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 contain 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.
Gospel-Centered
How to Understand and Teach the Gospel of John by Tim Franks (Youth Pastor Theologian)
John’s goal isn’t mere knowledge about Jesus — it’s an invitation to believe in the Son of God and to receive life in his name!
Introducing ‘The Gospel Way Catechism’: A Tool for Spiritual Formation in a Secular Age by Trevin Wax (TGC)
The gospel doesn’t just tell people what’s right and wrong—it tells a better story. Yes, at first, the light may be uncomfortable. But once our eyes adjust, we see that Jesus fulfills our deepest longings in ways we never expected.
To Share with Advocates for Youth Ministry in Your Church
2 Ways Your Church Can Turn the Tide on Youth Ministry Burnout by LaTasha Nesbitt (Fuller Youth Institute)
We quickly learned that youth leaders are exhausted, overwhelmed, and depleted….Youth leaders hold significant roles in the lives of young people. Their impact on the next generation remains critical as they serve as confidantes, mentors, and trusted sources of discipleship and guidance…. If youth leaders aren’t flourishing, the future of the church is not good.
Student Pastors Face Unique Ministry Insecurities by Aaron Earls (LifeWay Research)
In general, the vast majority of student ministers feel they have the support of their churches (96%), believe their roles are seen as essential to the church (93%), can bring their concerns to their senior pastors (89%), and are provided with sufficient financial support for student ministry (83%). Yet around half (52%) chose at least one of 12 options when asked why they may feel insecure in their ministries.
Partnering with Parents
Podcast: How to Answer the Hard Questions Your Kids Ask About God with Champ Thornton (Crossway)
In this episode Champ Thornton addresses some of the challenges that come with answering kids’ hardest questions and how to approach complex topics like faith and salvation with sincerity to best meet the needs of your kids.
Finally, a Tech Book That Doesn’t Pull Punches by Brad East (Christianity Today)
The proposal of The Tech Exit is not that we return to the 1800s or even the 1950s. Morell is asking us to go back to 2005—no iPad, no iPhone, no social media—or at most 1985, right before the first Nintendo console was released in the United States. In other words, Morell is not indulging in agrarian nostalgia. She’s not a reactionary. She wants you to live where you are, when you are, in a home that looks and feels like 2025 in every way—minus digital surfaces. These, for your sake and the sake of your children, you should expel from the home at once. Consider it an act of technological exorcism.
Bonus article: The After Babel Substack offers an excerpt from Morell’s book about how to facilitate a 30-day digital detox in your home this summer.
Youth Culture
Pastoring Parents of Prodigals by Chad Bird (Christianity Today)
You have likely heard similar frustrations from the parents in your congregation. Some of their children no longer believe. Some still believe but don’t attend church. Others are cautious, wounded, and reluctant to re-engage in congregational life again. Their reasons range from the church cozying up with political tribes to disillusionment over issues like the church’s teaching on sexuality. No single narrative fits all.
The Mass Trauma of Porn by Freya India (After Babel)
These days we talk a lot about trauma. We worry about the impact of words, we agonize about our parenting, we inspect every inch of our childhoods. But one trauma being tragically ignored, potentially lasting trauma, changing the minds and souls of children, is porn.
Ministry Skills
Don’t Toss Orthodoxy in the Campfire by Megan Fowler (Christianity Today)
Meredith is right to critique such missteps, excesses, and theological confusion. But camps can do better than her proposed fix of dropping evangelism to teach love without repentance. Church camps can present a bigger vision of the gospel and human flourishing—one that begins with Creation and goes through the Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. Camps can introduce students to the Bible, get them reading it, and help them get plugged into local churches.
When Did Hitler Replace Jesus as the Reference Point for Good and Evil? By Collin Hansen (Crossway)
So who replaced Jesus as the new moral standard? Adolf Hitler. “It is as monstrous to praise him as it would once have been to disparage Jesus,” Ryrie writes. “While Christian imagery, crosses and crucifixes have lost much of their potency in our culture, there is no visceral image which now packs as visceral an emotional punch as a swastika.”
Rooted’s Two Most-Read of June
Two Views on Devices at a Youth Retreat: A Case for Phone-Free Spaces by Jason Engle
“An extended period without devices, coupled with a consistent focus on God’s Word, can help students learn to abide in God’s truth.”
Two Views on Devices at a Youth Retreat: A Case for Allowing Phones by Isaiah Marshall
“Jesus came to set us free from the things we depend on that have no power to save us.”
In Case You Missed It (Rooted’s June Honorable Mention)
The Family of God: Serving as Brothers and Sisters by Liz Edrington
If you are a man serving in ministry alongside women, your brotherhood has the potential to be far more redemptive than you may realize. It can impact not only the people you’re serving, but also the people you’re serving with.
