Giving Up Gimmicks: Reclaiming Youth Ministry From an Entertainment Culture

by Brian H. Cosby

The lights dim ... the smoke rises ... the band starts playing. It's a familiar scene, as youth ministers everywhere use entertaining and trendy approaches to draw in teens. But when the lights come on and the fog clears, what do we find?

Far too many teenagers raised in Christian homes drift away from the church after high school. Why is this true? Could it be because youth groups, in seeking to elevate experience over truth, have left teens dissatisfied and hungry for that truth?

Brian Cosby demonstrates a ministry approach that nurtures teens and brings them back for more--one solidly grounded in Christ and patterned after the means of grace: the Word, sacraments, prayer, service, and community. Learn how much teenagers not only need a deeper ministry, but want one too.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Young Adult, Christian Living, Cultural, Church

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2012

About the author

Brian H. Cosby is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He has written several books including John Bunyan: The Journey of a Pilgrim in the Trailblazers series and continues to write articles for various magazines and journals.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to all those who serve youth, but especially to youth leaders/pastors. I was greatly encouraged and inspired by it!

Chapter 7 in particular was good. Especially where Coby discusses how we have community; what community looks like.

Quotes that struck me as I read:
Ch. 2: WHAT IS A 'MEANS-OF-GRACE' MINISTRY?
"...in an age when youth are busier than ever in sports, Scouts, math clubs, and homework, they are at the same time bored and purposeless." (pg. 28)

"Far too often, youth ministries have become seperate enclaves within a church, rather than functioning alongside and becoming an integral element of the body life of the congregation." (pgs. 28-29)

"Worship according to God's Word combines the heart and mind and ushers [people] into an awestruck wonder of the majesty, beauty, and grace of God in Christ Jesus." (pg. 33)

"Let us preach Christ crucified to our youth and display HIM as the all-satisfying Savior that he is." (pg. 33)

"The once-prized discipline of listening has been left in the dust by a YouTube culture of visual stimulation." (pg. 35)

Ch. 3: MINISTRY OF THE WORD
"John Piper explains in WHEN THE DARKNESS WILL NOT LIFT, 'We find ourselves not energized for any great cause, but always thinking about the way to maximize our leisure and escape pressure.' The great irony of this is that youth are bored BECAUSE they maximize leisure and escape pressure. The easy road of entertainment and the pursuit of the American Dream have left teens still bored and still dreaming." (pgs. 35-36)

"If you, as [the student's] teacher, aren't captured by the text you are about to teach, PLEAD with the Lord to grant you an overwhelming joy and delight for him and his Word." (pg. 40)

"In an age of rampent teen pregnancies, suicides through the roof, and pornographic addictions, we still have the pride to say that hiding God's Word in our hearts has no real benefit." (pg. 42)

"Today's youth take pride in their individualism, yet they are starved for intimate relationship. Their fear of loneliness and rejection finds its answer in the intimate community and fellowship of the Trinity." (pg. 46)

"It is infintely better to have weak faith in One who is strong than to have strong faith in something that is weak. The attempt to display moralism by being nice, good, or generally helpful to other human beings finds its end in Christ, who provides the only true MOTIVATION for doing what is right and pleasing to God." (pg. 47)

Ch. 4: EMPOWERED THROUGH PRAYER
"While prayer is certainly necessary and appropriate in the midst of suffering and pain, our nation has taught teenagers over the years that we really don't need God UNTIL tragedy hits. America's school of prayer has educated our youth that God is nothing more than a divine bellhop. Devoid of sovereign control over the day-to-day events in our lives, all God can do is comfort us and help us out when we experience difficulty." (pg. 50-51)

Ch. 5: NOURISHED IN THE SACRAMENTS
"Youth are being taught about love and relationships, abortion and sexuality, Jesus and the Christian faith, from the big screen and not from the Word of God." (pg. 65)

"In such a visually charged culture, let these visible tokens [the sacraments] of God's grace and love transform the content and method of your life and ministry." (pg. 68-69)

"But if God really and truly builds up our faith and seals his gospel promises afresh upon our hearts, then the Lord's Supper should be an emphasis in what we teach, how we worship, and how we live a life of faith and repentance." (pg. 74)

