Hugo and the Orphaned Teenage Soul

Rooted contributor, Cameron Cole, recently posted this piece on the Mockingbird Blog (an absolute slam dunk gem of a blog for pop culture examples of the Gospel) offering insight into the orphaned teenage soul via the movie, Hugo….

Are Mission Trips Biblical?

The Gospel Coalition has just run a fantastic series contributing to the ongoing debate surrounding the effectiveness and biblical basis for short-term mission trips.  As youth groups everywhere spend their summers on trip after trip, often the crux…

Mike Horton on Ministry to Youth

Mike Horton, whose book Christless Christianity was part of the impetus for Rooted, writes about how “narcicism is unchurching the church” in “Generation Me and Youth Ministry Today” over at the White Horse Inn, and gives some suggestions…

Youth Groups in the Digital Age, Part 2

Our youth ministry at the Church of the Advent has experienced a similar trend in students having little interest in Sunday night large group events. At the same time, we have observed a positive trend in another direction….

Youth Groups in the Digital Age

Nate Birkholz, the assistant pastor for Lakeside Baptist in Grand Rapids, MI, posed this insightful question to the Rooted blog regarding declining attendance at large group and its relationship to social media and the digital age. Dave Wright…

The Evolution Issue, Part 2

Jarett Van Tine continues his article on how to teach our students about biblical creation in a  secular world. Start off with Part 1 here. Let’s examine the principle for determining truth conveyed by many public school science…

The Evolution Issue, Part 1

In Colossians 2:2-4,8 Paul writes – “My goal [in my ministry] is that [Christians] may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they…

Teaching Teenagers

Just because many Christian teenagers don’t have a broad biblical base doesn’t mean they’re not capable of handling significant issues and doctrines; they just need to be brought along with wisdom and care.

We Can Do Better Than “God Loves You”

Several years ago, I noticed a student who had been consistent in Sunday school attendance had abruptly stopped coming to class. With the encouragement of his mother, the student calmly confessed his beef with Sunday school: “I’m tired…