Ministry is such a rewarding experience, but why does it create so much strain on marriages?

Jake and Melissa Kircher have learned some valuable lessons (often the hard way!) about building a healthy marriage amid the demands of ministry. They aren't perfect, but they've matured individually and as a couple because of each mess, problem, heartache, and obstacle they've encountered. They understand your struggles and frustrations, because they're their struggles and frustrations, too.

99 Thoughts on Marriage & Ministry will help you discover advice, wisdom, and insight in five core areas.

Few teenagers think of slavery as a modern-day issue. It's something they read about in history books-a painful, troubling chapter from the past. Unfortunately, slavery remains a 21st century reality in the form of sex trafficking. Around our world, people are bought and sold as if they were commodities.

Baht is a documentary that exposes this issue through the real-life story of Sophea. She's a young Cambodian woman fighting to rebuild her life after being deceived by someone she trusted and forced into prostitution. This documentary was made with the goal of informing people and spurring them to fight injustices-in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, as well as in their own communities.

Having conversations with teenagers is a challenge. Having meaningful conversations with teenagers can feel impossible at times!

Drawing on her experience as a mom, ministry founder, and Life Purpose Coach®, Dr. Katie Brazelton offers insights and wisdom in How Your Teenager is Wired on understanding how teenagers are wonderfully and uniquely created-and how to transform that understanding into dynamic conversations about who they are, how God wired them, and where their lives are headed.

Is criticism inevitable in life?

Maybe you've asked that question because you're tired of the relentless, nagging voice in your head saying you should quit, or you're inadequate, or your shortcomings are what people will remember most about you. Perhaps you're simply discouraged, frustrated, burned out, or isolated because of the criticism you've endured.

This book is for you.

Every time you walk out of your senior pastor’s office, you leave with a sense of bewilderment and confusion. “Did I just waste the last hour? Did he really hear what’s going on with our students? Is youth ministry really a priority for this guy?”

Unfortunately, you aren’t alone. When it works, the relationship between a youth pastor and senior pastor opens the door to dynamic ministry in the local church. But when that relationship is weak, damaged, or broken, it can create an environment that breeds frustration, dissension, and burnout.

And in far too many churches, that relationship is weak, damaged, or broken. Trust, respect, and sacrifice don’t happen when we aren’t on the same page. Doug writes directly to you as a youth pastor, offering his encouragement and wisdom.

By Johnny Scott

Imagine sitting on a hillside in ancient Palestine as Jesus taught you and thousands of other people. But instead of hearing the predictable words that other religious leaders spoke, you were startled, shocked, amazed to hear this rabbi declaring bold truths with authority.

Veteran youth worker Johnny Scott wants your teenagers to encounter these same bold truths from this same authority, to discover how Jesus challenged his followers with new insights on who God is, what God's kingdom is all about, and how we can interact with God.

Teenagers inherently feel the call to live for something bigger, to do something that makes a difference, to become people who impact the world around them. But many of those same teenagers wonder how they can best respond to that call.

Something Bigger will help your students explore four important decisions that will open the door to God's work in their lives.

Groundbreaking Insights and Fresh Tools for Youth Ministry!

Over 100 Practical Ideas Inside! You'll gain powerful insights and tons of practical ideas to immediately use in your ministry. Includes worship ideas, discussion starters, object lessons, ideas for family activities, outreach, and much more.

A BOOK FOR GIRLS

In some ways, a guy’s mind seems incredible simple. So why are dudes always so confounding, especially to girls?

Luckily, youth pastor extraordinaire Kurt Johnston has spent decades figuring out the brains of teenage boys--—including his own noggin. And with some extra insights from fellow youth worker Katie Edwards, they'’ve crafted a humorous, yet incredibly helpful, handbook on unwrapping the male brain...

Good. Better. Best. As followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to experience all of those things. We hear the good news of Jesus, our lives are better because of God's salvation, and God's plan for us is the best discovery we could ever make.

You can never have enough wisdom, right? And we all know-from our experiences and from our conversations with teenagers-that today's junior highers are inundated with temptations, challenges, and obstacles that can prove overwhelming without a solid, consistent diet of wisdom.

Toss around words like "evangelism" and "witnessing," and watch your teenagers run and hide. Many students are intimidated by the idea of sharing their faith with friends, but Greg Stier is convinced they don't have to be.

In this four-week DVD curriculum, Stier uses his dynamic and edgy delivery style to help teenagers discover both the simplicity and necessity of sharing their faith.

Reach Out will help you as a youth worker effectively address the topic of evangelism and spur your teenagers toward a greater passion for sharing their faith.

Bravely, you agreed to be a chaperone on the trip. Boldly, you sacrificed this weekend for a student retreat. Blindly, you said "yes" before asking for all the details.

