Reading Report:
Student Ministry Essentials: Reaching, Leading, Nurturing
Colby Davis
CHMN 301 - Foundations of NexGen Ministry
Summary
Introduction
1
Starting off in chapter one, the author gives a great defense of the need for youth pastors. Even
though they are not mentioned in scripture, we must understand the need for them in reaching
youth today. As the author states, “Contextualization takes culture into consideration. It helps us
bridge the gap between the message of the Gospel and the world that we live in.”1 The author
argues that the role of a student pastor is one that is becoming evermore devalued at a time when
student ministry is so critical. This chapter describes student ministry leaders as teachable, more
specialized, often bi-vocational, kingdom-minded and missional, and able to equip parents.2
Chapter 2 starts off defining the specific role within the church that youth pastors fulfill.
A youth pastor is part of an organized team and should be considered an under-shepherd. As the
author states, “Our ‘flocks’ will be a younger and more vulnerable flock, but our role as a
This book is a chapter by chapter guide into all the different aspects of a successful
student ministry. The authors are clear and concise while adding bits of humor to keep the reader
engaged. This book ranges in topics from the psychology of youth to the usefulness of pizza
parties, and if you read the conclusion of the book, one author admits to running over a kid (the
kid was fine).
1 Steve Vandegriff, and Richard Brown,
(Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015), 26.
2 Ibid., 32-33.
Student Ministry Essentials: Reaching, Leading, Nurturing
2!
shepherd is in no way diminished or marginalized.”3 The shepherd’s call is to be able to lead and
love his sheep in the direction of Jesus. The role of a youth pastor is a serious role, it is not just
training to become a future pastor, it is a specialized role that is equal to any other ministry position.
Chapter 3 has a simple point, the role of a youth pastor carries three titles with it, pastor,
overseer, and elder.4 This chapter also has great insights into the relationship between the student
pastor and the senior pastor. The role of a student pastor has a great deal of responsibility
attached because of the potential influence one will have over young minds.
Chapter 4 discusses developing leaders around the student ministry so that the ministry
can be more effective, the author also lists a few qualities that these leaders must possess. The
author also points out that it is important to know the history of your new ministry role and be
familiar with what the position looked like in the past. This section will help with the transition
for a new pastor. It is obvious in this chapter that the development of a ministry team is crucial
especially for someone who is young and just now entering this role. Chapter 5 delves deep into the
most important side of youth leaders, parents. Parents are the single greatest resource for working
with youth and should always be in consideration when making any decisions.
Chapter 6 is a phycological overview of youth and the changing nature of their age group.
The sections in this chapter talk about changes physically, emotionally, socially, mentally, in
idealism, in argumentation, and in self-awareness. The author makes a great point about young
people that offers much insight, “Teenagers have an imaginary audience; they think they are
3
Ibid., 38.
4
Ibid., 59.
always on stage. As a result, they are overly concerned about their appearance and behavior.”5
Youth leaders need to be sensitive and attentive of the way young people see themselves. One
day these kids will be adults and remember much of what is taught and modeled to them.
Chapter 7 is another chapter that deals mainly with family. There is one section that talks
about the tendencies of boys that grow up without family and stresses the importance of having a
strong church family and the benefits associated with that. Chapter 8 is one of the most
informative chapters as it discusses spiritual formation. As the book states, “The opportunity for
spiritual formation is a key element in student ministry that distinguishes the church from social
agencies that work with teenagers.”6 The author also puts forth a nuanced view of servant
evangelism that seems to be good advice. It also includes methodology for small groups and
suggests that all groups should be based on common interests.
Chapter 9 is basically a continuation of spiritual growth from chapter 8. This chapter
focuses less on the students and more on being biblically literate. One of the greatest insights in
this chapter is the components of being a biblical teacher, “Allow me to develop and paraphrase
these three components to being an effective communicator: Logos, Ethos, and Pathos.”7
Chapter 10 outlines a great way to structure biblical lesson plans, this method is called
hook, took, and look. This method is popular and has been used for many years. Chapter 11 is
about events and programs, although not found in scripture, the authors give a great overview of
their importance in reaching people in today’s culture. As the author states, programs are useful
3!
5
Ibid., 113.
6
Ibid., 131.
7
Ibid., 150.
for two reasons, “(1) to keep us focused on our mission and (2) to help us fulfill our mission.”8
The main focus of this whole chapter is that programs and events are tools of evangelism.
Chapter 12 is very simply about making disciples that make disciples in the context of
student ministry. It is amazing the power that can be unleashed when the whole student ministry
is working towards evangelism. Most of the time the best student evangelists are the students
themselves. Chapter 13 comes back to events and programs but this time the book supplies a lists
of steps. These steps are as follows; your purpose, your plan, your promotion, your payment
plan, your players, your passion, your program, your personal touch, your perspective, and your
prayers.9 Pizza and games really can bring people to Christ.
Chapter 14 was less informative about campus ministry, and more just described what
campus ministry is. This chapter also dives deep into values. Chapter 15 is about working with
other youth ministries and how to do it successfully. The book also talks about dealing with those
who might oppose youth ministries working alongside other ministries, “Those who say that
Christian youth organizations are outside the perimeters of the local church have not experienced
the dependency on the local church that Christian youth organizations have.”10 The family of
God can do much more together than separate. The conclusion of this book should have been
chapter 16. It was full of helpful insights and talked about relevant miscellaneous things like
succumbing to youth peer pressure.
4!
8
Ibid., 177.
9
Ibid., 206-16.
10
Ibid., 236.
Conclusion
Personal Response
This text does a great job at truly discussing the essentials to student ministry. The
authors were diligent in making sure that all the material was biblically sound. The flow of the
book was upbeat and easy to read. This book could be an introductory guide to a successful
student ministry if it wanted to be. The text was full of helpful insights into ministry that only
comes with years of youth ministry experience. This book is highly relevant and should be in the
hands of every youth leader.
This book was by far one of my favorites this semester. It truly lived up to its title as
being a complete guide to the essentials of student ministry. Although it is a long book, it seems
short in comparison to how much insight it gives in each section about student ministry. At no
point did I get the feeling that the authors were long-winded, which is unusual for most Christian
books. This book was a great read and would be my go-to for any youth ministry questions or
ideas. It is the owners manual of student ministry.
5!
Bibliography
Vandegriff, Steve, and Richard Brown.
Nurturing. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2015.
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Student Ministry Essentials: Reaching, Leading,
