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Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel
Alongside is a much-needed resource for both parents and those in youth ministry. In this transformative book, Drew Hill unpacks the challenges teenagers face and how youth leaders and parents can share the gospel with them at this crucial age. Full of practical insight and biblical knowledge, Alongside is an invitation to love teenagers well with the hope of the gospel.
Our teenage friends are full of questions and longings. They're trying to figure out who they are, where they belong, and if they matter during this pivotal time of development all while facing new realities of loneliness and isolation, despite their social media followers.
Teenagers want to be chased, and Alongside brings Scripture to life and helps parents and those in youth ministry practically connect the life of Jesus to the lives of their adolescent children and friends.
Through Scripture and captivating personal stories from years of experience working in youth ministry, Hill pulls back the curtain and invites readers to step into the unfiltered world of teenagers.
How do we start meaningful conversations with our teenage friends? How do we build trust across the dining room table? What would it look like to prayerfully cultivate a group of leaders or parents with a shared goal of seeing Christ transform the lives of teenagers in our communities? What does Jesus have to say about caring for our middle or high school friends and how can he use us in his plan to rescue them?
Alongside offers practical application and biblical truths to highlight the complexities of relational youth ministry, address the needs real teenagers encounter in their daily lives and engage their hearts rather than just their behavior. Hill explores what it looks like to not only share the love of Jesus with our teenage friends but to share our very lives with them as well.
Our teenage friends are full of questions and longings. They're trying to figure out who they are, where they belong, and if they matter during this pivotal time of development all while facing new realities of loneliness and isolation, despite their social media followers.
Teenagers want to be chased, and Alongside brings Scripture to life and helps parents and those in youth ministry practically connect the life of Jesus to the lives of their adolescent children and friends.
Through Scripture and captivating personal stories from years of experience working in youth ministry, Hill pulls back the curtain and invites readers to step into the unfiltered world of teenagers.
How do we start meaningful conversations with our teenage friends? How do we build trust across the dining room table? What would it look like to prayerfully cultivate a group of leaders or parents with a shared goal of seeing Christ transform the lives of teenagers in our communities? What does Jesus have to say about caring for our middle or high school friends and how can he use us in his plan to rescue them?
Alongside offers practical application and biblical truths to highlight the complexities of relational youth ministry, address the needs real teenagers encounter in their daily lives and engage their hearts rather than just their behavior. Hill explores what it looks like to not only share the love of Jesus with our teenage friends but to share our very lives with them as well.
192 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2018
65 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
August 27, 2018
Review originally appeared at Servants of Grace.
If you are old enough to remember a world before Google, a world where postage stamps needed to be licked, a world that wasn’t connected through wi-fi, then you’ve already successfully survived your teenage years. For young adults entering college this fall, these things have always been ubiquitous, according to this year’s Mindset List released by Beloit College as a reference point for adults to understand the mindset of the next generation.
For those of us who are called to work with or raise teenagers, it can feel overwhelming to speak the gospel into the lives of our younger neighbors, especially when we consider how much the world has changed since we were teenagers ourselves. Alongside, a new book by first-time author Drew Hill, insists that pursuing the teenagers in our lives doesn’t require us to be savvy about what’s next and new. We can model our ministry on the life of Jesus. After all, most of his disciples were likely teenagers or young adults.
Alongside envisions a kind of youth ministry that happens at the slow and steady pace of our Savior, who spent most of his ministry walking. The book begins by describing the internal chaos that characterizes young adulthood in the first section titled “The Runaways,” but Hill’s thesis really takes off in section two, “The Pursuer.” Just as the Holy Spirit is the “one called to your side” (42), any ministry to teens should flow from our recognition that we, too, are sinners in need of grace, and our willingness to walk alongside our teenage friends with Spirit-led persistence. Hill, who has spent the better part of his post-teen years working with Young Life, reminds us that “we’re not inviting kids into a behavioral modification program. We’re inviting kids into a love relationship with the person of God. Love is what truly transforms us, not willpower” (48).
Parents and youth ministry workers alike will appreciate Hill’s pastoral approach and practical guidance. In section three “The Pursuit”, Hill offers his own suggestions for how to engage with teenage friends, drawing from his own years of experience and the wisdom of his mentors. He’s been paying attention to the ways he’s been mentored and loved by others, and he has put this into practice in his own friendships with teenagers. The final section, The Long Road Home, speaks directly to the reader about the challenges of walking alongside their teenage friends while we wait for the seeds of the gospel to bear fruit.
