Youth Ministry in the 21st Century

There are many philosophies and strategies that drive today's youth ministry. To most people, they are variations on a single goal: to make faithful disciples of young people. However, digging deeper into various programs, books, and concepts reveals substantive differences among the approaches. In this multiview work, Chap Clark, one of the leading voices in youth ministry today, brings together a diverse group of leaders to present major views on youth ministry extant. Contributors and approaches include:

Fernando Arzola presents the Ecclesial Model of Youth Ministry. The goal is to develop a formal teaching strategy as the center of youth ministry nurture and discipleship. Arzola (PhD, Fordham University) is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor of religion at Nyack College. He is the author of several books, including Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry.

Greg Stier presents the Gospel Advancing Ministry Model. The goal is to equip and launch teenagers as mature believers invested in peer to peer evangelism ministry. Stier is founder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries, which equips teenagers to relationally share their faith. A former pastor, church planter, and youth leader, Stier has trained over a million teens and youth leaders in the last twenty years and is the author of fifteen books.

Ron Hunter presents the Family Focused Youth Ministry Model. The goal is to show how church and home work in a complimentary fashion. This does not describe an integrated model but rather one where each age ministry builds on and connects with the others. Deuteronomy 6 commands parents to take the lead in the spiritual development of their kids. Youth pastors, children's ministers, and especially lead pastors are vital to transforming the church into a family ministry culture.

Hunter is executive director and CEO of Randall House, publisher of D6 curriculum, and serves as director of the D6 Conference. He is currently completing his PhD at Dallas Baptist University and is the coauthor of Toy Box Leadership.

Brian Cosby presents the Reformed Youth Ministry Model. The goal is to equip parents to raise up children in submission to and under the teaching of ordained church leaders by means of the ministry of the Word, prayer, sacraments, service, and gospel community. Cosby (PhD, Australian College of Theology) is lead pastor of Wayside Presbyterian Church (PCA) on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and visiting professor of church history at Reformed Theological Seminary, Atlanta. He is the author of more than ten books.

Chap Clark presents the Adoption Model of Youth Ministry. The goal is to create an environment where every young person knows and experiences being cared for in an almost parental way as they prepare to enter into emerging adulthood.

Offering a model of critical thinking and respectful dialogue, this volume provides a balanced, irenic approach to a topic with which every church wrestles. It gives readers the resources they need to develop their own approach to youth ministry.