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Voices

Do Parents Really Care About Youth Ministry?

By Andrew Root

The End of Youth Ministry?: Why Parents Don’t Really Care About Youth Groups and What Youth Workers Should Do About It
(Baker, 2020)

WHO: Andrew Root, Carrie Olson Baalson Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

HE SAYS: “American Protestant congregation-based youth ministry is in crisis, not sure of what it is really for, feeling at this moment somewhat directionless.”

THE BIG IDEA: What is youth ministry actually for? And does it have a future?

THE PROGRESSION:
In 18 chapters, the author explores how parents’ perspectives of what constitutes a good life are affecting youth ministry. Through a unique parable-style story, Root offers a new way to think about the purpose of youth ministry: not happiness, but joy.

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Order this book from Amazon.com »

“Only if youth ministry is for joy can we avoid the traps that have led to a cultural slowdown and our misconception of a good life—namely, the need for recognized identity and the goal of happiness.”

Andrew Root

Andrew Root, Carrie Olson Baalson Chair of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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