Each short chapter ends with questions or specific thoughts for parents and those in youth ministry. And if these questions sometimes feel piercing, just wait until Hill unpacks his own honest confessions. This book consistently emphasizes, as one of Hill’s mentors puts it, that “faithfulness is way more important than giftedness” (168). Alongside demonstrates and teaches readers how to be sympathetic to the challenges of the teen years. I hope his next book expands this final section to explore how youth ministry programs, families, and churches can encourage one another and learn from one another as all seek to disciple the next generation.
If you are old enough to remember a world before Google, a world where postage stamps needed to be licked, a world that wasn’t connected through wi-fi, then you’ve already successfully survived your teenage years. For young adults entering college this fall, these things have always been ubiquitous, according to this year’s Mindset List released by Beloit College as a reference point for adults to understand the mindset of the next generation.
For those of us who are called to work with or raise teenagers, it can feel overwhelming to speak the gospel into the lives of our younger neighbors, especially when we consider how much the world has changed since we were teenagers ourselves. Alongside, a new book by first-time author Drew Hill, insists that pursuing the teenagers in our lives doesn’t require us to be savvy about what’s next and new. We can model our ministry on the life of Jesus. After all, most of his disciples were likely teenagers or young adults.
Alongside envisions a kind of youth ministry that happens at the slow and steady pace of our Savior, who spent most of his ministry walking. The book begins by describing the internal chaos that characterizes young adulthood in the first section titled “The Runaways,” but Hill’s thesis really takes off in section two, “The Pursuer.” Just as the Holy Spirit is the “one called to your side” (42), any ministry to teens should flow from our recognition that we, too, are sinners in need of grace, and our willingness to walk alongside our teenage friends with Spirit-led persistence. Hill, who has spent the better part of his post-teen years working with Young Life, reminds us that “we’re not inviting kids into a behavioral modification program. We’re inviting kids into a love relationship with the person of God. Love is what truly transforms us, not willpower” (48).
Parents and youth ministry workers alike will appreciate Hill’s pastoral approach and practical guidance. In section three “The Pursuit”, Hill offers his own suggestions for how to engage with teenage friends, drawing from his own years of experience and the wisdom of his mentors. He’s been paying attention to the ways he’s been mentored and loved by others, and he has put this into practice in his own friendships with teenagers. The final section, The Long Road Home, speaks directly to the reader about the challenges of walking alongside their teenage friends while we wait for the seeds of the gospel to bear fruit.
Each short chapter ends with questions or specific thoughts for parents and those in youth ministry. And if these questions sometimes feel piercing, just wait until Hill unpacks his own honest confessions. This book consistently emphasizes, as one of Hill’s mentors puts it, that “faithfulness is way more important than giftedness” (168). Alongside demonstrates and teaches readers how to be sympathetic to the challenges of the teen years. I hope his next book expands this final section to explore how youth ministry programs, families, and churches can encourage one another and learn from one another as all seek to disciple the next generation.
December 27, 2021
This wasn't paradigm-changing and didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. But like the title, it felt like someone was coming alongside me and reminding me why I do what I do, that I'm not alone, and compassionately challenging me to grow with intentionality in the way that I love "my" teenagers.
This was an encouraging pick-me-up for a weary youth leader, and in true youth ministry fashion the chapters were short and interesting and easy to read. I cried as it resonated and underlined a whole lot and share pieces with friends and team members. It was also so precious to buddy read this with another team leader in the neighboring town.
This was an encouraging pick-me-up for a weary youth leader, and in true youth ministry fashion the chapters were short and interesting and easy to read. I cried as it resonated and underlined a whole lot and share pieces with friends and team members. It was also so precious to buddy read this with another team leader in the neighboring town.
February 18, 2019
This book moved me to tears as I wept for the trials I’ve encountered while walking with teens, cried for the brokenness exposed in my own life, cried for the brokenness I see in the teens around me and cried because of the hope and truth I was reminded of in Jesus as I read the truth in this book and prayed the prayers over myself, my leaders and my students. Such a practical book of encouragement for parents, and youth leaders. Drew’s honesty lets you feel normal, encouraged, challenged and not alone as a youth worker.
January 3, 2022
This book serves as a great reminder of what it is like to be a teenager. Chapters are short and applicable. At the end of each chapter, there are reflection questions for parents and people in youth ministry. All tips are rooted in scripture and the gospel. There is nothing entirely new, but still incredibly helpful and impactful. There were good nuggets in every chapter. I walked away with new perspectives on the gospel. I recommend this to anyone in youth ministry and parents of teenagers.
August 3, 2018
I was privileged to read an advance copy of this resource, and I am thankful to have been able to read it.
