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reThink: Decide for Yourself: Is Student Ministry Working?
Is student ministry accomplishing what we think it is? Roughly two-thirds of students leave the church after graduation. Baptisms are down. Student pastors are walking away from ministry at startling rates. It s time to rethink student ministry. This book pairs the most up-to-date research available with an overview of a Biblical framework for ministry. It will arm you with facts, Scripture, and real-life ideas that will help you find new ways to involve parents back into the equation and help you escape the busy, bigger-and-better, number-driven model of student ministry.
146 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2012
Steve Wright is onto something here, but beats a dead horse so badly that it looks alive from the twitching of his unrelenting beatdown.
The ratio is about Ten to One: Ten complaints for every One solution. He never stops saying there's a problem with youth ministry. We get it. By chapter four when he offers a way forward, he still keeps hammering that there must be change. This doesn't let up to the final page.
His solution (when he's not whining) is a family-oriented youth ministry that involves parents as the main disciplers of the students. It's a sensible approach -- that is, for an American white suburban church in an upper-class neighborhood. Wright's idealistic tone with endless resources and eager parents feels like most Christian books: written to a hip, young, fresh-faced, white audience. So he ignores bills, the economy, sickness, disorders, crime, and a plethora of childhood issues.
He only acknowledges that youth games and secular media have overtaken young people, or rather rich, white young people. This insensitivity makes Wright's methods a near-fantasy. In the final chapter, when he shares testimonies of parents discipling their kids, I kept thinking that most of these "outings" and "gifts" cost money. More money than the neighborhood I work in.
He has tons of methods. At least four dozen steps. In chapter seven he confesses that all these tips might be overwhelming, so his remedy? More methods.
There's also nothing about multi-ethnic churches where language barriers hinder family involvement. Or high crime areas. Or low income families. Or multi-generational homes. Just a lot of complaining.
Wright obviously cares about student ministry. His heart is in the right place. His idea of a family-oriented youth is both biblical and practical. I was excited to start this book and took away at least several wise nuggets: prayer, communication, planning. I'm sure if I sat down with Wright, he would be able to answer many of my concerns (without complaining).
Yet I can't help feel this is a one-size-fits-none sort of book. A missed opportunity. There is such a thing as constructive criticism, but that poor dead horse eventually needs a burial.
The ratio is about Ten to One: Ten complaints for every One solution. He never stops saying there's a problem with youth ministry. We get it. By chapter four when he offers a way forward, he still keeps hammering that there must be change. This doesn't let up to the final page.
His solution (when he's not whining) is a family-oriented youth ministry that involves parents as the main disciplers of the students. It's a sensible approach -- that is, for an American white suburban church in an upper-class neighborhood. Wright's idealistic tone with endless resources and eager parents feels like most Christian books: written to a hip, young, fresh-faced, white audience. So he ignores bills, the economy, sickness, disorders, crime, and a plethora of childhood issues.
He only acknowledges that youth games and secular media have overtaken young people, or rather rich, white young people. This insensitivity makes Wright's methods a near-fantasy. In the final chapter, when he shares testimonies of parents discipling their kids, I kept thinking that most of these "outings" and "gifts" cost money. More money than the neighborhood I work in.
He has tons of methods. At least four dozen steps. In chapter seven he confesses that all these tips might be overwhelming, so his remedy? More methods.
There's also nothing about multi-ethnic churches where language barriers hinder family involvement. Or high crime areas. Or low income families. Or multi-generational homes. Just a lot of complaining.
Wright obviously cares about student ministry. His heart is in the right place. His idea of a family-oriented youth is both biblical and practical. I was excited to start this book and took away at least several wise nuggets: prayer, communication, planning. I'm sure if I sat down with Wright, he would be able to answer many of my concerns (without complaining).
Yet I can't help feel this is a one-size-fits-none sort of book. A missed opportunity. There is such a thing as constructive criticism, but that poor dead horse eventually needs a burial.
July 27, 2011
Outstanding! Great Biblical theology of youth ministry. I really appreciated the thorough use of scripture and source information. My only problem that is unresolved with the family ministry/parent-led discipleship philosophy, which is becoming increasingly popular, is that there are never satisfactory answers to the questions about youth with unbelieving and uninterested parents. Despite the claims of this, and other, books, many parents are not willing to disciple their children. Many are not even believers, and there is no way to get around that fact. I find that the authors of ReThink never really deal with this. The best they have to say other than "it's in the Bible so you really don't have a choice but to do it this way" is that these students should be paired with families who do participate in the process. With that concern noted, this book really did help me think through some things, and I look forward to applying many of the concepts in the future. I highly recommend it to all church youth workers, even though it seemed a bit idealistic to me.
December 30, 2013
Does youth ministry work? While many students are greatly helped during these years, the overwhelming majority walk away from church as they end high school. Wright argues that traditional models of student ministry are flawed and suggests several key ways of rethinking the process. Wright honestly admits that any transition of existing ministries will be a long and challenging (though ultimately beneficial) task. Nevertheless, this is a much-needed book for student ministers, church leaders, and parents.
June 12, 2012
If I ever have to start or refocus a youth ministry, this along with Jay Strother's chapter in Perspectives on Family Ministry: Three Views will probably be two of my main go-to resources
July 26, 2010
Steve Wright provides helpful statistics concerning the plight of today's youth ministry. He is one of the frontier thinkers and writers in this field right now and this book is a helpful resource for anyone in charge of youth ministry.
January 31, 2011
Good insight into potential drawbacks of age-specific ministry and an important call back to every-member ministry, not seeing youth ministry as a spiritual "drop off" service. Repetitive in the later chapters, and the conclusions drawn from statistical studies are not always cause-effect.
May 14, 2008
even with no kids, this youth ministry book is extremely helpful.
February 10, 2011
An excellent book on re-evaluating what student ministry should be. 25 years overdue.
January 12, 2015
Insightful and practical. Can't miss reading this one if you work with students in any capacity. May not agree with everything, but wrestling through the issues with worth the read.
September 2, 2013
youth min,
April 6, 2015
Read for class. Spring 2015.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews