Welcome to Rooted’s Top Ten, a curated reading list for youth ministers. Each month we find ten articles, and sometimes videos or podcasts, from various sources that we believe will encourage you in your ministry to teenagers and their families. Some give explicit instruction on gospel-centered ministry, while others are included because there is a message of common grace that is helpful to youth workers. (The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the position of Rooted.) For more articles to share with the parents in your ministry, make sure to check out our Parent T ..read more

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 “God works out all things for good because he loves you, Katie.” My college friend offered these words not long after receiving news that my dad had cancer. She intended them as comfort, but I cringed when she said it. There was only one “good” outcome in my mind – that Dad would live. In my feeble faith, I feared God might deem some other outcome as “good,” so rather than clinging to this truth, I held the words at bay. My Father passed away a ..read more

Youth pastor, you have a lot of options for how to end a sermon or talk to your students. You can end with a call to action, spurring teenagers to obedience. Or you can end with an emotional story, hoping to affect hearts. You could end with something funny to help the deep doctrines and hard truths go down easy. No matter which type of ending you choose, you should always end with the good news of what Jesus has done. I’ll paraphrase something Mark Dever said in Preach that has stuck with me for years. No one remembers everything in a movie. No one remembers every scene or bit of dialogue. Bu ..read more

When Notre Dame football players leave their locker room to take the field, they pass by a sign that reads “Play Like a Champion Today.” Every player taps that sign as they run by, as a reminder of all it took to prepare for the game, and what it will take to win it. Now, as lifelong Alabama fans, it pains us to speak well of the Fighting Irish, but they are on to something with this ritual reminder. If parents were to paint a similar sign and hang it over their bedroom door, what reminders might we need as we start the day with our families? We’d like to propose a few short truths that would ..read more

One of my most striking youth group memories happened during the sign-up period for an upcoming mission trip in my third year as a youth minister. A student who had participated in a trip the previous summer kept saying to me and to other students, “I can’t wait to go back…I miss the feeling.” While her words seemed innocuous at first, I started to wonder why she was so fixated on a feeling from our time serving together. Finally, out of love and care for this student, my wife and I sat down with her to find out what she meant.   In the course of our conversation, we began to discern that ..read more

Welcome to the Rooted Parent Top Ten, a curated list of resources from across the web that we believe will be helpful to parents raising teenagers. Here you’ll find articles, podcasts, and videos to support you in gospel- centered discipleship and interpreting youth culture. While most are gospel focused, others are included because they include a message of common grace. (The opinions presented in these articles do not necessarily reflect the position of Rooted Ministry.) At the end, you’ll find Rooted resources compiled from the last month’s new offerings. We hope this resource is helpful! G ..read more

I had been working at my church for three years when Jeremy Lin was drafted to my home team, the Houston Rockets during the 2011-2012 season. Young Asian Americans like me got to see one of  “our own” ascend to the heights of super-mythical powers. The Asian community in Houston already had a famous player, Yao Ming. But Jeremy Lin felt even more familiar. Granted, he was a Harvard graduate, an NBA player, and made $25 million. But he was a Christian!  In those years, the life advice handed down to teenagers by Asian parents and pastors was often, “Be like Jeremy Lin.” As a young adu ..read more

As we celebrate the launch of our Founding Chairman Cameron Cole’s new book: “Heavenward: How Eternity Can Change Your Life on Earth“, we hope you will enjoy some previously published resources on the topic of heaven. We hope these articles and podcasts encourage you as you consider the “glory to be revealed” in our eternity with Jesus. Articles: What We Do Know About Heaven by Anna Meade Harris “Meditating on the inexhaustible overflow of joy I will experience in heaven – knowing that the reality of it surpasses my capacity to dream – magnifies the hope I rejoice in here, today.” Heaven is No ..read more

My oldest son was a star football player on his high school team. He twice was MVP of the defense, won numerous league and state football awards, and was recruited to play Division 1 college football. I loved going to watch him play on Fridays and cheer him on from the stands.  However, despite all these accolades, one thing always troubled me. I noticed that when his team ran onto the field like a thundering herd, he would always walk out last by himself. When the team huddled up on the field for the pregame speech, he would always be outside the large team huddle. When other players on ..read more

Youth ministry is arguably one of the most rewarding positions in the church. We get a front row seat to seeing the power of the gospel at work in the lives of our students. A student who rarely speaks shares something deep and profound in a small group that visibly impacts the whole room. We watch as students face and conquer their giants, whether it be the fear of public speaking or choosing to live out faith in Christ despite social rejection from peers. We may even witness a student’s profession of faith in Jesus Christ that moves us and our leaders to tears. There is immense pleasure in p ..read more