Each month we compile a Top Ten list for youth workers. This list represents ten articles from various sources that we believe will encourage you in your ministry to students 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.) If you find an article that could speak to the Rooted community, please share it in the comment section below.
Gospel-Centered Ministry
How Salvation is Ultimately About God by Jared Wilson (For The Church)
Salvation is for us, of course—God doesn’t need it—but it’s not mainly about us. It is mainly about God.
Any Sin Can Be Forgiven by Marshall Segal (Desiring God)
The Son of God absorbed the wrath of God so that the children of God might be reconciled to God.
Spiritual Disciplines for Dark Days by Christopher Ash (The Gospel Coalition)
It seems clear from the Scriptures that thanksgiving is not a discipline simply for when I feel thankful, but a discipline for dark days as well.
Spiritual Disciplines and the Local Church by Paul Alexander (Radical)
Committed, meaningful membership in a faithful local church is one of the most underrated disciplines.
Partnering with Parents
What to Do When Your Teenager Shuts You Out by Axis
Self-isolation doesn’t always translate to loneliness. Isolation can often mean the opposite: a chance for a healthy teen to take time to themselves to rest, destress, or focus on something important.
Common Barriers to Family Worship by David Murray (Crossway)
Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes it will go badly, but it doesn’t matter. Do it the next day.
The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters – Book Review by Sharon James, TGC
Parents, youth workers, pastors, and teachers would all benefit from reading Irreversible Damage. In accessible journalistic style, Shrier documents a harrowing ideological threat to the well-being of children, women, and families. She concludes her book with seven practical suggestions for parents.
Ministry Skills
Practical Evangelism Tips by Nnanna Okafor (Anchored Passion)
By looking to the examples set by Jesus Christ and saints of the Old and New Testaments, we can learn how to be faithful evangelists to those around us.
Lean Into the Hill by David Mathis (Desiring God)
Once a runner has learned what rewards lie on the other side of a hill, “leaning in” can become the new default, and become an instinct to develop in the rest of life — learning to press through resistance, rather than backing off as a reflex.
5 Reasons to Preach Through 1 John by Conrad Mbewe (9Marks)
With our modern emphasis on justification by faith in evangelical circles, this is a helpful reminder. In salvation, God has not only cleaned our records in heaven by the blood of Christ, but he has also cleaned our hearts on earth by the power of his Spirit.
Rooted’s Two Most-Read of January
Why Teens Compulsively Use Social Media by Rooted
Though social media platforms may trend or tank, the principles remain the same: teens are searching for identity, belonging, affirmation, and community. Let’s show them that they can find everything they need in Jesus. Let’s work to make His local churches places which glorify Him and love them well.
What Do We Tell Our Children About the Storming of the Capitol? by Cameron Cole
Where has the Christian church been as politics have gotten darker and darker? Usually sitting on the bench until it’s in our self-interest as an institution to speak up. The church cannot control the behavior of angry mobs, but it certainly has been a lousy collective prophet in the years leading up to this tragedy. It has mostly abdicated what influence it could exert.
In Case You Missed It (Rooted’s January Honorable Mention)
What Does It Mean to Be Human? A Biblical Response by Kevin Yi
What does it mean to be a human being? Fortunately, as Christians, we not only have a response to this question that is clear, good, and truthful; better yet, we have a biblical anthropology that is deeply beautiful and adorns us with dignity.
