Student Ministry Resources
CDM strengthens your church by connecting you to the resources you need for Student Ministry!
This includes resources we have gathered from PCA churches across the country and resources our Student Ministry Team have developed to strengthen your church. We are continually adding to the resources in our tool box, so please check back!
If you have a resource you would be willing to share or a resource you would like us to develop, we want to hear from you. Email us.
The information below comes in 
PDF, Word doc, 
on-site articles, 
off-site pages or website and links to 
videos. Click the title of interest to view, download and /or print or watch.
PDF, 
Word doc, 
on-site articles, 
videosPCA Affiliated:
Barnabas Connection
The Baranabas Connection connects PCA Youth Ministry Leaders through Gospel refreshment & encouragement, equipping them to navigate the unique challenges of Youth Ministry for the long-haul. They host a retreat at Perimeter Church in the spring every year.
RYM RYM exists to reach youth for Christ and equip them to serve. For over 40 years we have fulfilled our mission by providing conferences for youth that are word driven, God centered and gospel focused.
Generally Reformed:
Rooted Ministry Full of helpful blog posts, articles and resources for parents, youth workers, and pastors. Rooted is a group of evangelical youth folks who are theologically reformed and who are working to resource others working with students.
The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding A non-profit organization committed to building strong families by serving to bridge the cultural-generational gap between parents and teenagers. Founded in 1989 by Walt Mueller, CPYU has developed an international reputation as a voice providing cutting-edge information, resources and analysis on today’s youth culture.
PACT Ministry A PACT Partnership consists of a group of evangelical student pastors who meet consistently together to encourage one another in their personal walk with God, family life, and strategic ministries through Prayer, Accountability, Care and Training. These gatherings are led by a certified PACT Partner.
Broadly Evangelical:
The Youth Cartel Frontline Evangelical youth ministry organization that can be a good starting point when looking for youth ministry resources.
The Youth Culture Report A website delivering daily news on youth culture to equip Christians to understand youth and make bridges for the advancement of the Gospel.
Fuller Youth Institute In partnership with Fuller Theological Seminary, FYI transforms cutting-edge research into resources for leaders and parents to help unlock young people’s potential and unleash them to change the world. FYI’s Sticky Faith offers practical resources for youth ministry and parenting; it also offers research-based strategies for integrating young people to create a thriving church, and offers essential training vital to effective urban youth ministry.
Urban Youth Workers International This group is dedicated to resourcing urban youth workers.
PCA Affiliated:
Youth Leader Training Hosted by RYM, YLT is a wonderful venue for those who minister to junior and senior high school students to gather together for a week of biblical training in theology and philosophy of ministry, small group interaction, and mutual encouragement, edification, and networking with fellow laborers in student ministry.
Generally Reformed:
Rooted Ministry Full of helpful blog posts, articles and resources for parents, youth workers, and pastors. Rooted is a group of evangelical youth folks who are theologically reformed and who are working to resource others working with students.
PCA Affiliated:
So What? Great Commission Publications, Bible Studies that teach teens to relate their faith to the challenges of daily life.
Becoming a True Woman by Susan Hunt, The cultural message about womanhood is delivered visually and verbally 24/7. Here is a resource to help the church answer the question many of our daughters do not even know they should be asking . . . What does God say about His female design? A discipleship curriculum for teen girls! In addition to biblical principles of womanhood, this comprehensive Bible study series incorporates:
- How to study Scripture from a gospel perspective.
- Suggestions for Scripture memorization.
- Reformed and covenantal theology with related questions from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
- A biblical perspective of the church as the girls are taught their privileges and responsibilities as a part of the covenant community. Suggestions are given to help girls develop relationships with and serve others in the church family.
- How to live the gospel in our relationships. The lessons continually emphasize that God’s glory is the goal and His Word is the authority for every relationship.
Broadly Evangelical:
Disclaimer: The resources and ministries in this section are not comprehensive or an affiliate of CDM. Our goal is to connect you to resources that may be helpful, but CDM is not endorsing any of these organizations.
3Story.org 3Story is about relationships. It is a way of seeing how the relationships we have with other people and God can be connected and grown. by YFC International.
Don’t Waste Your Life John Piper’s plea to a generation is, “Don’t waste your life!” This book and downloadable study guide is a passionate call to make your life count for eternity.
Youth Worker YouthWorker offers a wealth of resources specifically for student ministry pastors and leaders to help as they minister to teens and pre-teens.
Youth Specialties Simple resources that require little or no prep.
Group Group’s Youth Ministry is always creating innovative resources to help youth workers do what matters most. From fresh, Jesus-centered books, games, videos, and curriculum to tested and proven mission trip experiences for youth ministry.
Student Ministry
Sustainable Youth Ministry (Mark DeVries) Is sustainable youth ministry possible—even after a leader leaves? With DeVries’s guidance, you’ll pinpoint the causes of division; then use his practical tools to lay a strong foundation that’s not built on one person or the latest trend.
Hurt 2.0 (Chap Clark) What do teenagers really think about adults? If you think you know the answer, you may be in for a surprise. According to Chap Clark, today’s adolescents have largely been abandoned by adults and left to fend for themselves in an uncertain world. As a result, teens have created their own world to serve as a shield against uncaring adults.
