"Bill Myers has offered a much needed picture of black and white styles of youth ministry. His own style of writing is stunning. The book is so rich in historical reflection and descriptive detail that one cannot avoid being confronted by the urgent issues of race, culture, and social history--all vitally important in shaping ministry." Mary Elizabeth Moore, School of Theology at Claremont

Increasingly, adolescents and young adults in the United States are racially and socioeconomically diverse, while the teaching population remains predominantly white and middle class. Many youth ministry programs that utilize volunteer mentors recruit adults who are ill-equipped to bridge cultural differences and effectively build sustainable relationships with adolescents who come from different backgrounds than their own. College and university campus ministries that are historically white struggle to provide adequate support and mentoring for students who have traditionally not been represented in the college population. Often, mentoring relationships break down over cultural misunderstandings. As educators who come from backgrounds marked by privilege, Katherine Turpin and Anne Carter Walker draw from their experiences in an intentionally culturally diverse youth ministry program to name the challenges and inadequacies of ministry with young people from marginalized communities. Through engaging case studies and vignettes, the authors re-examine the assumptions about youth agency, vocational development, educational practice, and mentoring. Offering concrete guidelines and practices for working effectively across lines of difference, Nurturing Different Dreams invites readers to consider their own cultural assumptions and practices for mentoring adolescents, and assists readers in analyzing and transforming their practices of mentoring young people who come from different communities than their own.

Faith and failure, triumph and travails, hope and hard questions--this is the complex mix facing youth ministry leaders in the black church today. Using Scripture, case Illustrations, anecdotes, best practices, and reflection points, this practical book invites youth leaders, pastors, and parents to participate in exploring hope-filled strategies in three key areas: Youth Ministry Leadership, Youth Ministry Programs and Youth Ministry Support.

In the first textbook of its kind, "Global Youth Ministry" brings together some of the foremost voices in international youth leadership to focus on the theological, theoretical, sociocultural, and historical issues that shape ministry to youth in contexts around the world.

Have you tried all the new youth programs? Have you planned one too many wacky activities? Are you frustrated about the size of the youth group? Here's an approach to ministry that takes youth work seriously. Family-based youth ministry is about adults discipling teens one-on-one and in groups. It is about involving not just the nuclear family but the whole church family--from singles to older adults. More important, it's about incorporating youth into the life of your church. So stop worrying about the size of your youth group or your budget. Mark DeVries's refreshing approach to youth ministry will show you how your church can reach today's teens and how you can keep them involved in the life of the church. Whether you are a parent, a youth pastor or a church member who cares about teens, you will find in this book an entirely different approach to youth ministry that will build mature Christian believers.

For more than two centuries, youth ministries have either strengthened teenagers after a special encounter with God or tried to retain them until such a moment when God shows up. Here veteran youth ministry expert Mark Senter provides the first substantial history of the phenomenon of American Protestant youth ministry. More than a history, this book highlights the evolution of adolescence and adolescent spirituality, outlines three distinct cycles in the history of youth ministry, describes the major shapers of youth ministry over the last century, and helps readers understand trends and changes in youth ministry and their connections to broader church life.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Youth, Emerging Adults, Faith, and Giving" that was published in Religions