Top Youth Ministry Tools for Youth Pastors

As a youth pastor, your job is to shepherd students during some of their most formative years — middle and high school. You’ll have the opportunity to guide their spiritual development as they navigate growing up and the ebbs and flows of sports, crushes, friendships, school, parents, and siblings. Best of all, you get to be the keeper of the dodgeball and invite the students you lead into fun experiences with one another.

These times can be tumultuous, so you’ll need to have plenty of resources at your disposal in order to do your job with excellence. Having solid books and articles to reference will expand your mind and heart in your role and give you wisdom as you walk through both the joys and the challenges. Here are some of our top suggestions for youth ministry tools.

Student Ministry Resources for Preaching to Youth

Just like a pastor for adults, your job is to preach Biblically-sound and relevant-to-life messages that will spur your students on to action. The question is, how do you keep their attention on the Word of God when phones and friends are a prevalent distraction? Here are a few youth ministry tools to help you as you seek to teach your students about Scripture:

• Youth Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Youth Ministry by Houston Heflin

• A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry: Teenagers in the Life of the Church by Michael McGarry

• Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide with editors Cameron Cole and Jon Nielson

• Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers by Mike McGarry

• Asking the Right Questions: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible by Dr. Matthew Harmon

Student Ministry Resources for Navigating Trials

A pastor’s heart should be attentive to the difficulties experienced by their congregation. As a youth pastor, you will need to walk with your students through trials having to do with friendship, parents, dating, and identity. How do you shape their view of trials and help them to see suffering as a means to draw near to God rather than adhering to the world’s message of avoiding pain at all costs? Here are some youth ministry tools to help with this:

• The Quick-Reference Guide to Counseling Teenagers by Dr. Tim Clinton, Dr. Chap Clark, and Dr. Joshua Straub

• The Bondage Breaker: Overcoming Negative Thoughts, Irrational Feelings, Habitual Sins by Neil T Anderson

• The Steps to Freedom in Christ: A Biblical Guide to Help You Resolve Personal and Spiritual Conflicts and Become a Fruitful Disciple of Jesus by Neil T. Anderson

• God, Where Are You?!: Finding Strength and Purpose in Your Wilderness by John Bevere

• The End of Youth Ministry? Why Parents Don’t Really Care About Youth Groups And What Youth Workers Should Do About It by Andrew Root

Student Ministry Resources for Parents

Although youth ministry mainly focuses on students, at its best, it’s viewed as a ministry to the teen and their parents. As a youth pastor, you will need to partner with the parents of your students to help them as they disciple their teen through the good time and bad. Middle and high school is a time where students need to be lovingly supported by adults who will listen to them and seek to understand where their heart is at. How do you help your students’ parents navigate such a foundational era of life? Here are a few resources that could help:

• A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Social Media: Helping Your Teenager Navigate Life Online by Mark Oestreicher and Adam McLane

• The Source for Parents website by Jonathan McKee

• Partnering with Parents in Youth Ministry: The Practical Guide to Today’s Family-Based Youth Ministry by Jim Burns and Mike DeVries

• A Parent’s Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis by Miles V. Van Pelt, Jim Hancock, and Raymond Scully

• Seen: Healing Despair and Anxiety in Kids and Teens Through the Power of Connection by Will Hutcherson and Chinwe Williams

Student Ministry Resources for Having Fun

Part of bonding as a youth group means having fun together! As a youth pastor, you should plan games and activities that will get the students laughing together and help them get to know one another better. How do you show them the seriousness of God’s Word while also giving plenty of time for fun and enjoyment? Here are a few youth ministry tools to give you some ideas:

• GAME ON: 8 Steps to Maximizing Games in Youth Ministry by Ray Hintz

• Best-Ever Games for Youth Ministry: A Collection of Easy, Fun Games for Teenagers by Les Christie

• What’s Up? Discovering the Gospel, Jesus, and Who You Really Are by Deborah Harrell and Jack Klumpenhower

• TalkSheets to Confirm the Faith of Your Teenagers: 52 Ready-to-Use Discussions by David Lynn and Rick David

• Stuff You Can Use: Helping Church Leaders Be More Awesome

• Download Youth Ministry

Here at Grace Seminary, we want you to be equipped with the preaching and shepherding skills to confidently work with any age group in the church. If you want a seminary that prioritizes real-world ministry experience and life-applicable classes, then look no further. Grace Seminary is the place for you. Check out our program offerings to find which one is right for you.