Reinventing Youth Ministry (Again): From Bells & Whistles to Flesh and Blood. By Wayne Rice. Kindle edition; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010, 207 pp., $17.00.
Over the past several years, local church youth ministry has come under fire. These critiques have questioned the validity and effectiveness of local church youth ministry and sometimes the very existence of youth ministers. In response, Wayne Rice declares “Youth ministry may not be perfect and may have a long way to go, but God didn’t make a mistake by calling the quarter-million-plus adults who are serving in church youth ministries right now” (location 57). Rice offers an insider’s look and recommendations for churches as he calls youth ministry leaders to step back and to evaluate the current landscape of their ministries. Although he spent a substantial number of years as leader of a parachurch youth ministry organization, Rice has much to offer local church youth ministers, springing from his commitment to the local church. His love for the church is obvious and contagious.
Rice writes narratively but offers adequate references to primary sources in support of his insights. As he unfolds his personal journey with Youth Specialties, his insights should evoke careful thought about current practices in local church youth ministry with a view to future effectiveness.
Rice introduces the need for reinvention by calling attention to the primacy of parents in their teenager’s discipleship. “Reinvented youth ministry … has to begin by taking parents and families seriously” (1699). The Bible offers substantial admonishment for leaders to raise the level of priority in the area of family ministry. Rice does not provide an extensive handling of those biblical texts but he provides enough to establish that “the church and family are the most powerful and important institutions on the earth” (1720). Rice has a passion not only for partnership with parents but also for bonding teenagers to the multigenerational congregation of believers: “When youth groups function as alternatives to the church rather than a vital part of it, teenagers don’t experience what the church has to offer them” (1453). This is both consistent and accurate with the guidelines of Scripture. It affirms that local church youth ministry must be evaluated both in terms of building up families and in terms of building up the body of Christ.
As Rice deals with the priority of family in youth ministry, he reaffirms the need for youth ministers in the local church. He does not propose eradication of youth ministry strategies that include regular or seasonal activities for teenagers. He does however confront program-driven ideologies when he states that “the calling of youth pastor should carry with it an implied shepherding role that is much bigger than keeping a youth ministry program up and running” (1263).
The punch line of this book is rightly reserved for the final chapter where Rice asks the simple question, “Where is youth ministry headed now?” (1645). He suggests practical measures that will promote a youth and family ministry priority. As Rice turns the corner from narrative description to practical prescription, he seems to focus less on evangelism. This does not diminish the value of his suggestions, but it does call for a somewhat more comprehensive model of youth and family evangelism.
[Editor's Note: Troy W. Temple (Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Associate Dean for Master’s Studies in the School of Church Ministries at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This review originally appeared in The Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry 1.2.]
