Teen Spirituality

As a mom with five kids ages twelve to twenty-two living at home, Amy Betters-Midtvedt found that parenting teens challenged everything she thought it meant to be a “good” mom. But in the unraveling came the building of something new and more beautiful than she could have imagined: an incredible sense of love, hope, joy, and relationship. You'll Make It (and They Will Too) is as much about navigating the minefields of anxiety and mental health as it is setting curfews, convincing kids to bring their dishes back to the kitchen, and deciding whose turn it is to have the car keys.

Summer is over, and Dad begins his important position at an Indiana hospital. Like it or not, Bloomington is the Baxter Family’s new home. As school starts, everyone finds reasons to be excited about the move. Everyone, that is, except Ashley. Ashley desperately misses the home and friends she left behind. As she realizes her siblings have their struggles, too, she can’t help but wonder if unlikely friends can be the best friends of all? And could time and love from her family be enough to make a house feel like home?

In this book, which is based on new landmark research from the Fuller Youth Institute and combines in-depth interviews with data from 1,200 diverse teenagers, Kara Powell and Brad M. Griffin offer pastors, youth leaders, mentors, and parents practical and proven conversations and connections that help teenagers answer their three biggest questions and reach their full potential.

As God allows us to understand the mystery and marvel of brain science, we have the exciting opportunity to reexamine our assumptions about human behavior. Perhaps nowhere does this impact our lives more profoundly than when we think about raising children - especially teenagers. Where parents often see a sweet boy or girl who has morphed into an incomprehensible bundle of hormones and angst, what we really ought to be seeing is an amazing young adult whose brain is under heavy construction.

Teenage life is a rollercoaster of new experiences, struggles, and challenges. No two days are ever the same. From upcoming tests to sports team try-outs and big games, challenging classes, raging hormones, issues with friends, and much more, being a teenager is not easy. New thoughts, new information, new feelings - how are they supposed to know what’s right from wrong?

Did you know that God’s light can shine through every facet of your identity? Radiant is an invitation for teen girls and young women to enjoy a candid conversation on identity with best-selling author Priscilla Shirer. You’ll hear reflections on life lessons she’s gathered from her teen years until now. She’ll show you how the light of God’s Word shaped her identity, and she’ll teach you how it can change and shape your life as well.

Every ministry needs capable and reliable volunteers, but so often it feels like no one is coming forward to fill your church's needs. In reality, the people around us do want to volunteer their time and talents, but we often fail to connect potential volunteers to ministry opportunities or lose them somewhere along the way. The Volunteer Effect is your start-to-finish guide to recruiting, leading, and retaining volunteers for your ministry.

This book offers a measured Christian response to the diverse gender identities that are being embraced by an increasing number of adolescents. Mark Yarhouse and Julia Sadusky offer an honest, scientifically informed, compassionate, and nuanced treatment for all listeners who care about or work with gender-diverse youth: pastors, church leaders, parents, family members, youth workers, and counselors.

For a parent, the teen years are years of unprecedented opportunity—years of penetrating questions and exciting new discussions, years that open the door to a teen's heart. In this wise and hopeful book, Paul Tripp shows parents how to connect with their children as never before, drawing on practical strategies shaped by God's Word. This revised and updated edition features fresh, heart-focused discussion questions for each chapter as well as a bonus Q&A section.

She lost her arm in a shark attack and nearly died, but she never lost her faith. Now a major motion picture, Soul Surfer is the moving story of Bethany Hamilton’s triumphant return to competitive surfing and has continued to be a beacon of inspiration to all who hear it. They say Bethany Hamilton has saltwater in her veins. How else could one explain the passion that drives her to surf? Or that nothing - not even the loss of her arm - could come between her and the waves?

The world you live in promotes sex as the answer to just about everything. The pressure to go along with the crowd is greater than ever before, and it's easy to compromise in little ways that are a lot more harmful than they seem. You and your friends may become caught up in destructive relationships or sexual activities without even knowing how you got there. You just want to be normal - to fit in, to be liked, to look attractive to the opposite sex. But are you paying too high a price?

Based on a national survey of hundreds of teenage girls, Jeff Feldhahn and Eric Rice give young men insight into the hearts and minds of teen girls while opening the way to healthier relationships between guys and girls, both now and in their future.

Now, more than ever, we need to be filling the minds of our teenagers with positive thoughts. They need to be reminded that they have been uniquely created with gifts and passions for this very moment in history. God has much bigger plans for them than merely getting likes on Instagram or Twitter. When we show them how they are unique, they are gifted, and they have a purpose, we point them towards a bigger picture of life and what it can hold.

Her story is amazing enough to inspire a major motion picture. Back on the surfboard just one month after losing her arm in a shark attack, professional surfer Bethany Hamilton became the cover girl of courage, inspiring millions around the world. In this devotional, Bethany speaks straight to her “soul sisters,” teen girls, about the challenges of facing your fears, living your faith, and letting God take you on an epic ride. Flip through the pages to read about how to stand up for your faith, make a difference, and avoid wipeouts.

It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne - everything - to rescue the one he loves. The best thing about this Story is - it’s true! And at the center of the story, there is a baby. The child upon whom everything would depend. All the stars, mountains, oceans, and galaxies were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would move Heaven and Earth to be near them. Always.

Fasting, Student Edition takes Jentezen Franklin's fasting message to the next generation as it equips young people to stand apart from the world and lead their peers into revival. Franklin speaks directly to teens and young adults, telling them everything they need to know to unlock the power of biblical fasting. Experience the power and intimacy with God that fasting brings and be empowered to take a stand against the evil influences of our culture, awaken our nation, and never back down.

From massive festivals to daily conversations, every day we’re on a stage. Each stage allows us an opportunity to express our unique presence—our stage presence. This is the secret, the charisma that lets us shine. But sometimes we block our power and forget this moment is the only one we have. This book teaches you to take your power back. It grounds you and launches you into the next level of your life. Whether it’s with family or friends, a boss or bandmate, this book frees you from your limitations so you can be your true, authentic self in any situation.

Preteen life is full of new experiences, challenges, and ups and downs. From school assignments to sports activities, friendships, and figuring out who they are, being a preteen boy can feel overwhelming at times. They might wonder what's right and wrong or how to make sense of it all.

Authentic Beauty is a personal and practical book about becoming a set-apart young woman in today’s perverse generation. It explores the boundless opportunities God has for the life of a young woman who makes Christ the first love of her heart and allows him to shape every aspect of her existence.

In Sticky Faith, the team at FYI presents youth workers with both a theological/philosophical framework and practical programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers. Each chapter presents a summary of FYI’s quantitative and qualitative research, along with the implications of this research, including program ideas suggested and tested by youth ministries nationwide. This resource will give youth pastors what they need to help foster a faith that sticks with all the teenagers in their group long after they’ve left the youth room.