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 editors at submissions@rootedministry.com.
Gospel-Centered
What Jesus’s Death and Resurrection Mean for Our Sanctification by Andreas J. Köstenberger (Crossway)
But there is more. Between our past gift of salvation and our future destiny of heaven lies a life lived on this earth as Christ-followers pursuing his mission and being conformed to Christ’s image in sanctification. As Paul teaches, believers are united with Christ in his death and resurrection, which makes our sanctification possible. Our union with Christ is a central plank in New Testament teaching. We are “in Christ” (Eph. 1:1, 4, 11, 13).
Building Authentic Presence in Urban Communities with Patrick Sauer (The Kickback Podcast)
In this engaging conversation, Jordan Francis interviews Patrick Sauer about his journey in inner city ministry, the unique challenges and beauty of Lansing, and the importance of authentic presence and humility in community work. They explore systemic issues, racial dynamics, and how God’s work manifests in urban environments, offering valuable insights for youth workers and community leaders.
Stop Telling Teens to ‘Make Their Faith Their Own’ by John Zacchio Jr. (TGC)
Rather than calling kids to make their faith their own, let’s call them to respond to Christ, the author and finisher of their faith (Heb. 12:2). Once they find refuge in the comforts of the gospel, we can point them to the law as their guide and “kind advisor.”
Bonus Resource:
A Youthworker’s Prayer For Strength by Walt Mueller (CPYU)
Some might think it strange and unusual that a prayer based on Puritan writings could grab so much of what we need to be praying for ourselves as we follow our calling to minister to students in the 21st century.
Partnering with Parents
Anxious For Nothing with Trip Lee (Southside Rabbi Podcast)
Jesus never said life would be found in the abundance of things—only in the abundance of God’s grace. Through gratitude and thanksgiving, remembering God’s faithfulness, and recalibrating our perspective through Scripture, anxiety begins to lose its grip. In a world constantly telling us what we lack, the squad calls believers back to the deeper riches of contentment, trust, and godliness rooted in the goodness of God.
Small Investments, Big Returns by J.V. Fesko (Reformed Theology)
I try to remind myself that we must be willing to invest in my children’s lives and interests—even in the seemingly trivial things. We have to build a base of trust and interest with them in these little things so that when they come to us with bigger questions about life, they’ll know that we will be interested and will talk with them about them.
5 Ways to Care for Divorced People in Your Church by Linda Seabrook (TGC)
My first Sunday at church as a single mother was the hardest of my life. I cried through the songs. I sat numbly through the sermon. I bolted out the door at the benediction. But I returned, week after week, believing that church was the best place to be. Thankfully, I was right.
Youth Culture
What’s the Point of Education in an Age of AI? by Carrie McKean (Christianity Today)
Why trudge along, memorizing names and dates and vocab words, just to compete against AI cheating? Why aspire to a particular vocation if you’ve been told it’ll soon be done more efficiently and affordably by a computer named Claude or a humanoid named Plato? …Why try if nothing matters? American teenagers are getting a crash course in nihilism, and their apathy is a rational response to a demoralizing situation.
How Churches and Parents Can Help Teens Struggling with Mental Health by Monica Kim and Danny Kwon (New Growth Press)
…modern teens are growing up in a culture marked by heightened stress, exposure to violence in distinct ways (such as school shootings and threats of school shootings), and confusion surrounding issues of sexuality and gender. On top of that, the pervasive and easily accessible influence of social media has multiplied experiences of bullying and intensified feelings of isolation, loneliness, comparison, and diminished self-worth. All these factors together create a perfect storm that makes it harder than ever for teenagers to go through life without experiencing significant anxiety, stress, or depression.
Ministry Skills
How to Prepare and Plan a Youth Missions Trip by John Wiley (Youth Pastor Theologian)
A great question to ask in planning is this: how your group can help the local church on the mission field? Successful missions trips are not attempting to travel to another country for evangelism, divorced from any local church connection point. You are not spiritual paratroopers. The vehicle God has ordained for disciple-making is the local church, so striving to assist the local church is primary.
Don’t Let Your Teens Build Their Opinions in the Dark by Katy Morgan (The Good Book Blog)
It’s worth saying that these kinds of conversations also provide us as adults with a joyous opportunity to think about these things again for ourselves. There are some aspects of Christian apologetics that I haven’t thought about since I was a student ten years ago, or even before then. But they are worth thinking about—since I myself don’t want an unthinking, unreflective faith. I want to believe what’s true, and I’ll be surer of what is true if I’m forced to think about it. It’s challenging, but it’s good for me to have to grapple with hard things and not just shove them under the carpet. It’ll help me love the Lord more in the end.
Rooted’s Two Most-Read of March
Three Strategies for Teaching Digital Discernment to Teenagers by Alexis Andre
Teenagers often seek comfort, joy, connection, and identity through the virtual world. But helping them learn discernment with social media can move them to meet such needs through their relationship with God.
Why Youth Ministry Needs Seasoned Saints by Katharine Rose
Our seasoned saints have a unique opportunity to offer what no trend, platform, or program can: lives that bear witness to God’s long-term faithfulness.
In Case You Missed It (Rooted’s March Honorable Mention)
Keeping the Preeminent Things Preeminent in Youth Ministry by Huey Lee
When youth ministry is tethered to the wider church, students begin to experience that their faith is not just for a brief season. It is participation in the life of Christ’s body, which is the church.
