Lead Them to Jesus: A Handbook for Youth Workers

Click here to request a digital review copy or scroll down to the form at the end of this post.     Do you feel overwhelmed with the logistics of starting or keeping a youth ministry going? What about the tricky theological questions that keep you and your fellow youth workers on your toes? It’s a lot for what is usually an “all-volunteer army.” Help is here! Veteran youth pastor Mike McGarry offers a practical, comprehensive tool to jumpstart your youth ministry and help youth workers with biblical answers to the tough questions students ask.  In a two-part approach, he tackles both the practical skills and biblical depth needed for effective gospel-centered ministry to today’s youth. He leads readers through theological truths they should be equipped to discuss with students and offers practical skills every youth worker should cultivate.  Lead Them to Jesus offers insight into the religious worldview of Gen Z and illustrates how to connect the gospel to their questions and core desires. Not only are young people ready to discuss hard issues such as suicide, suffering, and navigating difficult relationships, they are looking for authentic leaders who are committed to speaking truth and investing into their lives.   McGarry prepares both youth pastors and ministry volunteers to go deep with students about what they believe and why. He also helps them think through the strategic role of fun and games and shares how to navigate conflict and cliques. Lead Them to Jesus shows youth workers how the gospel shapes every part of how they do youth ministry and will get your whole team on the same biblical and logistical page. Releases 8/8/21.

What Others Are Saying

“Lead Them to Jesus is a book that youth pastors of any experience level will pull off the shelf over and over again. McGarry provides dozens of short, helpful answers and frameworks for challenging theological topics. Then he provides wise, clear advice for real-life practical issues that every youth pastor encounters. McGarry has given youth pastors a true gift in this theologically rich, biblically sound handbook.” ~ Cameron Cole, Founding Chairman of Rooted; coeditor of Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry and The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School; author of Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy “Are you ready to aim teenagers and their parents toward Jesus and his church? Do you long for the focus of your ministry to shift away from your activities and toward the supremacy of Jesus? If so, Lead Them to Jesus is one of the resources that will help you to move in this direction. Work through it yourself, then read it with your key volunteers as you seek to develop a healthier student ministry culture in your church.” ~ Timothy Paul Jones, C. Edwin Gheens Chair of Christian Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; author of Family Ministry Field Guide; editor of Perspectives on Family Ministry "The heart of youth ministry in the American and global church is the bi-vocational or volunteer youth worker faithfully serving in the local church. These servants love Jesus and have a heart for teenagers, but, through no fault of their own, often lack the training needed to facilitate a thriving youth ministry. In one concise resource, Mike McGarry has provided a wealth of theological and practical guidance for youth workers, both those with and without formal training. I cannot recommend this resource highly enough, and if I am honest, it's a book I wish I had written myself!” ~ Andy Blanks, Cofounder and publisher, YM360

About the Author

Mike McGarry, DMin, is the youth pastor at South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham, MA and is passionate about translating sound doctrine for the next generation. He is the author of A Biblical Theology of Youth Ministry and Lead Them to Jesus, was a contributor to Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry and is a regular contributor to LeaderTreks and the Rooted Ministry. He loves his wife, kids, pets, good coffee, football, and Marvel comics.