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Student Ministry that Matters: 3 Elements of a Healthy Student Ministry
Is your student ministry healthy?
This is a question every student minister has asked. It’s a question that brings both anger and tears.
You are growing in numbers, but something just didn’t feel right. It doesn't feel healthy. This is the “there must be more to student ministry than this” moment.
Regardless of your ministry context, church size, denomination, or years of experience, it is possible for you to have a healthy student ministry. The three elements, explained by author Ben Trueblood , will lead you to that very thing. Student Ministry that Matters gives you and your leaders a framework to answer this question, " Is my student ministry healthy? " and help you highlight areas of improvement as you seek to lead a student ministry focused on health.
This is a question every student minister has asked. It’s a question that brings both anger and tears.
You are growing in numbers, but something just didn’t feel right. It doesn't feel healthy. This is the “there must be more to student ministry than this” moment.
Regardless of your ministry context, church size, denomination, or years of experience, it is possible for you to have a healthy student ministry. The three elements, explained by author Ben Trueblood , will lead you to that very thing. Student Ministry that Matters gives you and your leaders a framework to answer this question, " Is my student ministry healthy? " and help you highlight areas of improvement as you seek to lead a student ministry focused on health.
160 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2016
18 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 6, 2018
Mercifully short but incredibly motivating. This helped me see, with a little more clarity, where areas of my ministry are building momentum and others that need improvement. In many ways, Trueblood’s wisdom as a 14-year veteran of student ministry was just what I needed to hear. I’ll be chewing on some of the concepts he laid out in the book for awhile but I can’t help but think this book is a valuable stepping stone towards a more dynamic, and meaningful, youth ministry.
January 2, 2019
Ben Trueblood has written a helpful little book on re-centering youth ministry on what is ultimate: the Word of God and his coming kingdom. Far too often, youth ministry is seen as a holding pen for not-quite-ready believers to be entertained and siloed out of the larger church body. Trueblood pushes back from this low-bar standard for teenagers through his three elements of healthy student ministry. In short, a healthy ministry will be kingdom expanding (evangelistic), character transforming (discipling), and culture shaping (leadership development and missions).
Trueblood also reminds the pastor or leader reading this book that these practices and themes are caught as much as they are taught. We as leaders set the pace in modeling to our students what grace-filled obedience to Jesus looks like.
I really liked Ben's book. It does not shy away from teaching teenagers the true faith, digs into deep theology rather than avoids it, and creates an expectation for faithful membership in the body that is not out of step with the larger church. There are no junior varsity church members, and teenagers will rise to the occasion if the Spirit empowers them.
I would recommend this book to anyone in student ministry to be reminded of the core values and goals of working with teenagers. The gospel is powerful, and the Word is sufficient to make godly, faithful, teenage disciples.
Some Helpful Quotes
"Still, there is a very real temptation in student ministry to focus solely on church expansion rather than kingdom expansion. There is a distinct difference. A church-expanding mindset will only care about getting students in the door or at the event. They will only care about the end result of the event in an attendance or decision count. A kingdom expanding ministry will care about getting people in the door and the decision count, but they will also care about what happens to the students after the event is over." - 32-33
"A common approach to student ministry is to say, "When my students graduate or leave for college, what do I want them to look like?"...the unintended consequence of this question is that our student ministries look more like a distribution system of conveyor belts made to form the character of a student rather than a place that nurtures a living organism and where Jesus works freely in the lives of students on an individual basis." - 46
"Guilt brings shame. Grace brings freedom. Lead your students to freedom." - 82
"Do you want to know if your students are growing in grace? Look at how they are showing grace to other people." - 92
Trueblood also reminds the pastor or leader reading this book that these practices and themes are caught as much as they are taught. We as leaders set the pace in modeling to our students what grace-filled obedience to Jesus looks like.
I really liked Ben's book. It does not shy away from teaching teenagers the true faith, digs into deep theology rather than avoids it, and creates an expectation for faithful membership in the body that is not out of step with the larger church. There are no junior varsity church members, and teenagers will rise to the occasion if the Spirit empowers them.
I would recommend this book to anyone in student ministry to be reminded of the core values and goals of working with teenagers. The gospel is powerful, and the Word is sufficient to make godly, faithful, teenage disciples.
