Book Review

If you are going to read only one book on youth ministry this year let it be Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation by Andrew Root published by InterVarsity Press in 2007 (Amazon Page).


In "Part One" Root gives us some badly needed historical perspective reminding us that adolescence, age specific ministry, and relational ministry are all concepts unique to modern history. He helps us to understand that until the industrial revolution and public education there were no "teens" and the organization "Young Life" developed the relational model of ministry. The temptation in relational ministry is to develop a "cool" place and program where youth will interact with a "cool" youth minister who will relate to youth in order to manipulate them into being the kind of kids the congregation wants them to be.

In "Part Two" Root walks us slowly and carefully through Bonhoeffer's theology of Incarnation. Root also copies Luther's didactic technique of feeding the reader small spoonfuls of theology each followed by a "Why Does This Matter" section. Using this format Root explains the questions upon which Bonhoeffer develops his ethics: "Who Is Jesus Christ? Where Is Jesus Christ? and What Then Shall We Do? In the seventh chapter, Root demonstrates the difference between relational youth ministry to "influence" and relational youth ministry as "Place-Sharing."

If you are going to read only one chapter of one book on youth ministry this year let it be Chapter 9 where Root casts his vision of a "place sharing" incarnational relational youth ministry. In his vision Root sees a youth pastor who has contact with many kids but a relationship with only a few. The youth pastor also works with other adults in the congregation who also have many contacts but few relationships. In these relationships the adult does not try to "influence" the youth but shares in their suffering (here Root seems to assume that most youth suffer most of the time). Root's vision includes congregations without youth groups but groups of adults who are in relationships with youth. Youth ministry also focuses on the youth's family which is strengthened and resourced by the congregation. The congregation in Root's vision is welcoming of youth in all aspects of ministry and calls and commissions adults to be "place sharers" with youth. If you are only going to read three pages of one chapter of one book on youth ministry this year let it be pages 207, 213, an 216 where all this is summarized.

Would a strict implementation of Andrew Root's vision of congregational youth ministry win a youth worker in Northeastern Iowa praise or unemployment? Probably the second, but the book still has a great deal to say to us about our role as manipulators or ministers or discipleship coaches.