Ch. 6: SATISFIED BY SERVICE
"Then it hit me: I was the one who was poor and needy. I thought I had it all together and wanted to keep my clean little kingdom intact, but on the inside I was spiritually wanting." (pg. 78)

"Oh, how I pray that America would be purged from its sense of entitlement and that we would cast it at the feet of the One who laid aside all heavenly rights for our sake." (pg. 79)

"Teens ahve been taught by our entertainment-saturated culture, and (all too often) by their parents, to be commited to something only so long as it's popular and makes you happy." (pg. 80)

"Many polls today reveal that the number one goal in life among youth is to be happy." (pg. 82)

"We never move on from the gospel. It should always inform and motivate our serving. Don't be distracted with so much serving that you neglect to sit and learn at the Lord's feet. Jesus' redemptive work should continually shape our desires to such intensity that it translates into serving action." (pg. 86)

Ch. 7 TRANSFORMED THROUGH COMMUNITY
"Over the last fifty years or so, the growth of youth groups in America can be traced proportionally to the decline and breakdown of the family." (pg. 93)

"One of those methods that God has chosen to build his church is the community of faith itself. This believing community is a means of grace whereby God confronts our sin, feeds our faith, transforms our minds, and grows our love." (pg. 96)

"A safe community, on the other hand, recognizes one's weakness and shortcomings and spurs one another on to love and good deeds. Safe community, therefore, involves trust and commitment. Commitment, then, leads to a wonderful gift of God's grace: intimacy." (pg. 100-101)

"[Intimacy] has been reduced to something that happens in a bedroom, rather than a relationship. But intimacy comes as a reward of commitment to one another. It is no wonder that our culture is bankrupt of intimacy in a land of broken relationships." (pg. 101)

"'Confession acknowledges failure, but more important, it admits desire: 'I have failed you, we are divided, and I long to be restored.' Confession remembers a day of intimacy and sees the surrent division in light of what was once a relationship of shalom.'" (pg. 104)

"'A Christian life lived in isolation from other believers will be defective; usually such a believer will remain spiritually immature.'" (pg. 105)

"It is the power of the gospel, applied by the Spirit, which brings true transformation." (pg. 106)

[Wesley Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A straight-forward presbyterian/reformed youth ministry primer. While I differ with his reformed slant on a couple of things, I largely agreed with his thesis that teens need to be fed the meat of wholistic local church engagement. Over-entertainment is a real issue, so exposition of the word, prayer, sacraments, service, and song should be the substantial portion of any youth group.

[Josiah Brus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not love this as much as I wanted to, in large part because it felt unfocused. Cosby’s main point of leaving the entertainment-based scene of youth ministry behind is great, but that takes up a rather small percentage of this book’s time. Mostly, this felt like a book on theology and how the church should run, and then Cosby slapped “Do this with your youth!” at the end of the paragraph. Cosby’s style isn’t particularly bad, but I felt like I could be reading much more well-written and respected books on those topics elsewhere. I enjoyed this most when Cosby stuck to his personal experiences and insights he’s had throughout his years of ministry and is directly applying those to his reader. Certainly not a bad read, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little disapointed.

[Brennan Cook]

A helpful quote:

“Finally, strive to provide a transformative community that is shaped by the gospel, committed to one another, sound in theology, and safe in practice. Lead with a sense of brokenness, allowing the power of Christ to rest upon you (2 Cor 12:9). Risk being vulnerable with one another in order to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Eph 4:15). Strive for personal holiness and gospel unity, to be one even as the son and the Father are one (John 17:21). Let intimate relationships spring forth and the reward of commitment with one another. Relish in the grace and beauty of being known and loved at the same time. Foster an encouraging spirit among your youth that establishes humility and selflessness. And provide them a ministry of sustained discipleship, looking to God who not only began his miraculous work in them, but who will also bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). Community is a means by which God graciously transforms us into the image of his son."

Super helpful book that explains why we need good theology and doctrine in youth!

[Chase Riebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing revolutionary, but reminding myself of what kind of ministry best allows God to sow fruits is a blessing to my soul. This one is best read intermittently when encouragement is most needed.

