Growing Teen Disciples


Book Description

How can I grow an effective ministry for youth? Growing Teen Disciples provides all the answers you need with tested strategies based on a comprehensive vision of youth ministry. Based on a solid spiritual foundation of prayer and the call to discipleship, the book explores ways to develop dynamic adult leaders, evangelize youth, provide spiritual formation, and develop teen leadership. Youth ministers of all skill levels will find inspiration and practical tools within the pages of this book. Growing Teen Disciples was originally published by Ave Maria Press in 1998.




Closer - Teen Bible Study Book


Book Description

Closer: How to Be a Student Who Makes Disciples is a Bible study resource for middle and high school students based on the trade book Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples by Robby Gallaty.




Growing Young


Book Description

Unleashing the Passion of Young People in Your Church Is Possible! Churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, Growing Young provides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. It profiles innovative churches that are engaging 15- to 29-year-olds and as a result are growing--spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically. Packed with both research and practical ideas, Growing Young shows pastors and ministry leaders how to position their churches to engage younger generations in a way that breathes vitality, life, and energy into the whole church. Visit www.churchesgrowingyoung.org for more information.




Growing in Godliness


Book Description

"Hands down my favorite book for teen girls." Rosaria Butterfield, author, The Gospel Comes with a House Key Your teen years matter. Of all the ways you're learning and changing during the busy teenage years, your growth in Christ is the most important. God intends to use your teen years as a launching pad into a lifelong pursuit of looking more like Jesus. This book will help you prioritize your Christian growth—pointing you to the resources God has given you in his Word, in prayer, and in the church; offering help for managing your emotions, watching your words, and bearing spiritual fruit; and challenging you with ways to center your life around this important task. Even as a teenager, you have all it takes to grow in godliness.




God Loves Me and All My Feelings


Book Description

As a pastor I see many people who stifle and stuff their feelings, particularly “negative” ones. Even more problematic is that they believe this is what God wants them to do. From an early age they received the message explicitly, or implicitly, that said God wants you to be happy all the time. The truth is this: God loves and accepts us in the whole breadth of our feelings, from joy to excitement, anger and sadness, and everything in-between. This message matters because it builds two essential qualities for authentic relationship: self-awareness and openness. Because God loves me and all my feelings there is nothing to hide or fear. Through accessible language and bright, beautiful pictures children and their parents are able to internalize this message of God’s love and acceptance.




Growing Up


Book Description

If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ—really, truly serious—a discipleship group can help you achieve that goal. Jesus established this model for us by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ. Discipleship groups can create an atmosphere for fellowship, encouragement, and accountability—building an environment where God can work. In Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples, Robby Gallaty presents a practical, easy-to-implement system for growing in one's faith. This guide offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. D-Groups, as Gallaty calls them, can teach you and others how to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God. Growing Up provides you with an interactive manual and resource for creating and working with discipleship groups, allowing you to gain positive information both for yourself and for others as you learn how to help others become better disciples for Christ.




Growing Up, Revised and Updated


Book Description

If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a discipleship group can help you achieve that goal. Jesus established this model by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world, and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ. Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. Robby Gallaty, pastor of Long Hollow Baptist Church and founder and president of Replicate Ministries, teaches you how to utilize D-Groups to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God.




The Skinny on Discipleship


Book Description

Life-shaping discipleship isn’t a random event. It’s an intentional adventure, and teenagers need someone who’s walking with them on the journey and helping them grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Jesus modeled this for us through relationship with his closest disciples. He spent time with them, shared life with them, taught them to obey, shared experiences with them, gave them direction, and promised to be with them. This is what we are called to as youth workers—the model for us to follow. The Skinny on Discipleship will become a practical guide in your role as a disciple-maker. You’ll discover innovative insights and powerful encouragement for knowing Jesus, loving him, and placing him at the center of your life—and then helping teenagers along on that same journey. When it comes to discipleship, there are no shortcuts, there’s no handbook for teenagers, and there’s no timeline on what it will take to help each teenager draw closer to Jesus. But you can follow the model of Jesus, rely on the truth that he’s with you, and remember that ultimately he loves teenagers even more than you do.




Engaging a New Generation


Book Description

Engaging a New Generation critically examines our commonly held assumptions as well as our often-used models and methodologies initially developed to reach late Baby Boomer and Generation X teens. It then introduces you to the core characteristics of the Millennial Generation teens and the pastoral implications, where the operational and ministerial borders are expanding far beyond traditional youth ministry. "This text fills a great need." -- Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson "If you want to help young people develop a vibrant, life-transforming faith, read this book!" -- John Roberto, LifelongFaith Associates "Engaging a New Generation is as much about vibrant parish faith as it is about our young people." -- Bishop Timothy Doherty, Lafayette, Indiana "A modern manifesto for reaching young people today." -- Jim Beckman, Director of Youth Evangelization and Leadership, Augustine Institute "Frank Mercadante's passion for the young Church and his commitment to a comprehensive approach to pastoral ministry is evident on every page." -- Bob McCarty, D.Min., Executive Director, National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry "This book comes from deep inside the field of youth ministry. It is theological, sociological, practical, pastoral, and scriptural." -- Dr. Mike Carotta, author, national consultant "This book is the most significant resource I have read, not only for youth ministry but for parish ministry, in the last ten years." --Peter Denio, Standards for Excellence Coordinator, The National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management "Frank Mercadante is in it to win it for today's teens." -- Randy Raus, Life Teen President/CEO "Masterfully and succinctly outlines some of the big shifts that have taken place within culture and the Church." -- Mike Patin, International Catholic Speaker and "Faith Horticulturist" "Whoever wants the next generation of Catholic youth the most will get them. Let Frank Mercadante show you how!" -- Matthew Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Rediscover Catholicism and founder of Dynamiccatholic.com "We as a Church often hope to reach today's young people with yesterday's approach - and then wonder why they don't respond. This book is a must read." -- Bob Rice, Speaker, Author, Musician, and Professor of Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville "Clearly identifies these cultural shifts and shares important current research on youth and families." -- Jeffrey Kaster, Ed.D, Saint John's University School of Theology and Seminary, Collegeville




Passing on the Faith


Book Description

From the Introduction This book is about passing on the faith from generation to generation, throughout the milestones of a person's life. Faith is created and nurtured by the Holy Spirit through the Gospels. The vision underlying the RADICAL model was developed in light of the theological principle that faith is formed by the Holy Spirit through personal, trusted relationships, often, but not always, in our own homes. A youth and family ministry for the 21st century connects all the generations in the total ministry of the congregation and, through the cross of Christ, recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit shaping faith in all the circles of relationships. This revised edition expands on the authors' original model in an all-new chapter on the circle of creation. This edition has also been updated throughout in light of new ideas and research that have emerged during the past decade.