Book Review: Sustainable Youth Ministry

Sometimes you read a book and wonder why you didn't know about this author earlier. This is the position I am in now. Mark DeVries' other book "Family Based Youth Ministry" was recommended to me late in 2015, and I have it on my shelf ready to read. But I also saw this book "Sustainable Youth Ministry" at the bookshop so purchased them both. And this is the first of the two that I have read.

DeVries is a clever and entertaining writer. I don't know if he worked with others on the chapter headings, but they are memorable. Here's a couple of examples:
Hoping, Wishing and Praying.
 (Beyond the Frantic Search for the Youth Ministry Superstar)
Dancing with Alligators.
 (Navigating the Turbulent Waters of Church Politics)

With headings and sub-headings like these, you get the idea that he wants his readers to be understanding what they will be reading, but doesn't want them to be bored with the topics. I like that.

So what does he address in this book? Well, DeVries pulls the veil away from the youth ministry plan that many churches would dream of and shows why it has many flaws. This plan, simply put, is the desire that some church leaders will have of finding a youth ministry superstar from somewhere, employing that person at this church, and then watching the youth ministry grow in wonderful ways. To be sure, it might work at times, but it also reveals a disturbing lack of vision and preparation for youth ministry. DeVries urges a much slower and more deliberate approach to long-term youth ministry. He also believes this will bear more fruit in the long run.

Who should read a book like this? If you are a youth worker in a local church, you will be enormously helped by this book. If you take on some of the suggestions made here, you will be better prepared for your weekly activities, and better prepared for any conflict that will (and it will) arise. If you are a senior pastor, this book will be a great help to you as you seek to determine what you are wanting a youth worker to be and do. It might even help the Board understand why you think a youth worker is worth paying for, and might help the elders understand what a youth worker can - and should not - do.

I can't say I like everything about the book, but I think that might also reflect my own personality more than a weakness in the book itself. This is in connection with things like visioning documents, job descriptions etc. I wouldn't for a moment say these are not important, it's just that I find those things, or more correctly the amount of these DeVries refers to, as a tad overwhelming. But that's me. You might love it and find enormous freedom in it.

You will lose nothing from reading this book. And you will gain much. 

Well worth reading.