Some Helpful Quotes
"Still, there is a very real temptation in student ministry to focus solely on church expansion rather than kingdom expansion. There is a distinct difference. A church-expanding mindset will only care about getting students in the door or at the event. They will only care about the end result of the event in an attendance or decision count. A kingdom expanding ministry will care about getting people in the door and the decision count, but they will also care about what happens to the students after the event is over." - 32-33
"A common approach to student ministry is to say, "When my students graduate or leave for college, what do I want them to look like?"...the unintended consequence of this question is that our student ministries look more like a distribution system of conveyor belts made to form the character of a student rather than a place that nurtures a living organism and where Jesus works freely in the lives of students on an individual basis." - 46
"Guilt brings shame. Grace brings freedom. Lead your students to freedom." - 82
"Do you want to know if your students are growing in grace? Look at how they are showing grace to other people." - 92
February 23, 2021
Trueblood offers three keys to effective youth ministry: Kingdom Expansion (by which he largely means Evangelism), Character Transformation (which is his focus on Discipleship), and Culture Shaping (by which he means influence for the Gospel, which largely boils down to Evangelism here and abroad, though he also includes Leadership engagement). The book has a lot of heart, and feels more like a personal manifesto than a description of effective youth ministry. Easy read. Worth the couple of hours it will take.
June 28, 2019
This was a pretty good book, but it was also very general. More specific types of examples would have greatly added to the content. For example, when Ben writes about having youth members lead different teams/groups, he then gives example of what those groups could be: greeting, prayer, outreach, inreach, etc. That was helpful. More specific examples would have been appreciated. Even still, though I only gave the book 3 stars, my wife and I found it helpful.
May 23, 2023
I thought this book was really well thought out. For such a quick read, it really gets to the heart of the matter. There are definitely a couple of areas where I would like to go more in depth with but that wasn’t really the purpose of this book. It feels like it’s more to point you in the right direction than to give you all the answers. It gives you a starting point to say we need to be better in this area, so how do we do that in a way that fits our church?
July 5, 2017
중간 중간 읽다 말다 하긴 했는데, 그리고 난 청소년 사역 경험은 하나도 없다. 난 아이들도, 청소년도 대할 줄을 모르기 때문에 같이 있는 걸 싫어한다.
근데 아이들의 신앙 양육을 할 때 이렇게 깊이 생각하는 사역자들과 부모들이 있기에 차세대 제자삼기가 가능하고 이어지고 있는 게 아닌가 하는 생각이 들었다.
읽기 쉽고 명확한 포인트가 있다. 낮 ㅇ에 여유가 있을 때 다시 한 번 읽고 싶다.
근데 아이들의 신앙 양육을 할 때 이렇게 깊이 생각하는 사역자들과 부모들이 있기에 차세대 제자삼기가 가능하고 이어지고 있는 게 아닌가 하는 생각이 들었다.
읽기 쉽고 명확한 포인트가 있다. 낮 ㅇ에 여유가 있을 때 다시 한 번 읽고 싶다.
March 10, 2023
Packed with wisdom and truth, while also straight to the point and succinct. An enjoyable and easy read academically, while also deeply convicting. Every student minister should have this book on their shelf!
July 27, 2023
This was a nice and quick read. I highlighted and marked up so much, so don't think just because it is a quick read that you won't learn a lot! It was a great refresher for me as we enter into our fall ministry season. Thankful for leaders like Ben.
November 2, 2018
Really solid! Loved his take on the purpose of student ministry. This is one I’d recommend to anyone involved in student ministry in any capacity.
January 19, 2019
Great book for Student ministries! Our SGLs read it and are meeting today about what we’ve learned.
April 17, 2019
A short book that provides insight to what a church youth ministry needs. This should be helpful to anyone who works with students in a ministry.
February 9, 2023
Every student minister/leader/volunteer needs to read this book. I am redesigning the way my ministry runs because of inspiration from this book. Get it today!
March 16, 2020
A helpful yet concise little book about youth ministry. It’s not a deep dive, but offers really good big picture focus points for leading a youth group.
May 25, 2016
Author Ben Trueblood has written a very useful book for anyone involved in youth ministry. If you're a youth pastor, volunteer in your church's student ministry, or the parent of a middle or high school student you should read this book. There are so many helpful thoughts and biblical applications throughout Trueblood's writing. In addition to all of this, the book was really easy to read. I found myself reading three or four chapters in a sitting - and that's not how I normally read. I recommend this book strongly to anyone involved or interested with a youth group.
May 16, 2016
Very practical book. I recommend it to student pastors and student ministry volunteers. Ben has some wonderful insights into student ministry that can benefit both the new and seasoned youth worker.
November 24, 2016
Good insights.
I liked the simplicity of his approach. Makes you ask the question if your ministry is healthy in every sense of the term.
I liked the simplicity of his approach. Makes you ask the question if your ministry is healthy in every sense of the term.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews