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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ah, the missions trip. Whether across the city or across the globe, it can seem daunting to the inexperienced or the unprepared. But with Mission Trips From Start To Finish, you'll find expert advice to make planning and executing yours as simple as possible. This practical tool is designed to guide first-time trip planners step-by-step, while also providing old pros with a host of tools to be used over and over again. It'll save you time, headaches, and possibly legal and law enforcement trouble! Prison ministry, anyone?

It seems like no matter how good the economy is, there's never enough money in the youth budget. That’s why $5 Youth Ministry is packed cover to cover with effective, easy-to-implement ideas--that all cost about $5 or less. And most importantly, this book goes beyond just icebreakers and games--every page is written to help build and grow relational youth ministry.

By Joshua Griffin

The best coaches, the most effective teachers, and the strongest leaders all know this truth: If you want to build something that endures, you have to start with the basics.

That idea applies to our spiritual journey, too. The Basics will help students explore, discuss, and apply some of the core truths of the Christian faith. The truths in this series aren't called "basic" because they're childish or simplistic; they're "basic" because they're foundational and essential to leading a life that honors God.

Each week, your teenagers will explore key Scriptures that relate to these topics, discuss the significance of each biblical truth, and consider how it relates to their lives today.

Parents are the biggest influence on the lives of teenagers—a fact that research has proved again and again. Yet interactions with parents can be one of the trickiest areas for a youth worker to navigate well. Great youth ministries are passionate about helping parents—the key influence on teenage faith—succeed in their God-given roles. That’s the foundational message of The Skinny on Parents, which will lead you toward a place where you focus a little bit more of your energy on resourcing, equipping, partnering with, and empowering parents.

By Tony Myles with Doug Franklin

Take a look around at the brokenness in this world and its spiritual poverty. Jesus wants to change all of that, and he’'s looking for teenagers who want that change to start in them. Youth worker, that’s where you come in! When your students serve others, they'’re serving Jesus. Serving helps teenagers draw closer to Jesus and become more like him. And serving creates opportunities to talk about Jesus and share his amazing good news. Ultimately, every act of genuine Christian service points to Jesus'’ ultimate act of service on the cross.

The Skinny on Service unpacks the powerful reasons why it’'s important for you and your students to serve others, but you'’ll also get page after page of practical ideas on how to serve. You'’ll be equipped to help teenagers discover the joy of serving faithfully “before,” even if they don’'t personally get to see the fruit "after."

By Johnny Scott with Jacqueline Pierre

Ever heard a teenager complain that the Bible is boring, irrelevant, or outdated? Looking for a tool to engage students in building a lifelong habit of reading, studying, and following God's Word?

Help teenagers explore the life-giving richness of God's Word with this DVD-based curriculum from Johnny Scott, Christ In Youth's junior high program director, and teenage author and speaker Jacqueline Pierre.

Each session features a teaching segment filmed on location overseas, helping your students visually experience the history and richness of God's Word.

This highly experiential study uses narration, conversation, and art to relate a powerful overview of God's big story--as revealed in the Bible! Teenagers will explore how this dynamic assortment of ancient books is interlinked, purposeful, and part of an ongoing adventure. They'll gain a better understanding of God's dealings with people throughout the history of the world--from Creation to the present, and into the future. To help them grasp the "big picture," teens will design a mural and add to it each week, developing a panoramic view of God's story. They'll see how they're part of His story, how their roots go back to Creation, and that their future can be in the New Creation. Great for young adult small groups!

By Chad Monahan and Kurt Johnston

Stories can entertain and amuse. Stories can enlighten and inform. But in the hands of Jesus, stories can turn lives upside down.

That’s what junior highers will discover as youth workers lead them through Upside Down. This video-based, conversation-driven series can be a powerful tool for turning students'’ worlds upside down--—and for helping them see that upside down is way better than right-side up.

Jesus’ parables were earthly stories with a heavenly meaning, and one reason they remain so powerful today is because of how Jesus surprised his audience--—and surprises us. We think we know the story'’s point and how things will resolve--—but then Jesus flips things upside down. It isn'’t what we expected.