Sustainable Young Adult Ministry: Making It Work, Making It Last

by Mark DeVries, Scott Pontier

Young adult ministry scares us.

Young adults seem like the elusive Holy Grail demographic in Christian ministry. We often treat them like another species, with an inscrutable culture all their own. To have a thriving ministry to young adults, we're told, we'll need to be up-to-date on all the latest trends. We'll need to change up our worship style. We'll need to make programs. But what if young adult ministry isn't actually as enigmatic as we've been led to believe? What if it actually looks an awful lot like . . . faithful Christian ministry?

Scott Pontier and Mark DeVries know firsthand the challenges of young adult ministry. In Sustainable Young Adult Ministry, they explore six common mistakes churches make in their efforts to reach this demographic--mistakes they themselves have made--and offer six paradoxes that upend our presuppositions and return us to a simpler, more biblical ministry model. Full of practical advice and complete with a wealth of additional resources, this book offers a fresh perspective on young adult ministry that is grounded in long ministry experience and in the timeless gospel of Jesus.

224 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2019

About the author

Mark DeVries (MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary) is the founder of Ministry Architects, a consulting team that helps churches and ministry organizations build sustainable ministries for children, youth, young adults, and entire congregations. He served for twenty-eight years as associate pastor for youth and their families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He has trained youth workers on five continents and has taught courses or been a guest lecturer at a number of colleges and seminaries. DeVries is the author of Sustainable Youth Ministry and Family-Based Youth Ministry, coauthor of The Most Important Year in a Woman's Life/The Most Important Year in a Man's Life, and he has been a contributing writer for Josh McDowell's Youth Ministry Handbook, Starting Right, and Reaching a Generation for Christ. In addition, his articles and reviews have been published in a variety of journals and magazines. He and his wife, Susan, have four grown children.

Reviews

[Anna Hoech · Rating 3 out of 5]

TEDS is definitely making me a faster reader :) this book was not very long and was very easy to read. The author does such a good job of being down to earth, and I really appreciate all the ways he includes stories and testimonies from real people. His main argument is very clear, almost too clear throughout his whole book: the church cannot simply rely on programs (easy way) to reach young adults because young adults are driven by a desire to make a difference in today’s world. If the church does not give young adults a place to try/fail/succeed, they will seek other opportunities in the world to do that. I think the author’s argument was insightful and seemed to speak 1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young…” However, throughout the book, it became very redundant because he would emphasize every few pages that the church focuses too much on attendance and program. It felt like his main point was overstated. His main generation was also millennials, which is slowly becoming more outdated, given that our generation today is even more technology driven. Overall, I appreciated how this author helped me understand the generation before me and encourage me to participate in ministries and not to be afraid of being too young as long as I am growing in my own relationship with God but the overemphasis of his main point really made the book hard to finish at times.

[Nicole Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t find this book particularly helpful for an Australian ministry context. I also found it generally lacked the gospel and missional clarity required to determine what a healthy young adults ministry should look like. But still helpful to read as a way to keep critically reflecting on practice!

[Marc Bulck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the follow-up to DeVries' seminal "Sustainable Youth Ministry" (a book which frankly should be required reading before any church considers building a program for middle school/high schoolers or hiring a youth ministry staff person). "Sustainable Youth Ministry" focuses more on the practices and strategies for young adults (framed here as ages 21+).

The concepts in this book are great. DeVries does not pull any punches when it comes to common mistakes that churches make when staffing/program planning for these age groups. This can feel like a bit of "tough love" at times. However, if your church has historically struggled with this in the past, some of that tough love may offer some insight as to why, which may wind up being good medicine in the long run.

The one aspect of this book that I found curious was its publication date. "Sustainable Young Adult Ministry" was published in 2019. Yet it repeatedly describes millennials as if they were fresh out of college. Most millennials are in their 30's or 40's by now, so that word choice seems oddly out of place here. I don't think this should dissuade churches from reading the book or putting its techniques into practice, but I couldn't help but wonder if DeVries and Scott Pontier got millennials mixed up with Generation Z (who ARE much closer to that age range by now).

That peculiarity aside, Mark DeVries is a great resource for this kind of work. If I had my druthers, both books would be required reading for any church who is attempting youth and young adult ministry (and they should be read in tandem with one another).

[Andrew Bondurant · Rating 4 out of 5]

DeVries and Pontier have offered a valuable resource for churches to engage young adults. The book identifies some common mistakes churches make as well as offering a way forward. Of particular value is the free resources provided on the IVP website for implementation. The future will tell much about the value and transferability of the principles, but the call for persistence is one churches are wise to heed. It is easy in the present church culture to merely give up. DeVries and Pontier offer a better way forward.

[Emily (emilyreadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously this is a super niche read. But if you find yourself in a position where you need to read something like this - it’s a solid choice. Though an update is in order because the young adults referenced in the book are Millennials and we’ve now moved beyond that demographic to populate the young adult space.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid entree into the work of young adult ministry full of provocative reflections that would be healthy and formative for the church writ large-- never quite nails down the alchemy of the formation of a group itself, but lots of solid analysis.

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable insights, especially if one is looking to start a young adult ministry.

[Ashley Upchurch · Rating 3 out of 5]

flying through seminary reading these days! highly repetitive for such a long book but includes a lot of practicals on building leadership teams and leaders in a young adult ministry!

[Seth Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved us a not of failed starts. Most of the first part of the book is about what NOT to do... several were things I was about to do!