For one, I have been working with youth for over twenty years and have rarely seen such a strong guide for both parties that need to be invested in the lives of teenagers: youth workers and their parents. This works well for both as it reminds us of Jesus’ approach to loving others.
I am going to read this resource with the youth ministry team at my church and make it available in our church’s parent resource center.
The prayers at the end of the chapter alone are worth the price of admission. They are a fantastic model of the kind of prayers we should be voicing to God in behalf of the next generation.
For one, I have been working with youth for over twenty years and have rarely seen such a strong guide for both parties that need to be invested in the lives of teenagers: youth workers and their parents. This works well for both as it reminds us of Jesus’ approach to loving others.
I am going to read this resource with the youth ministry team at my church and make it available in our church’s parent resource center.
The prayers at the end of the chapter alone are worth the price of admission. They are a fantastic model of the kind of prayers we should be voicing to God in behalf of the next generation.
August 14, 2018
Here was my endorsement for the book:
Drew Hill was my camp counselor 20 years ago. He has photos (read: blackmail) to prove it. Ever since I’ve known him, Drew’s passion—and gift—has been bringing gospel grace to young adults. In “Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel,” Drew has distilled decades of youth-ministry experience into a resource that is funny, engaging, and profound. Whether you’re a parent, pastor, youth leader, or teenager, I commend this book to you.
Drew Hill was my camp counselor 20 years ago. He has photos (read: blackmail) to prove it. Ever since I’ve known him, Drew’s passion—and gift—has been bringing gospel grace to young adults. In “Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel,” Drew has distilled decades of youth-ministry experience into a resource that is funny, engaging, and profound. Whether you’re a parent, pastor, youth leader, or teenager, I commend this book to you.
August 23, 2018
With true, heart-tugging stories Drew Hill brings the reader into the hearts, minds and lives of teenagers. He helps us remember our teenage years and connect to the teens in our lives. Each chapter offers practical suggestions of ways parents and other adults can reach out to teens and come alongside them so that they do not feel alone, misunderstood and unworthy. The prayers and scripture references point the reader and the teens in their lives to Jesus, who loves us all more than we can imagine. Alongside helps us understand and love teenagers with the gospel in a beautiful and unique way.
January 28, 2019
A great book with really good thoughts if you are a parent of a teen or work with teens in youth ministry. There are a lot of thought provoking questions in each chapter to think on as you read through it.
February 1, 2023
Alongside by Drew Hill has a simple point: loving teenagers with the gospel. It is broken into four sections.
The first part was about the teenagers we love and what they are going through. The second part is about God and His gospel. The third part is about Jesus, His pursuit of us, and our pursuit of teens. The fourth part is about the journey.
A friend asked me how the book was when I was about 1/4 of the way through. Then, it was just ok. Nothing mind-blowing but good reminders. It was until the last half of the book that I couldn't put it down. It started to get personal - why are we pursuing teenagers, what does that look like, and prayers.
A really good aspect of the book was the format. Short chapters with content, then questions (some for parents, some for youth workers), a piece of Scripture, then a prayer. The prayers are my favorite part - thoughtful and beautiful. I sat outside my son's basketball practice the other day and used one prayer to pray over each boy and coach as they came out. What a sweet moment!
I think this book is thought provoking as a mom of teens and also as a mentor of teens. I highly recommend it!
The first part was about the teenagers we love and what they are going through. The second part is about God and His gospel. The third part is about Jesus, His pursuit of us, and our pursuit of teens. The fourth part is about the journey.
A friend asked me how the book was when I was about 1/4 of the way through. Then, it was just ok. Nothing mind-blowing but good reminders. It was until the last half of the book that I couldn't put it down. It started to get personal - why are we pursuing teenagers, what does that look like, and prayers.
A really good aspect of the book was the format. Short chapters with content, then questions (some for parents, some for youth workers), a piece of Scripture, then a prayer. The prayers are my favorite part - thoughtful and beautiful. I sat outside my son's basketball practice the other day and used one prayer to pray over each boy and coach as they came out. What a sweet moment!
I think this book is thought provoking as a mom of teens and also as a mentor of teens. I highly recommend it!
January 15, 2025
I would like to rate this book higher... There were some really good elements to it. He gives really good practical questions and advice to both parents and youth ministry leaders. I feel thoroughly challenged to pray more earnestly, often, and specifically for the kids in my church. However, there were some suggestions that felt hokey (perhaps a difference in philosophy) or perhaps even crossed the line into unwise or inappropriate for a youth leader to do. Despite those indiscretions, I would recommend this book to parents (especially) and youth leaders to better learn how to engage with and pray for the teens in your life.
May 24, 2023
Very, very practical and encouraging read. Would recommend to any parent or person who serves in student ministry.
August 19, 2018
Alongside is full of passion and practical questions, tips and stories that will encourage anyone in relationship with teenagers. Thank you Drew for sharing this with all of us!
August 27, 2018
If you minister to teenagers, love a teenager, want to help a teenager, then this book is a great resource for you. You’ll learn to meet them where they are and help them as they grow.
Each chapter has a different scripture based life lesson, which will allow you speak into your teen’s life in a way they understand. True stories will bring these lessons to life and bring encouragement to the reader. Scripture and prayers will point the adolescent to Jesus every time, showing how much He loves us.
Jesus came “alongside” people. He loved them where they were. And loved them too much to leave them there. I highly recommend this book as you come “Alongside” your teen!
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
Each chapter has a different scripture based life lesson, which will allow you speak into your teen’s life in a way they understand. True stories will bring these lessons to life and bring encouragement to the reader. Scripture and prayers will point the adolescent to Jesus every time, showing how much He loves us.
Jesus came “alongside” people. He loved them where they were. And loved them too much to leave them there. I highly recommend this book as you come “Alongside” your teen!
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
March 8, 2019
This is an excellent book for anybody who interacts with students and loves Jesus. The book is well written and made up of many short chapters so you can take it at your own pace and not necessarily read it all at once. Not only does this book help you share Jesus with teens but it points the leader back to Him as well. Each chapter ends with a prayer as well which was a great touch. Alongside engages the reader and equips them to love teenagers with the Gospel. It is simply a must read.
August 23, 2018
The mission of this book is also the author’s life. Drew Hill lives life alongside teenagers and he has been doing this for years. I worked for him several years ago and I also believe in this mission of loving teenagers with the gospel! If you have teenagers, love teenagers, or will have teenagers at some point in life you need to read this book!
September 22, 2018
This is a practical, though not perfect, resource for those who desire to minister to teens. Provides ideas to interact with and invest in youth for the gospel. Yet, falls short in some areas. More of practically driven book than a doctrinally driven book.
See full review at: http://www.entrustedbygod.org/2018/09...
See full review at: http://www.entrustedbygod.org/2018/09...
October 12, 2018
Move this to the top of your reading list. Now.
Whether you’re a long time veteran, or a first year leader, staff or volunteer, this is the most important new book for youth workers. It’s inspiring, challenging, and a joy to read. And if I keep writing it will just continue to be a vomit of praise that no one will take seriously. The end. (Read this book now).
Whether you’re a long time veteran, or a first year leader, staff or volunteer, this is the most important new book for youth workers. It’s inspiring, challenging, and a joy to read. And if I keep writing it will just continue to be a vomit of praise that no one will take seriously. The end. (Read this book now).
January 31, 2019
Excellent book for anyone who loves teenagers---and especially those who want to influence the next generation. Drew's style is easy to read with thought provoking questions!
February 18, 2019
So good! Great resource for working with youth! Must Read!
September 5, 2025
I appreciated this book and I am thankful to have read it. I appreciated the sincerity and calling of Drew Hill toward youth ministers and parents. Lumping the two of them in the same category is a good thing - parents have been given the authority of instruction by the Lord, and youth ministers aid parents in coming alongside them. There were some things in this book I did not think would be helpful, even though I think the heart behind them is helpful. It is necessary for youth ministers to get into the lives of their youth as best they can. They should seek them out, not wait for the youth to seek them, and they should seek to know the sheep under their care as the Good Shepherd knows His flock. I do not know if I would take it quite to the extent that Drew Hill does in this book, such as surprise wake up videos (chapter 12). The reason I give it three stars is because I love the heart of this book towards youth and think youth ministers can and should have this heart towards their youth, but I don't know if taking it to the extent that this book does in some of its practical application is the most helpful way of doing things.
July 8, 2019
This book is really helpful for parents and youth workers. The 29 chapters are broken into a daily devotional format with helpful reflection questions and a prayer at the end of each. I found each chapter to be a helpful model for doing talks/devotions with my youth and I will recommend this book to every parent with a teenager.
Two great things about the book:
1. The author calls his youth his friends consistently throughout. This is a helpful reminder that children and youth are not projects. We don’t have to wait for them to grow up to call them friends.
2. The book is not laid our like a normal book. You can’t read it all at once. This highlighted the slow process of transformation required to do youth ministry or parenting. The author seemed to be saying that there is no quick way to get better at being friends with teens. It takes a long process of transformation.
Two great things about the book:
1. The author calls his youth his friends consistently throughout. This is a helpful reminder that children and youth are not projects. We don’t have to wait for them to grow up to call them friends.
