Enjoying the Journey

5 Books To Read To Help Young People

Much of my ministry has been connected to young people. It was my privilege to serve for many years as a church youth director. I enjoyed teaching youth ministry at a college level and continue to enjoy working with camps and youth conferences. The most important “youth ministry” I have been part of is having teenagers of our own! I wish that there were many books that I felt comfortable recommending on youth ministry. Far too much that is written is man-centered and felt-needs oriented. We must always begin with God’s truth and then make the application to people of every age. Here are a few books that provide a variety of helps for young people and those who work…

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Acres of Diamonds

When I was thirteen years old an elderly preacher in the mountains of West Virginia gave me a book.  It was old and dusty.  There were no pictures and at the time it seemed like a good book just to put on the shelf.  Several years passed before I actually read its yellowed pages, but after reading them I would never forget them. Russell Conwell was a preacher and educator.  He started what is now known as Temple University in Philadelphia.  Conwell traveled the world giving a very famous lecture over 5,000 times.  Any honorarium that was given to him was in turn given to some young person to help them through college.  But the value of his lecture was…

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A Word for Those Who Love Young People

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6 For many years I have heard this verse quoted and preached.  Now that I am about to have a teenager it is beginning to mean more to me personally.  Recently, I told a friend that I have been preaching to teens for years but I never had to take one home at night!  I think the scary thing is not so much taking them home as realizing that soon enough they will be leaving home.  (Suddenly I think I am sounding like my dad.) This proverb has both a principle and a promise.  Like so many other…

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