By God's Spirit, may I lead my students with the ministry of grace into spiritual maturity!

[Alejandro Guillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful book about a very important topic!

[Micah Lugg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strengths
Cosby:
1. Teaches the gospel as taught in the word of God is to be the main emphasis of a youth ministry.
2. Believes that youth should be treated as young adults, not children.
3. Encourages youth ministers to go to the Bible as a model for ministry and not current trends or tactics.

Weaknesses
1. Cosby is a Presbyterian and thus teaches on the sacraments. Even though I am not a Presby myself, I still appreciated some of what he said regarding baptism and the Lord's Supper.
2. His denomination also causes some of the terms and advice hard for me to follow as a nondemnominational Bible church guy.
2. Gives only an overview in this book. He does not go deep into theology, or deep into practical steps.

I liked the book, even though it did not provide me with much new material. It is a good primer of a word-centered youth ministry and would recommend it to parents, pastors, and youth pastors who want an introduction to a gospel-focused ministry.

[Adam McKinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Reformed perspective on youth ministry. Cosby advocates "5 points" of ministry: The Word, Prayer, The Sacraments, Service, and Community. He also provides a compelling (though he's preaching to the choir here) criticism of contemporary "gimmick"/entertainment youth ministry culture. By far the most helpful book I've read explicitly dedicated to youth ministry thus far- from a 1000 foot view and with some practical advice throughout too. Would recommend anyone dealing with youth in the church read it.

[Justin McLarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokes, what a rebuke. What an encouragement. This is a fantastically written book from someone who has clearly been in Student ministries for a long time. Calls out exactly what needs to be called out. I am not Presbyterian, but I am reformed. Youth pastor at a non-denominational church (pretty much a baptist with a cool website:) so there was some things said that is clearly not in my tradition, but when it came to ministering the gospel to youth, wow, nailed it.

[Will Standridge, II · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. He gave a really good introduction to “giving up gimmicks” in youth ministry. He’s very clear on the gospel and presents a compelling biblical vision for youth ministry. The book did lack occasionally in explaining how exactly to implement the theory—but some of that was fairly self-explanatory if you’re going for a simple, preaching centered youth ministry. A great resource.

[Caleb Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. Biggest beef: Cosby outlines a robust vision for youth ministry, but practically, the vision doesn’t have much of a place for the local church. He doesn’t say that. In fact, he argues for the importance of the church. But practically, what he encourages the youth ministry to do covers most of the discipleship bases.

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in full agreement with the main emphasis of this book: every ministry of the church (including youth ministry) should draw on God’s ordained means for growth in grace. I was left wishing for further development and depth with this emphasis. This might be a good place to start but other sources will be needed to round out and strengthen the application of these ideas.

[Brian Algie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reminders of a means of grace youth ministry that is committed to seeing them grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Practical things to consider and reflect upon for the youth in your congregation.

[Isaac Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and Insightful: fit all context

Balanced biblical teaching and helpful to all current and prospective youth minister.
Good for all context
Address youth-ministry problems!
Peace

[James Heard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing revolutionary in this book, but a good reminder. Classic, Reformed view of “means of grace” ministry applied to youth ministry.

Would be excellent for giving to younger interns or volunteers to work through together.

[Collin Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Presses his Presbyterian theology a lot. I was discouraged at his lack of youth integration into the local church with older saints as a biblical model. He seemed to keep youth ministry separate too much. Practically helpful though!

[Joseph Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, but more preachy than it needed to be. Also failed to provide practical applications where needed, which is why most theological YM resources fall flat. It was written with a good intent, but not a great plan.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Anyone who is in or considering youth ministry and is tired of the entertainment driven philosophy of reaching youth need to read this book.

[Maksim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of solid practical advice

[Bradley Blaylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book.

[Melissa]

Goodreads

[Ryan Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book for someone in their first year of student ministry! It’s very practical and offers good foundations for ministry. Good nuggets of wisdom.

