Five Practices of Fruitful Youth Ministry: A Youth Leader's Guide
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About this ebook
Lead youth to live radically, passionately, intentionally, extravagantly—taking risks to become fruitful disciples of Jesus.
These ten ready-to-use sessions teach the fundamentals of Christian living. Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission, and Extravagant Generosity--these five practices, designed to shape both heart and mind, will help youth grow in their discipleship as they transform the world.
Features:
2 ready-to-use interactive sessions for each practice
Reproducible pages
Scripture references
Suggestions for discussion
Questions for reflection
Planning helps
Tried-and-true activities from youth groups across the country
Robert Schnase is Bishop of the Missouri Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and bestselling author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.
Terry B. Carty is Director of The Youthworker Movement.
Bishop Robert Schnase
Robert Schnase is bishop of the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church. Schnase is the author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, a best-selling book on congregational ministry that has ignited a common interest among churches and their leaders around its themes of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. Five Practices has reached a global community with translations in Korean, Spanish, Russian, Hungarian, and German. Robert is also the author of Just Say Yes!, Receiving God's Love, Remember the Future, Five Practices of Fruitful Living, and others.
Read more from Bishop Robert Schnase
Practicing Extravagant Generosity: Daily Readings on the Grace of Giving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Five Practices of Fruitful Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations: Revised and Updated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourney in the Wilderness: New Life for Mainline Churches Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Levers: Missional Strategies for Conferences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCultivating Fruitfulness: Five Weeks of Prayer and Practice for Congregations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Say Yes!: Unleashing People for Ministry Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Forty Days of Fruitful Living: Practicing a Life of Grace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJust Say Yes! Devotional: Unleashing People for Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJust Say Yes! Leader Guide: Unleashing People for Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJust Say Yes! Participant Guide: Unleashing People for Ministry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Book preview
Five Practices of Fruitful Youth Ministry - Bishop Robert Schnase
Robert Schnase
Terry B. Carty
A B I N G D O N P R E S S
N a s h v i l l e
FIVE PRACTICES OF FRUITFUL YOUTH MINISTRY
A YOUTH LEADER'S GUIDE
Copyright © 2009 by Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801 or permissions@abingdonpress.com.
Permission is granted to duplicate pages for local church use, provided that the following credit line is used on each page reproduced: Five Practices of Fruitful Youth Ministry: A Youth Leader's Guide, by Robert Schnase and Terry B. Carty, copyright © 2009 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schnase, Robert, 1957–
Five practices of fruitful youth ministry / Robert Schnase and Terry B. Carty.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-687-65776-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Christian life. 2. Youth—Religious life. 3. Church work with youth. I. Carty, Terry B. II. Title.
BV4501.3.S354 2009
259'.23—dc22
2009011013
Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Image3Introduction
Session 1: Radical Hospitality
Session 2: Living Radical Hospitality
Session 3: Passionate Worship
Session 4: Living Passionate Worship
Session 5: Intentional Faith Development
Session 6: Living Intentional Faith Development
Session 7: Risk-Taking Mission and Service
Session 8: Living Risk-Taking Mission and Service
Session 9: Extravagant Generosity
Session 10: Living Extravagant Generosity
Contributors
Image4Jesus' ministry was radical, passionate, intentional, risk-taking, and extravagant. With each parable, encounter, story, and event of his life, Jesus invites us to move out of our comfort zones to follow him into new ways of loving God, serving others, and changing the world. Following Christ takes us on the greatest adventure of our lives.
Vibrant, fruitful, growing youth ministries are a dynamic part of fruitful congregations. As life-giving expressions of the body of Christ, youth ministries repeat and deepen the core practices that characterize all mission-driven faith communities. They practice Radical Hospitality, offering the invitation and embrace of God's gracious love and creating a sense of belonging for youth new to the faith. They practice Passionate Worship, helping people connect with God and providing worship that allows God to change hearts and minds so that we can better see the world through God's eyes. They practice Intentional Faith Development, offering Bible studies and group experiences where youth can grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God. They practice Risk-Taking Mission and Service to provide channels to help youth make a real difference in the lives of others, stretching them to put love into action with those in need. And they foster Extravagant Generosity, the practice of giving back in ways that enlarge the giver's soul and sustain the ministry of Christ. Youth ministries that repeat, expand, and deepen these practices form Christian disciples who change the world for the purposes of Christ.
Watch little league baseball players practice before their games. What do they do? They practice scooping up grounders, catching pop-ups, throwing the ball, and batting. Now watch major league professional baseball players who are at the top of their careers. What do they do before the game? They practice scooping up grounders, catching popups, throwing the ball, and batting. The Five Practices of fruitful youth ministry are not characteristics or qualities that some youth groups have and others don't. They apply to youth groups of all sizes. They are true and helpful for youth whether they are in rural, urban, or suburban churches.
The Five Practices are the fundamental activities that are so critical to the formation and growth of all faith communities, including youth ministries, that failure to perform them in an exemplary way leads to decline. Inviting and welcoming others, prayer and worship, Bible study and learning the faith, serving others, and giving back—these are essential elements for youth leaders to teach, model, and develop.
HERE'S HOW LEADERS CAN USE THIS BOOK
First, prepare your own mind and heart for the lessons, discussions, and activities. Read the material. Look up the scriptures. Think about the life and practice of your own youth ministry. Begin with a positive attitude rather than with a focus on the weaknesses or shortcomings of your youth group. If you want a more thorough understanding of the practices, read Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.
Second, lead honest, positive conversations with youth. Help them evaluate and reflect on their own practices. Put them in the shoes of newcomers so they look at the practices as outsiders as well as insiders.
Third, let the youth generate ideas about how they would like to see their ministry become fruitful. Talk up these ideas and take notes on them. Stimulate creativity as your youth start thinking how they can invite and welcome, worship and pray, study and grow, serve and give. As they come up with possible activities, take a few and follow through with them. Remember, practicing is the point—actually doing ministry.
Fourth, the secret is in the adjectives. The practices are the traditional