Best of '08: Youth Ministry Books

Next up in the "Best of 2008" series is my favorite youth ministry books of 2008. I thought this was going to be really tough to narrow down to a few books. It seemed like I read a lot this year, but it turns out that I did not read as many youth ministry specific books as I thought I did. What follows is the top 3 youth ministry books I read this year.

Best of 2008: Youth Ministry Books
1. Mission Trips from start to finish by Lynne Ellis & Doug Fields
In terms of practicality, this was the best book I read last year. Simple to follow. Full of reproducible information. This book not only helps a youth worker better understand and answer the big questions, but it provides some great detail information. If you are participating in a mission trip with your youth, this resource needs to be on your desk as you start the planning process.

2. Ministry Mutiny by Greg Stier
When this book first came out, it peeked my interest. But I never got around to actually reading it until this year. We used Ministry Mutiny as part of the mentorship program Tim started via his blog. A lot of the topics dealt with are topics just about every youth worker will face in his/her ministry. One of the benefits of reading it as part of the mentorship program was that I got to discuss each chapter with a fellow youth worker who was just getting started in ministry. I recommend this book to anyone in youth ministry; you may not agree with everything Greg says (I hope you don't) but you will find yourself rethinking your ministry. (Look for a more indepth review to show up on this blog in the next month or so.)

3. Getting Students to Show Up by Jonathan McKee
This is a great book to use when you are thinking about your next outreach event or even your weekly meeting. Since I have already reviewed this book (and given away a free copy), I will not repeat myself. You can see my review by going to this post or over to this review at YMX.

One youth ministry book that was close to making the list was YM 3.0 by Marko. I am not completely finished with it, so I didn't think it was fair to add it to the list - it'll probably be on the 2009 list. Later this week, I'll be posting my favorite middle school ministry books of 2008, so if you think theire is a middle school book left off the list, that could be why.


How did I do? What were your favorite youth ministry books of 2008?


Other "Best of 2008" Posts:
Non-Youth Ministry Books
Music
Websites