Every Youth Worker Needs: a book genre reading list (or part 2)

(Youth ministry is not an easy ministry. And in this series, Every Youth Worker Needs:..., I want to highlight a variety of things that might make your ministry a little easier. This ongoing series will include ministry tips, book suggestions, technology helps, and many other nuggets of advice.)


Yesterday I said that every youth worker needed to read a variety of literature. Today, I am offering my list of suggested genres that every youth worker should consider reading. Included with each genre is a list of good books that I have read, in case you need something more specific, to help you get started.

1. Leadership
- Visioneering by Andy Stanley
- Fish by Lundin, Paul, Christensen
- The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and Truett Cathy
- Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley
- Mazimizing Your Effectiveness by Aubrey Malphurs
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
- The Dip by Seth Godin

2. General Ministry
- Church Staff Handbook by Harold Westing
- One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gary McIntosh
- Multiple Staff and the Larger Church by Lyle Schaller
- In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen

3. Youth Ministry
- Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries (my review)
- Purpose Driven Youth Ministry by Doug Fields
- Junior High Ministry by Wayne Rice
- Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields
- Hurt by Chap Clark

4. Fiction/Classics
- The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (looks at death & dying)
- Blink by Ted Dekker
- Bleachers by John Grisham
- Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Hadden

5. Theology/Biblical Study
- Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics by Walter Kaiser and Moises Silva
- 60-Second Guide to Denominations by Shelly Steig
- Simply Christian by N.T. Wright (my review)
- Called to Worship by Vernon Whaley (my review)
- Hidden Worldviews by Steve Wilkens and Mark Sanford

6. Christian Living
- Unquenchable Worshipper by Matt Redman
- Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
- Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconell
- Soul Survivor by Mike Pilavachi
- Restoring Margin to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson & Karen Lee-Thorp

7. Books that make you think
- Addiction and Grace by Gerald May
- flashBANG by Mark Steele
- Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer (my review)
- free refill by Mark Atteberry
- Culture Making by Andy Crouch (my review)
- Signature Sins by Michael Mangis

8. Humor
- since we all laugh at different things, I'm going to let you find your own books that cause you to chuckle. But you do need to make sure you include this into your reading rotation.

If you need any other ideas, you can find some while browsing through the book reviews from this blog.


(Every Youth Worker Needs: A Blog Series About Things You Need in Youth Ministry)