Growing Teen Disciples: Strategies for Really Effective Youth Ministry Book

	Preface	11
Section 1	Preparing the Soil	13
1.	Disciple-Making Youth Ministry	14
	Defining Youth	15
	What Is a Disciple?	15
	Qualities of Discipleship	16
	Stages of Discipleship	19
	Principles for the Harvest	20
2.	Disciples Make Disciples	24
	Developing Adult Leadership	24
	People-Centered Youth Ministry	26
	Youth Leader Profile	29
	What Are the Internal Qualities of a Youth Leader?	30
	Begin Where Your Parish Is	36
3.	Cultivating a Team of Disciple-Makers	40
	Choosing the Right Leaders	40
	The Importance of Prayer in Attracting Good Leaders	41
	Who Works Best With Youth?	42
	Skills for Recruiting Youth Workers	46
	Basic Recruiting Approaches	49
	Job Description of a Youth Leader	53
4.	Envisioning a Verdant Horizon	62
	The Driving Forces of Youth Ministry	62
	Defining Mission and Purpose	67
	The Mission Statement	69
	Steps to Developing a Mission Statement	74
	Developing a Strategic Plan	79
5.	Fertilizing the Harvest Through Intercession	97
	What Is Intercession?	98
	Steps to Developing an Impacting Intercessory Prayer Base	100
Section 2	Sowing the Seed	115
6.	What Is Catholic Youth Evangelization?	116
	Elements of Evangelization	117
	The Need for Youth Evangelization	118
	Dynamics of Youth Evangelization	120
	Evangelistic Programming	127
	Objectives of Evangelistic Programming	129
7.	Caring for the Crop: A Relational Approach to Ministry	133
	Incarnational Ministry	134
	Characteristics of a Relational Youth Minister	137
	Four Elements to Relational Outreach	142
8.	Acres at a Time: Large Group Evangelization	158
	Defining Large Group Evangelization	159
	Meeting Format for Large Group Evangelization	166
	Smaller Groups in the Large Group Setting	170
	Steps to Planning and Evaluating a Meeting	172
9.	Expanding Our Harvests	179
	Five Steps to Reaching Uninvolved Teens	179
	Some Examples of Innovative Outreach	182
Section 3	Growing Mature Disciples	187
10.	Plotting for Growth: Fostering Adolescent Faith Maturity	188
	Characteristics of a Maturing Faith	190
11.	Growing Small-Group Communities	205
	The Significance of Small Faith Communities for Teenagers	206
	Defining Small Faith Community	208
	Integrating the Dimensions of the Church in the Small Faith Community	210
	Small Faith Community Meeting Format	213
	Characteristics of a Mature Small Faith Community	218
12.	Practical Skills to Help Foster Growth	223
	The Role of the Spiritual Cultivator	224
	The Importance of Effective Listening Skills	226
	Developing a Positive Catechetical Learning Experience	232
	Lesson-Planning Steps	236
	Small-Group Discussion Do's and Don'ts	237
Section 4	Reaping the Fruit	243
13.	Multiplying the Harvest Through Teen Leadership	244
	Why Teens Should Be Active in Ministry	247
	Identifying Potential Teen Leaders	250
	Equipping Teens for Ministry	251
	Formation of Teen Leaders	252
14.	Planting a Fruitful Peer Ministry Team	259
	What Is Peer Ministry?	260
	Why Peer Ministry?	260
	Characteristics of an Effective Peer Ministry Team	261
	Peer Ministry Team Meeting Format	266
	Recruiting Potential Peer Ministers	267
	The Selection Process	270
15.	Cultivating a Lifestyle of Justice and Service	284
	Two Types of Service: Direct Action and Social Change	285
	Service Experiences	286
	Service Contexts	287
	Steps to Planning a Service Event	288
16.	The Maturing Full-Cycle Youth Ministry	293
	Starting From Scratch	294
	Beginning From Existing Ministry	296
	Some Final Considerations	297
	Notes	301