Presence-Centered Youth Ministry - by Mike King (Paperback)

About the Book

Mike King proposes a youth ministry centered in the presence of God. Here, young people encounter Christ not in the flash and pop of arena ministry, but in the sacred shadow of his presence. This book gives shape to such ministry through the classic disciplines and potent symbols and practices that have sustained the church over the centuries.

Book Synopsis

How many programs does it take to change a youth group?That question has bothered youth workers for decades, and the cracks in its logic are beginning to show. In place of the contrived, artificial mechanisms employed so widely in modern youth outreach and discipleship, Mike King proposes a ministry centered in the presence of God.Young people encounter Christ not in the flash and pop of arena ministry, but in the sacred shadow of his presence. They learn what it is to love and follow Christ by observing others loving and following Christ--letting Christ shape their worldviews, their habits, their virtues. Presence-Centered Youth Ministry gives shape to such ministry through the classic disciplines and potent symbols and practices that have sustained the church over the centuries.The sound and fury that has characterized youth ministry for so long has left too many youth workers tired and too many young people disillusioned. Come explore the deeper terrain; your students are sure to follow.

Review Quotes

Presence-Centered Youth Ministry is an excellent supplemental text useful for challenging some long-standing youth ministry thinking and practice. . . . his larger contribution may be in naming the specific task of youth ministers as bringing youth into the presence of God.

--D. Andrew Zirschky for The Journal of Youth Ministry, Fall 2007

"Make no mistake: Presence-Centered Youth Ministry is about God's presence, not ours--which right away puts Mike King's approach to youth ministry in a class of its own. King transcends 'liberal/conservative' stereotypes by putting ancient spiritual practices at the heart of our ministry with young people--practices that center us in the presence of God. If you're not won by the teenagers you meet in these pages, you'll be won by the glimpses of how King's own ministry helps youth 'practice the presence of God.' If Brother Lawrence had been a youth pastor, this book would have been his favorite resource."

--Kenda Creasy Dean, parent, pastor, associate professor of youth, church and culture, Princeton Theological Seminary, and author of Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church

Mentioned as a Recommended Resource

--Youth Worker Journal, September/October 2010

Mike King is old enough to have washed ashore with all the trends in the last 40 years or so in evangelicalism. He's tired of the programs and the catchy theories. He calls us back to the center, to knowing God, to being known by God, and living - and ministering to youth - out of that knowing and being known. With pastors like Mike King we've got glimpses of changes that will speak the gospel into the next generation.

--Scot McKnight, Jesus Creed (blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed), November 26, 2008

This book has great value. Highly recommended!

--The Lamplighter, August 2007

Though the job of youth ministers is challenging, this book's easy-to-read format offers suggestions and solutions for them that are both theoretical and pragmatic.

--Catholic News Service, August 3, 2007

Whether a person has been working with youth for years or is trying to decide whether to lead a group for the first time, he or she will discover in this book an approach to helping young people mature spiritually.

--Mary Lou Henneman, Congregational Libraries Today, March/April 2007

About the Author

Mike King serves as president of YouthFront (www.YouthFrontZone.com), an organization creating environments for youth to experience spiritual transformation, and providing support to churches and youth workers. Mike also serves on the pastoral staff of Jacob's Well Church in Kansas City and is a frequent speaker at conferences and conventions. He and his wife, Vicki, have two sons, a daughter and two daughters-in-law. Read Mike's blog at www.king.typepad.com.