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
Why I Memorize Books of the Bible by Andrew Davis (Desiring God)
Regardless of what we eventually remember, the kind of meditation required for extended memorization will change us. That means no prayerful, meditative Scripture memory is wasted, even if we seem to have forgotten it all (and you won’t forget it all).
The Most Awkward Age: Ministering to Middle Schoolers by Alex Schroeder (Radical)
Don’t set the bar low for your students based on the assumption that they cannot handle sound, verse-by-verse teaching. Instead, honor them and take advantage of their God-given faculties. They can listen, focus, and learn about God through preaching. Honor them by challenging them to grow in their knowledge of God, to deepen their love for God’s Word, and to appreciate the gift of sustained biblical teaching.
God Never Forgets His Promises by Derek Thomas (Ligonier)
This God had accomplished through a variety of actions. Joseph’s descent into slavery, followed by a false accusation of rape resulting in a lengthy imprisonment, spelled his downward spiral to the bottom. His life could hardly have been much worse.
Partnering with Parents
What Teens Need from Parents: A Counselor’s Perspective by Leia Joseph (TGC)
God has created us as relational beings, which means that no matter your children’s temperament, they want you to know them. All students I’ve counseled deeply desire a healthy relationship with their parents. But teen years are hard.
Students, Let’s Invest This Summer Wisely by Anna Claire Noblitt (Radical)
Investing money in the right places leads to profitable returns, and investing time in the right places bears the kind of fruit that matters for eternity. Time, just like money, is a treasure, especially when it is our most abundant resource as young adults.
How to Talk to Skeptical Kids About Heaven by Jenny Manley (TGC)
Instead of shielding kids from the topic, speak openly about saints who have passed from this life—a world peppered with pain and disappointment—into an eternity of endless joy with the Lord. Speak of those saints in the present tense, because they’re in the presence of God and are now more alive than ever.
Ministry Skills
Are We Using Our Relationship Status To Effectively Serve Our Community? by Chinedu Agwu (Our God Given Mission)
The church is so multifaceted, filled with people of different ages, genders, and ethnicities. And whilst we are commissioned to go forth and share the good news of the gospel, we are all called to live in community with fellow believers, sharpening and building one another.
Vulnerability in Christ by Selah Vetter (Anchored Passion)
Being vulnerable with those you walk alongside in Christ enables room for accountability, growth, and love. I believe that one of the most important things we can do as believers is to invest in our relationships within the community of Christ through vulnerability. The more we open up with those we walk in faith with, the more we can be held accountable for our sinful struggles and goals to pursue Christ and His kingdom.
Tips for Students Facing Doubt in the Real World by Michael J. Kruger (Crossway)
As strange as it sounds, there’s a certain spiritual depth, and a certain spiritual strength, that we will never reach without going through an intense season of doubting and struggling. When we push through such a season, we can find ourselves all the stronger on the other side of it.
Pastoral Advice Worth Repeating – Part 4: Invest in Your Ministry Friends by Jordan Wilbanks (For the Church)
Every pastor needs the ministry friend(s) who will kick out the unhealthy pedestal from underneath them, dust them off, and take them to lunch. A transparent and brotherly relationship like this will keep any pastor—any Christian—from some real stupidity (read the Proverbs, for crying out loud).
In Case You Missed It (Rooted’s May Honorable Mention)
He Sympathizes: Christ’s Solidarity in Our Students’ Anxieties by Meredith Dixon
Our students are invited to draw near to the throne through Christ – not when their anxieties are over, but in the midst of the worst of them.