[Siarra Arthaud]

I'm assuming this isn't the last book I finish at 2 a.m. in the months to come:)

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian H. Cosby’s book, Giving up Gimmicks: Reclaiming Youth Ministry from an Entertainment Culture, is a welcome read for anyone who has been frustrated by efforts to reproduce certain models of youth ministry. After describing some of the failures of models that rely primarily on certain broadly appealing methods, Cosby offers his own model as an alternative to chasing the latest and greatest fad for “effective” youth ministry. Foundationally speaking, Cosby’s model ditches activities that are designed first and foremost to entertain youth in favor of “means of grace.” This is not to say that there is no place for entertaining activities in his model but they are not foundational but the means of grace are. These means of grace are the word, the sacraments, prayer, service, and community. In short, you use the exact same means that you would use for “grown ups.” The value of using these means is that they are first of all, clearly given in Scripture and also there is a long history of their edification of the church.
As I think about this book in light of the course content, the three things that most strongly come to mind are the principles, methods, and goals of ministry to the emerging generation. Cosby is on to something solid when he approaches the problem of the entertainment culture of youth ministry by recognizing that it does not work through means of grace. Pizza parties, iPod giveaways, video games, and smoke and lights spectacles are often used in the place of substantive Gospel proclamation and challenge. The result is that there is no lasting reason offered to be a part of Christ’s church and people go to a church as long as it entertains them. As soon as something more entertaining comes along they will leave, as many do as soon as they go off to college or otherwise away from their homes. However, the means of grace offer multiple occasions by which participants can hear, see, and otherwise experience the grace of Jesus Christ. Cosby begins with the broad goal of any ministry, which is to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. The method he offers is what he calls a “holistic means of grace methodology” (22).
Looking forward from this book for future application, I see tremendous benefit to be gained in practicing Cosby’s method. One of the chief factors that impresses is the combination of the clearly defined biblical principles and precedents exercised in the method combined with the likewise clearly biblically defined goals of integrating youth into the broader life of the church with the intent to carry the faith on in future generations. In particular, the importance of teaching the importance of the sacraments resonated with me. Having been raised Catholic, I remain sensitive to doing things at church with out providing regular explanation as to what is happening, what is signified, and why we do it or what the benefit is for participation. Cosby’s method seems to encourage dealing with the sacraments regularly in such a way that it would be more difficult for a student miss what is going on in those events and therefore could stand to be greatly encouraged in their spiritual development.
Also, Cosby’s method further confirmed my sense from my own involvement in youth ministry that prayer, service, and community are not just nice things to have alongside teaching of God’s word but are actually integral to spiritual nurture. The beauty of these elements alongside the teaching of the word is that they require dynamic participation where as with the teaching of God’s word, more often than not in our culture, the teacher relays the material and the hearer passively receives the material and can interact with it on a purely individual basis. While prayer can be done individually, it can also be done corporately within the community and I would venture to say that service and community are only realized in the interaction with people around us.

[Paul Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Crosby, author and experienced youth minister, has an idea which to some in youth ministry will be as common sense as putting your pants on before your shoes, but to others his idea of God-honoring and effective youth ministry will be radical and revolutionary. Giving Up Gimmicks, according to Crosby, “is not designed to be an exhaustive manual, but rather an approach to leading and nurturing teenagers by ushering them unto the green pastures of God’s transformative grace.”

Crosby’s approach is simple, “God has given to the church means by which he communicates his steadfast, committed love and grace to his people. God uses these ‘means of grace’ for saving his elect, nurturing their faith, and applying the benefits of Christ’s redemption to their lives.” There are five of these means of grace, according to Mr. Crosby, which God uses to build up his church, and they are: the Word, Prayer, the Sacraments, Service, and Community. Where his understanding of the role of these means of grace may seem so revolutionary to some is that Crosby believes that these means of grace are not only given to the adult believers in the church, but to the youth as well. If we believe that God has given the church his Word, prayer, the sacraments, service, and community as instruments of his special grace then we fail in our duties as parents, youth leaders, and pastors if we do not use them to engage the hearts and minds of our youth.

