Discount General Store

You’ve seen it on the news too many times to count. School shootings, adolescent addictions, bullying, eating disorders, depression and suicide, cutting, pregnancy. There is no lack of bad news to be told about teenagers today.Maybe you believe that will never happen to “my child.” And maybe it won’t. But crises aren’t always the stories that make the evening news. The spectrum of crises an adolescent may face can range from something as (seemingly harmless) as getting caught cheating on a test to dealing with the breakdown of the family, to acting out and getting in trouble with the law. And the reality is that someone they know will likely experience some kind of crisis—and that can affect your teen significantly. Either way, when a crisis affects your teen, wouldn’t you want to be prepared?Rich Van Pelt and Jim Hancock, both of whom have raised teenagers into adulthood and have spent decades in youth ministry and crisis management, bring together their expertise and insight to help you identify and understand what a crisis is and how you can help your teen live and grow through it. Inside, you’ll find practical responses for issues like: Suicidal thoughts or behavior Accidents Cheating Death (of a friend or loved one) Divorce Eating disorders Hazing Pregnancy Sexual abuse Sexual identity confusion Substance abuse or addiction And more… In addition to learning appropriate responses to crises, you’ll learn how to prevent some of these issues, and how to get professionals involved when necessary.Whatever it is your teen is dealing with, your influence in their life is still the most important one. So be prepared to walk them through their crisis with wisdom, compassion, and the tools to help them heal. Rich Van Pelt trains and motivates thousands or educators, professional counselors, and youth workers every year in adolescent crisis intervention. His expertise springs from three decades of youth work and more than 10 years with youth in the Colorado Department of Corrections. He is president of Alongside, a Denver-based leadership training organization, and is national director of ministry relationship at Compassion International. Rich makes his home in Denver, Colorado.As a youth worker, Jim Hancock experienced most of the crises in this book and has helped kids, families, congregations, and schools with crisis prevention and intervention. From his home in Leucadia, California, he applies that experience as a writer and filmmaker (Good Sex, EdgeTV), helping youth workers avert and respond to crisis.

As youth workers, we all have our vision—the plan we hope to make real in our ministries—to change the lives of teenagers as we introduce them to Jesus. But how often have you found yourself wondering if your picture is just wrong—or thinking you just don’t know how to make your ministry match what you envision?In 101 Ready-to-Use Discipleship Ideas you’ll explore the idea of ACTS to create a disciple-making ministry with the elements needed to create an environment necessary to cultivate this mission. ACTS represents everything a missional youth ministry needs to be about: Adoration — More than an act, this is a lifestyle that is fleshed out in expressions of prayerful dependence, deep gratitude, and expectancy in what God can do. Community — This is an atmosphere of genuine caring, authentic relationships, and unity based on Christ’s love for his Church and the Church’s love for one another. Truth-and-Grace — The basis of everything that is taught and valued, this is a setting where God’s Word is the standard and central to belief and behavior. Serving-and-Sharing — As a way of life, serving involves helping the whole person by ministering to both believers and the lost by meeting their needs, as well as verbally sharing God’s message of grace. As you dig into each aspect of ACTS, you’ll discover Jesus’ style and see how he cultivated each element in his own ministry. Then you’ll explore the youth ministry style of each aspect, where you’ll find 25 hands-on, easy-to-implement ideas on how to cultivate the same element in your context in order to create an environment of disciple-making that finally fits your ministry.