2. The book is not laid our like a normal book. You can’t read it all at once. This highlighted the slow process of transformation required to do youth ministry or parenting. The author seemed to be saying that there is no quick way to get better at being friends with teens. It takes a long process of transformation.
December 28, 2023
This is an absolute read for any parent, middle or high school teacher, student ministry staff or volunteer, or anyone wanting to explore and learn how to love their teenage friends better. Hill explores the world of teenagers, the Gospel, and pursuing teenagers with the Gospel with the clear wisdom of someone who has been doing it for a long time. The Gospel is clearly articulated on every page, and the connections to real-world stories of loving teenagers are dynamic and gripping. The stories, truths, and Holy Spirit brought me to tears in many chapters of this book. It was an insanely impactful read and a much-needed refresher and energizer for a burned-out college student and student ministry volunteer.
There are also many practical tools that Hill gives and reflective and insightful questions for both parents and those in youth ministry.
There are also many practical tools that Hill gives and reflective and insightful questions for both parents and those in youth ministry.
April 26, 2020
I liked this book. Like other youth ministry books I've read, it uses examples that are relevant to larger churches. However, this book has a section for parents and youth ministers at the end of the chapter. I didn't read the parents part for every chapter but for the ones I did read they seemed helpful. For the youth ministers part, it did ask some thought-provoking questions that made me pause and consider the answer. I wouldn't read this book completely again until I had children but I will reread certain parts while participating in youth ministry. I will also be using some of the prayers at the end of the chapters. Overall, I liked the book. It made me think, presented some new ideas, but no real surprises.
December 18, 2020
The questions & practical tips for ministry at the end of each chapter are gold! The rest of the content is pretty good, but nothing I haven’t heard before. A few of the chapters did stand out; Shame, You Came, Question, & Strategy. All of which I’ve heard before but there is not a ton of great content out there on these subjects specifically geared towards teens. This is o oh a 3 start rating because those were only 4 chapters out of 29 that stood out. Over all this book is a necessary tool for anyone who has TEENS they’re trying to care for simply for the questions at the end of each chapter.
July 15, 2023
Wow! Just what I (and probably others) need in encouragement for loving the teenagers God has placed in our lives and pursuing the ones He wants us to pursue for His kingdom. Key emphases on prayer, humility, listening, compassion and love over correction, telling and "fixing" the precious souls God has given us. I appreciated the types of open-ended questions listed at the end and am thankful for the help in finding new ways to connect with young people in deeper ways. I will be referring to this book often for encouragement for my own soul and for help in being better connected to God and those around me.
August 6, 2019
Encouraging and refreshing, there is nothing really new. In fact, it’s dated. Like dated way back to when YOU were a teen. He helps me remember what it felt like to be vulnerable as our kids are today. I found myself taking heart and realizing my need for faith. I’m not sure these are particular tools to sharing the gospel so much as help for a gospel mindset on our part as parents and youth workers. But I’ll take it because I need that too. I wish I could give 3.5 stars. Better than good. But not quite at my “you MUST read this” level.
August 27, 2019
I feel like this could have been a bulleted article rather then a book. I also struggled with his tie ins to scripture. Some where fine, others he stretched to fit his purposes, and others he completely misinterpreted to fit his point. I did like the prayer at the end of every section but found nothing revolutionary about this book.
September 10, 2022
Fantabulous book that helps anyone - parent, teacher, youth ministry worker etc - know how to help the teenagers in their lives. I’m a high school teacher and a mother of 5, with 4 teens so far, and I learned a lot.
I’ve never thought I could do youth ministry but this has inspired me to seriously consider it.
I’ve never thought I could do youth ministry but this has inspired me to seriously consider it.
September 15, 2023
Drew Hill writes from one Young Life leader to another. He is a veteran of the ministry and is so honest with his experiences and stories from youth ministry. It's inspiring, encouraging, and motivates you to go out and share the Gospel with high schoolers! I could not be more grateful for the way this book has influenced my heart for ministry, and I cannot wait to reread it.
June 17, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
Loved the heart of this book and was reminded of some important attitudes to have in ministry(and parenting)- namely love, humility, and grace. There were some really crunchy suggestions that I can’t get behind that flirt with the line of inappropriate in student ministry, but this was overall an encouraging and reorienting read.
Loved the heart of this book and was reminded of some important attitudes to have in ministry(and parenting)- namely love, humility, and grace. There were some really crunchy suggestions that I can’t get behind that flirt with the line of inappropriate in student ministry, but this was overall an encouraging and reorienting read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews