Youth workers, this is my annual list of books I’ve been reading. Many books about teenagers and youth ministry have been written recently. This is undoubtedly true because of the sheer size of this generation. Current statistics tell us that one out of every four people in the world is a teenager. The Millennial generation is making its mark all around the world. This is a great opportunity to be in youth ministry, not only because of the numbers of kids, but because of the opportunity to see God at work in the lives of students. I have never been more excited about the huge potential of student ministry. God bless you as you seek to impact this generation for eternity! But, take some time this summer to read. Here are some ideas:

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My neighborhood paints an interesting look at the summer life of American teenagers. Our neighbors on three sides of us have teenage kids. One family homeschools, another sends their children to public school, and the other family sends their kids to a parochial school. It’s been fascinating to notice these kids’ activities this summer. Some of our neighboring teenagers work odd jobs, some are actively involved in sports, some participate in church youth activities, some work full-time, and one kid, it seems, sits around a swimming pool all day, every day. And they all are very involved with their friends.

Interacting with these neighborhood kids has reminded me that summer is a key time to be involved in youth ministry. Undoubtedly, today’s students are busy, especially the high achievers. My neighborhood presents a typical overview of teenage life in American suburbia. However, I am convinced that most kids have time on their hands during the summer. In fact, my take on today’s students is that most kids have more discretionary time available during the summer than they do during the school year.

This social snapshot reveals again that summer is an ideal time to work with teenagers. I’ve written about this in past summer issues of this e-letter, but I want to reemphasize four key summertime strategies for youth workers.

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