When Relationships Matter: Make Your Church a Place Where Kids and Teenagers Belong

by Reggie Joiner, Kristen Ivy, Tom Shefchunas

Every kid needs to be known by someone and to belong somewhere. Think of it this connecting kids to a consistent leader who believes in God and believes in them is something the church can do that nothing else in culture does. In When Relationships Matter, Reggie Joiner, Kristen Ivy, and Tom Shefchunas explain a shift that has been happening in the discipleship strategy of effective churches over the past decade. The three values and nine practices in When Relationships Matter will help you rethink and improve your small group strategy, including… How to improve your small group structure How to empower your small group leaders How to create engaging experiences for kids and teenagers With best practices, training tips, and real-life stories from ministry leaders across the country, this book has what you need to create and improve an effective small group culture in your church.

222 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2019

About the author

Reggie Joiner is the founder and CEO of Orange, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to influence those who influence the next generation. Author of more than 30 books, including Think Orange, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, and Lead Small. Reggie has changed the way churches and organizations create environments for and equip leaders, parents, and the next generation. Orange partners with over 8,000 churches internationally and is the architect of the Orange Conference and the Orange Tour, which provide national training opportunities for senior pastors, church leaders, and ministry volunteers.

Prior to Orange and along with Andy Stanley, Reggie co-founded North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. During his 11 years as the executive director of Family Ministry, Reggie developed the new concepts of ministry for preschoolers, children, students, and married adults. He has found a way to wear orange for 4,353 days and counting.

Reggie is a graduate of Georgia Southwestern College. He and his wife Debbie have four grown children and live near Atlanta.

Reviews

[Sandra Wassenaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

(hehe I love youth ministry and middle schoolers are the best)

[Garrett Bagwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those that are familiar with Orange leadership content, this book pairs perfectly with their other books such as “Lead Small” and “Think Orange,” etc. The main argument of this book is that discipleship is best done in the context of relationships, and relationships happen best in small groups as opposed to large rooms.

When a pastor is deeply committed to a relational ministry model or a vision for small groups, this book offers great, practical advise for structuring and organizing that ministry to set groups up for the most success. When a pastor is not fully convinced that small groups are essential to healthy student ministry, this book does a great job at laying out the argument in favor of small group ministry.

Relationships matter. Nearly all pastors would have to agree with that statement. But the question really is—how intentional is your ministry at demonstrating and buying into relationships at every level?

[Melanie Wendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. As a young pastor I’m always looking for ways and inspiration to take my ministry farther and deeper in our journey. I love the ideas of small groups and establishing intentional relationship based discipleship. I’m leading alone right now and have known for a long time I need others to make these kids feel fully known. I’m praying and believing God will open the door for some small groups and leaders to step up and walk with me on this journey to really invest in the next generation. Will be referring to this book a lot and using it to set us on the journey to relational small groups!

[Brooke Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A GREAT resource for leaders wanting to improve their youth structure or implement small groups! I will definitely be referencing this in the future. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it wasn’t a “fun” read

[Donnie Criswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved walking through this book as a team. It was great for us to have conversations around what and why we do what we do as a church. Relational ministry gets you so much farther then doing ministry on your own!