Year after year, the Rooted content team considers our annual book awards one of the highlights of the year! We are always eager to see what is new and edifying for youth ministers, parents, and teenagers, and we do what we can to vet resources you can trust. Hopefully you will find some potential Christmas gifts among our selections! Below are the winners in each of our four categories: Youth Workers, Parents, Bible Teaching, and Teenagers.
Our team also delights in partnering to produce compelling new titles for parents and youth ministers. This year, we’re excited to celebrate the release of Teenagers and Mental Health: A Handbook for Parents, Pastors, and Youth Leaders by Danny Kwon and Monica Kim, published by our friends at New Growth Press. We pray it helps you as you care for the teenagers in your life!
Best New Books for Youth Ministers Winners (Tie):
Don’t Despise Our Youth: Renewing Hope for Urban Youth Ministry by David Washington (InterVarsity Press)
In this compelling and deeply personal work, David Washington draws from his own transformative journey from a life lived within gangs and in and out of prison, to gospel change, to leader in youth ministry in inner-city Chicago. Washington articulates the pressing need to view urban youth not as peripheral or problematic, but as vital contributors within the church and community. He offers a clarion call to ministry leaders and congregations alike to “not despise our youth,” but to invest in them with grace, intentionality, and gospel-rooted vision.
The book centers around three core themes: the necessity of worth, the necessity of the Word, and the necessity of the war (spiritual and social) within youth ministry. Washington challenges conventional church programs that relegate youth to the sidelines. He urges them to move beyond programming and entertainment toward empowering young people to discipleship, life in community, and authentic service. Washington leans on God’s Word, providing on-the-ground examples and contextual insights to give the book both authentic truth and theological strength.
For any church leader, parent, or youth worker who is serious about shaping the next generation, Don’t Despise Our Youth stands out as a timely, courageous, and gospel-centered resource. It offers both a strong narrative and a life-giving roadmap, providing readers with a work that seeks to bring change, empower leaders, and foster transformation in the lives of teenagers in the urban context and beyond.
Managing Your Households Well: How Family Leadership Trains You for Church Leadership by Chap Bettis (P&R Publishing)
Does how a church leader invests in the household matter in evaluating effectiveness as a leader in the local church? In Chap Bettis’ new book Managing Your Households Well, he argues that the leadership one exercises in the home is not incidental, but foundational for leadership in the church. Drawing heavily from God’s Word (especially 1 Tim. 3:5), the book frames the family as both a training ground and a display of relational wisdom where leadership skills are developed, tested, and refined.
Bettis offers practical instruction regarding how that leadership plays out: clear communication, discerning conflict-management, active integrity, and consistent vision. These are not abstract principles, but hands-on realities, rooted in home life and directly transferable to ministry contexts. He also tackles common misconceptions, such as equating the pastor’s family’s visible “success” with a spiritual qualification or neglecting the home entirely as a “badge of honor” in serving the Lord.
For a youth ministry audience, this book invites consideration of how discipleship begins not just in the church building, but at home with siblings, roommates, or future households. It challenges young leaders to see their current “household” as a place of apprenticeship—not just for life, but for ministry. The tone has the balance of being encouraging and challenging. It is accessible without lowering the bar, and biblical without being preachy. This work will help strengthen both the home and the ministry of the church leader for God’s glory.
Best New Books for Parents Winners:
Mothering Against Futility Balancing Meaning and Mundanity in the Fear of the Lord By Simona Gorton (Christian Focus)
As a mom of three children, ages spanning from 9 to 14 years, I am navigating three personalities, three different stages of school, and all the other unique obstacles that everyday brings. Most people would agree that being a parent comes with its fair share of challenges. The disappointment of failing as a parent…yet again…is all too familiar. In short, parenting—mothering—is hard.
The author, Simona Gorton, understands the ups and the really low downs that mothers often face while raising children. Gorton vulnerably expresses her wrestling with finding purpose in the daily routines and tasks we have as parents. However, she does not leave us with only her complaints and stories. Instead, she takes us back to Scripture and beautifully guides us through meditations from the book of Ecclesiastes. Gorton reminds us that when we feel insignificant and unseen in motherhood, God sees us. He is using what feels like mundane and trivial tasks to mold us and shape us into a beautiful reflection of Jesus. From the very beginning of her book, in the introduction, Gorton writes:
“In the calling of motherhood, God transforms our sight and opens our eyes to the gospel dichotomies of weakness as strength, smallness as glory, inefficiency as faithfulness. Our lives and actions as mothers, surrendered to Him like loaves and fishes, can become stunning show pieces of gospel hope, glimpses of eternal hilarity” (p. 5).
I pray that as you read this book, the Lord will encourage you by using the daily menial tasks you take care of every single day to shape you into “stunning show pieces of gospel hope.” Our daily tasks are not meaningless. They are avenues in which the Lord can use to show his gospel hope through you.
Best New Books for Bible Teaching Winners:
Gospel Stories: How The Greatest Story Is Richer, Deeper, and More Wonderful Than We Think by Andrew Wilson (10 Publishing)
Recently I was sitting with a group of friends who are in the throes of raising their beloved teenagers. One of them shared (with a bit of lamenting) that her teen had re-entered the toddler years of asking “why?” in response to my friend’s parenting choices and guidance. In reality, his phase of asking “why?” never truly leaves us. Which is one reason why (pun intended) Andrew Wilson’s Gospel Stories is the winner of this year’s Rooted Bible Teaching Book Award.
As a Bible teacher, finding resources that clearly and whimsically tell the story of the Scriptures with clarity and hope can turn into a full-time job. So many other writings tend to leave out one or the other. Wilson’s newest offering provides clarity, hope, and an even greater gift for Bible teachers everywhere: brevity. Each chapter can be read as a daily devotional, or to kick off a small group discussion, or to help plan out your teaching calendar.
With each page you get a glimpse of the beauty and excitement of God’s plan for us, his children. This book is not only for the Bible teacher, but can easily be shared with teenagers (I’d suggest eighth grade or higher) to help them learn the patterns of our faith and the goodness of our God. Wilson’s writing style conveys contagious excitement about God’s goodness, encouraging you to read chapter after chapter. Enjoy this work. It will encourage you, embolden you, and excite you to teach God’s Word.
Best New Books for Teenagers Winners (Tie):
Iconic: Being God’s Image in Your World by Mike McGarry (New Growth Press)
There are serious identity issues teenagers face in the current cultural climate. Looking to address these, Mike McGarry’s Iconic: Being God’s Image in Your World, offers important biblical truths and practical application. The gospel-centeredness of this work is evident through the mix of truth, compassion, and nuance coupled with the hard topic of identity. The flow is very accessible, beginning with relationships and coming to a crescendo with pondering eternity as image bearers of God.
The focus and tone of the book throughout is one of joy and hope. The idea of us being living and breathing displays of God’s glory, including how we are to reign in His creation, is so powerful and helpful for the culture we are living in now. This great work reminds us that our identity in a person, Jesus Christ, is a gift from God. It is not something we perform under pressure to receive. Teenagers feel isolated in today’s world. McGarry’s book offers a comfortable and safe place to answer the hard questions they are facing.
We deeply need this guide for teenagers on the idea of image bearing and its daily application. The target audience is high school and college age readers, though I believe all people would benefit from reading it. The book gives language for moving from “I am what I do” to “I am who and what God says I am.” This is what we should strive to call all teenagers in our lives too: living out the “iconic” life for the glory of God.
Worth It: Following Jesus When Life Feels Complicated by Chris Morphew (The Good Book Company)
This book is an engaging and thoughtful read that speaks directly to the questions and doubts many young people wrestle with. Apologetic in tone, the book aims to help teens understand why God is trustworthy in every area of their lives. Morphew’s writing is both honest and accessible, making deep truths approachable for readers who are still exploring faith. It’s an excellent resource for teenagers who are on the fence about following Jesus—those who may not yet believe but are open and searching for answers.
What I appreciate most about Worth It is how it builds a strong foundation by focusing on who God is and what he’s like. Morphew beautifully unpacks God’s character before moving into how that understanding shapes the way we live. The result is a book that doesn’t just tell teens what to believe but invites them into a relationship with a trustworthy God. It’s a powerful and needed guide for both new believers and those still considering faith, helping them see that following Jesus is not only reasonable—it’s worth it.
Looking for more gospel-centered book resources? Check out the list of Rooted’s own publications, especially the new book Teenagers and Mental Health: A Handbook for Parents, Pastors, and Youth Leaders by Danny Kwon and Monica Kim!