Our youth are not starved for entertainment. Even the most diligent youth leader, who’s goal is to maximize the entertainment value of the youth group meetings will find himself constantly involved in a frantic search for something to out-do what was done at last weeks meeting. If he fails to do so on a regular basis the teenagers will drift away, or so he thinks. But even if they don’t drift away what impact will all those gross games and slapstick have on the lives of our young people? What our youth are so often starved for is not more entertainment; it is the clear preaching of the Gospel and a clear display of what it means to live in a sin-cursed world as a devoted follower of Christ.

With each of these five means of grace Crosby does an excellent job giving a brief explanation of what they are and why they are so vital to healthy youth ministry, as well as providing for the reader many youth-specific applications of these means of grace. There is a balance to his approach which stresses not only the importance of teaching these things, but also in living them out in front of your students.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone wanting a well thought out and clearly articulated approach to student ministry, which is rooted in God’s Word and motivated by a desire to see teenagers become life-long servants of their Savior.

[Jonathan Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems youth ministries are a couple steps behind church culture with what works and what doesn't. This is especially evident in youth ministries are seeking the entertainment model which the church as a whole exploited in the 90's. It became all about programs and entertainment, while offering little in teaching biblically based ideas and doctrines. Now, some churches are going back to a simpler way of doing ministry, and many of the growing churches are "reverting" to teaching doctrine and getting back to the roots of theology and the Bible (i.e. some contemporary Reformed movements).
Unfortunately, many youth ministries still haven't adopted this style of ministry. Many are competing with culture to present the gospel in a way to draw teens to church, but give no substance in what's being taught. Offering bigger and better without biblical teaching is no more than a spiritual bait and switch. Brian Cosby offers some basic fundamentals to change the philosophy of ministry for youth workers. He gives practical examples, scriptural basis, and sound reasoning to the reader.
While this should be a primer for anyone new to youth ministry, the "veteran" youth worker who is already aware of this trend (and probably fallen to it at some point in their ministry!) will probably find little to take away.
It has excellent content, but I wish this book wasn't even needed. Youth ministry (and the evangelical church as a whole) needs an ecclesiological enema to get it away from simple entertainment. Youth ministry needs to be based in teaching Bible and doctrine to teens,
1. because they have questions and the Bible has answers
2. culture has challenges to their faith and sound doctrine provides truth
3. gimmicks work to get teens in, but offer no depth.

[Joe Valenti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this book half way through. The view of youth ministry is poor and it takes too much responsibility off of the youth pastor. Yes, God has called us to be faithful, BUT he has also called us to be fruitful. Sitting back and waiting for God to be faithful is not what is required of us - this is called being lazy.

I am not a proponent of the seeker-friendly "whiz-bang" ministry. I am fully devoted to spiritual strength over sheer numbers. However, numbers are a guage that we must use. If you are growing students to be passionate disciples, other students will be coming to Christ and joining your ranks.

As new students come, we must make the service attractive to them. A means of grace ministry is very abnormal to an un-churched student and will often scare them away.

We must pair our culture with solid discipleship.

[Nathan Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crosby's approach is a healthy and needed corrective to many entertainment-based models of youth ministry. He correctly centers youth ministry on the gospel. A few concerns I have with the book:
- The lack of conversation about the role of parents in our ministries. Except for Appendix B, there is little conversation about partnering with parents as they are the primary disciple makers.
- There probably should have been a conversation about whether a gospel-centered approach and attractional events can co-exist. I don't see them as being mutually exclusive and the premise of many of his insights are that "the students want," which is attractional in nature.
- From a Presbyterian orientation, Cosby presents a slightly different perspective of the sacraments.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Cosby presents a solid philosophy of youth ministry. Youth ministry should be gospel-centered. In each chapter, Cosby outlines another component of youth ministry that ought to come from its gospel core. Prayer, sacraments, service, discipleship, and Bible teaching are all part of a youth ministry that glorifies God.

This is a quick read full of good reminders and perhaps, for some, new insight.

[Gavin Breeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a must-read for anyone doing youth ministry. For those operating from a Reformed background much of this will be familiar-- but it's still a good reminder-- as Cosby argues for a means-of-grace driven youth ministry over an entertainment-driven youth ministry. The book is theological, biblical, straightforward, and includes some very helpful practical tips.