How will you survive?

Youth events and retreats don't have to be painful, traumatic, stressful experiences. The Volunteer's Back Pocket Guide to Events & Retreats will show you how to transform from a cautiously committed adult into a fervently focused volunteer who helps teenagers gain the most from these special events.

As you read through 99 Thoughts for Student Leaders, you'll encounter thoughts and ideas that will inspire you, challenge you, cause you to think, and help you develop your creativity. Ultimately, you'll discover the courage to become someone who leads others in making a difference.

Teenagers don’'t strive to be ordinary. They'’re passionate about making a difference and leading lives that matter.

But discerning how to follow God'’s plan in this whole process can be daunting. How do they recognize God'’s call? How do they know if they'’re following God’'s path or their own path?

99 Thoughts on Hearing God'’s Call will help your teenagers on this adventure. Drawing on his own experience as a youth pastor and a staff member at the Christ In Youth ministry, author Johnny Scott will help your students discover how to recognize God'’s leading and how to pursue God'’s specific call on their lives.

Get the inside scoop on leadership with 99 Thoughts on Leading Well and its healthy blend of practical training and insights on personal growth for leaders in youth ministry. Drawing on his years of experience as a staff pastor, Reza Zadeh delivers a mix of challenging, inspiring, and thought-provoking ideas to help you become a more effective leader.

Liesl and Max Oestreicher aren't perfect teenagers, and they're the first to admit it. They get in trouble, they fight with their parents (and each other), and they frustrate their teachers from time to time.

But they do have something that a lot of teenagers really wish they had: a better than average relationship with their parents.

Thoughts on Raising Your Parents is filled with ideas from this sister-and-brother duo on having fun as a family, appreciating why moms and dads do what they do, and finding the best ways to handle arguments and disagreements with your parents. (They'll also divulge a few secrets about rules, independence, and getting permission!)

Picture the scene: You'’re standing on a corner in a college town and see hundreds of students holding red cups. Like those red cups, the people blend in and all look the same. Everyone seems the same on the outside, and you'’re unable to see anything on the inside.

In many ways, this scene represents the challenges you face as you move from high school into young adulthood. You may be going from a relatively sheltered environment to one of full freedom, and that transition can be difficult. Will you conform to the culture around you, or will you pursue a stand-out faith in this fit-in world?

As you read the pages of Bold Parenting, veteran youth worker Lars Rood—a husband and father of three—will challenge you to think more deeply and more clearly about the faith you're responsible for passing on to your children.

By The Jordan Howerton Band

Worship is a foundational component in most youth ministries. But what if you could challenge teenagers to think differently and more deeply about worship? What if you could push the boundaries of their understanding and their definition of what it means to worship God?

The Jordan Howerton Band is passionate about worshipping God—--and about helping young people realize that being a true worshipper means living a life devoted to Jesus.

Do you suffer from evangephobia? When you have opportunities to talk to people about Jesus, does your heart beat faster, do you start to feel queasy, and do your knees and spine become weak?

Here's some good news if you suffer from evangephobia: It's a treatable condition! With a little help, you can discover how to talk about God naturally in normal conversations and learn how to explain the gospel in a clear, compelling way. And you'll discover a passion for reaching your friends with God's good news.

After a few decades in youth ministry, we've realized something--guys and girls are different. And significantly so, at that. So rather than the usual "one message fits all" approach, we've created an extensive 10-week small group curriculum with two paths, each specifically tailored for one gender or the other.
This small group curriculum series will help your students get solid biblical insight on topics ranging from friendships and gossip to peer pressure and sex. Designed to get your students talking about significant and real issues that they face everyday, you'll see your students begin to open up, share their thoughts and feelings, and witness the formation of deep and lasting friendships.

Since your ministry will never run out of guys and girls, we’re helping you out with more small group curriculum designed to tackle issues relevant to each gender--from each gender's point of view.

In Guy Talk Girl Talk 2: The Cure For Cooties, you’'ll get ten weeks of ready-to-use--yet fully customizable--lessons, handouts, promotional materials and more. And while the material is written twice for separate guys and girls groups, the topics are the same for each lesson (like, you'll both study “Temptation” at the same time), just one is geared for guys and the other is geared for girls. This not only saves you tons of time in prep, but it also gives you lots of opportunity for discussion in a mixed group later.

Don't settle for ordinary discussions as you and your students travel to your next mission trip, hang out during a weekend retreat, or simply kick back after a midweek service. Put students on the spot and reap the rewards of fun, unexpected conversations with The Hot Seat: "In the Moment" Discussions, Games, and Activities to Get Your Teenagers Talking.