to children as it is to adults. To that end, here are 100ish books, plus a list of several series at the end, that you may wish to consider adding to your church library.
Nurturing a Love for God in Your Family, Aubrey Coleman (Ligonier)
For Christian parents, our greatest desire in raising our children is that they would grow to know and love the Lord above all else. So, we must ask ourselves, do our children see us loving God?
(editor’s note: the following article has sparked quite the discussion on the Christian internet. It’s worth reading alongside response articles, like Griffin Gullege’s below.)
Spouses, Please Stop Sitting Together, Dave Moore (TGC Australlia)
As Julie and I discussed it, we thought it was worth calling Christian couples to re-imagine what it’s like walking into church on your own, and then to think of church less like a date and more like a deployment.
When Families Sit Together in Church: The Missional Opportunity, Griffin Gulledge (TGC)
It’s good to make people feel welcome at church—and that includes children. To be entrusted with children is to be entrusted with the mission of God: the passing of God’s worship from one generation to the next.
From YPT this week
Teaching Difficult Passages: Genesis 34, Jack Fitzgibbons (YPT)
Even though we believe all Scripture is God’s Word for our good, how does one even begin to distill helpful application points for our students, let alone teach this in a way that’s appropriate for teenagers? What I hope to do in this article is to show you that there is a way to teach passages, even ones like this, in an age-appropriate manner that will benefit your students, but it requires doing the work.
150: Three Branches of Discipleship & Listener Questions, (YPT Podcast)
In this episode of the podcast, Mike and John answer some listener questions, starting with a listener who wants to hear more about the three branches of discipleship. So, we highlight what we mean by that, and explain how it's applied in the curriculum and how you can apply it in your ministry without using the curriculum. Then we talk about what to do about stinky teenagers.