This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (Jaquelle Crow) This is an interesting book written by a young lady in her late teens that covers everything from identity being rooted in Christ to the impact of our relationships. Could be a worthwhile book for teenagers who are wrestling with how their faith informs their day to day living.
Pray for Me Campaign How can we connect more adults with more young people more naturally than ever before? The Pray for Me Campaign was born out of this question. We believe every young person needs a team of Prayer Champions strategically praying for them. The Pray for Me Campaign creates a vast web of intergenerational relationships for young people and equips adult believers to pass on a sustainable faith to the next generation.
When Kids Hurt (Chap Clark) This book offers challenging insights on hard truth about contemporary adolescence to youth workers and parents in this accessible followup to the groundbreaking Hurt.
The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids (Madeline Levine) In recent years, numerous studies have shown that bright, charming, seemingly confident and socially skilled teenagers from affluent, loving families are experiencing epidemic rates of depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders–rates higher than in any other socioeconomic group of American adolescents.
Current Youth Culture
Growing up Christian (Karl Graustein) Encourages 15- to 18-year-olds raised in Christian homes to take responsibility for their relationship with God and to grow in their love of Christ. To see the beauty, privilege, and blessing of growing up in the church, and yet also see the subtle and not so subtle dangers of being raised in the “”community of the saints,”” is a strong balance that every pastor, youth worker, parent, adolescent and child needs to have.
You Lost Me (David Kinnaman) As adolescence extends through the 20s, Kinnaman explores why some students leave their faith (or aspects of it) behind. Kinnaman’s insights can help parents and ministries understand the students that no longer come to church, and the conversations they can have with these students.
Learning for the Love of God (Donald Opitz & Derek Melleby) Most Christian college students separate their academic life from church attendance, Bible study, and prayer. Too often discipleship of the mind is overlooked if not ignored altogether. In this lively and enlightening book, two authors who are experienced in college youth ministry show students how to be faithful in their studies, approaching education as their vocation.
Popologetics: Popular Culture in Christian Perspective (Ted Turnau) As culture is literally the soup in which our students swim, teaching them to consume it well and see the gospel in it is paramount. No book does a better job of giving parents and youth workers the categories to teach their students a well-rounded view of culture.
Growing Young: 6 Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church (Kara Powell) Providing a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. It profiles innovative churches that are engaging 15- to 29-year-olds and as a result are growing–spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically. Packed with both research and practical ideas, Growing Young shows pastors and ministry leaders how to position their churches to engage younger generations in a way that breathes vitality, life, and energy into the whole church.
Youth Ministry in the 21st Century: Five Views (Brian Cosby) Helpful book that gives an in depth look at 5 models of youth ministry through the eyes of practitioners of those models. After each author presents their view, the other four authors offer critique which helps the reader gain a fuller perspective of each view.
Gospel Centered Youth Ministry (Cameron Cole & Jon Neilson) This book covers many of the important issues of youth ministry through a Gospel centered lens.
A Youth Workers Field Guide to Parents (Danny Kwon) Helpful, straightforward, honest book written by a veteran youth worker full of good advice on working with parents in youth ministry.
Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World (James Emery White) A valuable book that will help you better understand those who were born between 1993 and 2012. Helpful for anyone who is called to work with that age demographic.
Your First Two Years of Youth Ministry: A Personal and Practical Guide to Starting Right (Doug Fields) A straightforward book that provides solid advice on how to establish a youth program. The principles of this book can be adapted for different cultural contexts.
Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture and Youth Culture 101 (Walt Mueller) In order to reach youth with the truth of the gospel, adults need to see what they see and hear what they hear. Navigate teens’ world views in order to share matters of faith.
Disclaimer: The resources and ministries on this page are not comprehensive or an affiliate of CDM. Our goal is to connect you to resources that may be helpful, but CDM is not endorsing any of these organizations.
National Study of Youth and Religion
Biblical Sexuality
Today’s world is constantly sending our children unbiblical messages about gender identities, gender roles, same-sex attraction, and sexual fulfillment. Gender fluidity, which is at the core of many of these views, denies the sovereignty of God and the creation of man and woman as His image-bearers. The inherent uniqueness and value of each gender is not clearly understood by our culture because of historical stereotypes and abuses. We, therefore, must help our children put a biblical lens over whatever message comes to them from the culture. That biblical lens is called complementarianism. “God created them male and female” to complement, i.e., complete each other.
This mini-book is designed to equip Christian adults to understand the culture shaping their children’s views of sexuality, so they can help their children respond to the deconstruction of male/female gender identities and roles taking place in our culture with gospel grace towards the sexually broken and with a whole-hearted celebration of the bibilcal teaching of complementarianism.
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Harvest USA
Harvest USA brings the truth and mercy of Jesus Christ by helping individuals and families affected by sexual struggles and by providing resources that address biblical sexuality to individuals and churches.
Gathering Devotionals
CDM’s Youth Ministry Team’s Drew Lints headed up a series of videos made by youth leaders from various churches across the PCA. You can see videos here and download the devotionals here.
