5 More Must-Read Books for Diocesan Youth Ministry
To thrive in youth ministry, you need to be constantly learning.
In diocesan youth ministry, as in most jobs, there are two ways to learn: from others or through your own experience (aka, the hard way). While learning things the hard way is sometimes necessary, learning from others is almost always faster and easier.
But what do you do when you don’t have personal access to the world’s greatest minds in areas like youth ministry, team-building, and personal development? You read their books.
Over the past four years, I’ve curated a list of books that have profoundly shaped my ministry. I shared five of these Must Reads in a previous blog post. Here are five more that deserve your time this year.
1. The Art of Forming Young Disciples by Everett Fritz
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Everett Fritz was a youth minister getting burnt out by the demands of his big parish youth group. Unconvinced that his youth ministry was actually making lifelong disciples, Everett decided to try something different. He adopted a model that closely resembled what Jesus did with his disciples – building deep, personal relationships with young people in small groups. The results? Transformed teens, rejuvenated leaders, and a parish youth ministry that doubled in size.
In The Art of Forming Young Disciples, Everett shares the details of this discipleship-focused small group model of ministry, why it works, and how you can launch your own.
WHY IT’S A MUST-READ:
Fritz doesn’t just challenge the traditional youth group model of ministry; he offers a compelling alternative. Traditional youth groups, he argues, often fail to create lifelong disciples and contribute to youth ministry burnout.
Fritz challenges youth ministers to move beyond ineffective methods and embrace a model centred on relational discipleship. The small-group model that Fritz recommends isn’t new - it’s the same method Jesus modelled 2,000 years ago. But his book serves as a timely reminder that “… successful youth ministry has little to do with the programs presented to teens and everything to do with the relationships that teens have with the people mentoring them.”
2. The Master Plan of Evangelism by Dr. Robert E. Coleman
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Dr. Coleman takes us back to the evangelism strategy of the original Master: Jesus Christ. By closely examining the Gospels, he identifies eight timeless principles that defined Jesus’ approach to making disciples. Coleman argues that these principles should continue to form the foundation of our evangelisation efforts today.
WHY IT’S A MUST-READ:
This book, combined with The Art of Forming Young Disciples, made me re-think our diocesan youth ministry from the ground up.
As we struggle to identify effective strategies for evangelising young people, Coleman invites us to return to Jesus’ proven model of personal, relational discipleship. By deeply investing in a few and equipping them to disciple others, youth ministers can create a ripple effect of evangelization.
This book has been a big deal in evangelical Christian circles, and it deserves a spotlight in the Catholic space as well.
3. Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
In a culture where overwork is the norm, Cal Newport offers a counter-cultural approach to work: Slow Productivity. He outlines three strategies to achieve meaningful work without burnout: (1) Do Fewer Things, (2) Work at a Natural Pace, and (3) Obsess Over Quality.
WHY IT’S A MUST-READ:
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer scope of diocesan youth ministry, this book is for you. Newport’s principles will help you to prioritising a few high-impact projects, giving them the time and energy they deserve. If you’re willing to relentlessly reduce your other, lower-impact, obligations, the result is sustainable ministry that focuses on what matters most.
4. The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
Lencioni tells the story of a leader trying to save his company by restoring its commitment to teamwork. Through this fable, the book explores the three virtues of an ideal team player: humble, hungry and [socially] smart. Lencioni offers practical advice on how to identify, recruit for, and cultivate these qualities within a team.
WHY IT’S A MUST-READ:
The Ideal Team Player is, hands down, the most valuable resource I’ve found for recruiting for your diocesan youth team. The book provides numerous practical tools for identifying (and later, developing) the three core virtues of great team members.
In a youth ministry content, I would add one more essential virtue to Lencioni’s three: faithful. A relationship with Jesus should be at the heart of every team member’s life. With these four virtues — humble, hungry, smart, and faithful — you’ll have a simple, effective framework for building a great team.
5. Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) by Pope Francis
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
In this 2013 apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis shares his vision for a missionary Church. He calls for a new chapter of evangelization, focused not on self-preservation, but on proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world.
WHY IT’S A MUST-READ:
Evangelii Gaudium is a powerful reminder that evangelization and discipleship must always be the core of our ministry. We need to guard against running events or programmes for their own sake.
In his review of Evangelii Gaudium, Edmund Mitchell writes that this exhortation combines the best of three relevant Church documents for youth ministry: Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World), Catechesii Tradendae (On Catechesis in Our Time), and Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the Redeemer). Mitchell writes that if you only read one Church document, “read this one.”
I agree. Pope Francis paints an inspiring vision of a Church transformed by its mission. Along the way, he shares important insights around the challenges of today’s world, the proclamation of the gospel, and the social dimension of evangelisation.
Constantly Learning
To thrive in diocesan youth ministry, you need to be constantly learning. These books, along with the five from my original list, will offer valuable insights for your ministry.
Don’t just power through the audiobook version at 2x speed. Take the time to sit with these books, reflect on them, and implement what you learn. They’ve shaped my ministry profoundly, and I’m confident they can do the same for you.
What other books have impacted your approach to diocesan youth ministry? Let me know—I’m always on the hunt for more!
Read the original 5 Must-Read Books for Diocesan Youth Ministry.
Both of these posts were inspired by a piece written by Edmund Mitchell, BOOKS I WISH I READ MY FIRST YEAR OF CATHOLIC YOUTH MINISTRY. I’d highly recommend it.