Welcome to Rooted’s Top Ten, a curated reading list for youth ministers. Each month we find ten articles, and sometimes videos or podcasts, from various sources that we believe will encourage you in your ministry to teenagers and their families. Some give explicit instruction on gospel-centered ministry, while others are included because there is a message of common grace that is helpful to youth workers. (The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the position of Rooted.) For more articles to share with the parents in your ministry, make sure to check out our Parent Top Ten, which runs every-other month.
If you find an article that could educate, equip, or encourage the Rooted community, please email the editor at chelsea@rootedministry.com.
Our editors present our Top Ten of 2025, representing some of the best resources on the Top Ten list throughout the past year. These resources are still relevant for the year ahead.
To Consider for Youth Ministry in 2026
How to Teach the Bible by Mike McGarry (Youth Pastor Theologian)
“Good teachers care about their listeners. And good youth pastors love their teenagers. The absolute best way for you to love your students well is to lead them to Jesus, which also happens to be the reason why God has given us the Bible! Keep the Bible front and center in your ministry.”
Don’t Assume Biblically Literate Students Are Doing Fine by Ashley Gibson (TGC)
Scripture is clear that proximity to the things of God doesn’t always mean someone is walking closely with him—and when we mistake familiarity for faith, we can fall into several dangerous traps.
Bring Back Screen-Free Sunday School by Kaz Hayashi (Christianity Today)
When children’s ministries increasingly depend on digital content for worship, teaching, and prayer at church, we must ask whether we are helping children experience and follow Christ. While children’s ministry curricula with video content certainly offer convenience and ease, we should not overlook the significant shortcomings churches can experience when they completely depend on videos for Sunday school.
To Share with Parents in Your Church
How Forgiveness Displays the Gospel to Our Kids by Haley Satrom (Biblical Counseling Coalition)
“As parents, we have the unique privilege to share God’s amazing love with our kids. Since God especially shows His love to us by forgiving our sin, we can reflect His love to our children as we exhibit similar mercy and grace (Eph. 2:4-5).”
Where the Magic Doesn’t Happen by Andy Crouch (After Babel)
The more I have pondered these matters, the more convinced I am that our own family’s decision to have no screens of any kind available to our children before double digits robbed them of absolutely nothing they needed and protected them from much that would have actively harmed their growth as persons. Of course, the reason small children are given screens is rarely because they ask for them—what small children ask for, to an overwhelming and exhausting extent, is our personal attention. We give children screens—at home and school, and maybe at church as well—mostly not to solve their problem, but to solve adults’ problems.
Taking the Long View Revolutionized My Parenting by Laura Spaulding (TGC)
Two decades and four children later, here’s what I’d love to go back and tell myself: Pay more attention to the baby in your arms than to today’s parenting trends. Treasure moments more than tracking them. And look again at the call in Proverbs 22:6 to “train up a child in the way he should go” not as a reason for guilt, nor as another feel-good meme, but as a gracious invitation.
To Share with Church Leaders
When Faith Feels Too Light: What Evangelicals Can Learn from Youth Turning Elsewhere (Growing Young Disciples)
But here is the hopeful twist: young people are not disinterested in God. Far from it. They are spiritually hungry, and they are telling us something vital about what they long for. Their exodus from evangelical churches is not a rejection of the sacred but a search for the sacred in its fullest expression.
Why Cross-Cultural Ministry Matters More Than Ever by Phillip Hunt (Zambia Hunt)
Cross-cultural ministry is not a specialized task reserved for a few. It is essential for every church that wants to be faithful to Christ’s Great Commission in a globalized world. Our world has become so globalized that the nations are no longer far away; they are living next door.
To Encourage Your Soul
Holy Leisure in an Age of Hollow Rest by Cara Ray (Gospel Centered Discipleship)
While we’re entertained by funny videos, latest trends, and the news, too much infotainment leaves us feeling restless, not restful. The system is designed to capture our attention and affection, but by the time we put the phone away, we often feel more anxious, unsatisfied, and disgusted. This hollow form of leisure promises one thing but delivers another, leaving us to wonder if there’s a better, more satisfying way to find the rest our hearts long for.
7 Lessons from a Former Youth Pastor by Yuta Seki (Youth Pastor Theologian)
If I were to guess what a parent is concerned about with respect to youth ministry, it would be three things: 1. the safety of their children; 2. the spiritual input their child is receiving; and 3. the organized and competent administration of the youth ministry. If administration is not your strong suit, then get others to help you in this area.
