God is God; You are Not (and this is Good)

God is God; you are not, and this is a very good thing. This basic message, grounded in the comfort offered by Isaiah 40, was a regular refrain early on in my ministry to teenagers. Those three basic…

Youth Ministry as a Modern English Parish

In my family, we have a joke. Every time my wife makes anything with potatoes, I respond at the dinner table with my best nasally tone, “What excellent boiled potatoes – it has been many years since I…

The Unimportance of Being “Cool”

In a recent meeting for our upcoming Summer mission trip, I found myself hesitant to announce that girls were required to wear a one-piece bathing suit, a rule which in the eyes of a teenage girl is essentially…

You Can Sit with Us: Grace for the Mean Girl

This week, Rooted wants to spend some time addressing the “Mean Girl” culture common amongst many middle and high school students. We started the week with counselor Alice Churnock’s educational article, pairing it with an experienced mother’s perspective….

The Top 10: April 2018

Each month Rooted compiles a list of the top ten articles for youth workers from the previous month. Our goal is to provide you with a variety of articles: from longer and more academic type reads, to short…