If I Knew Then What I Know Now : Youth Workers Share Their Worst Failures and Best Advice

by Len Woods and Dave Veerman

• ISBN13: 9780310286028
• ISBN10: 0310286026
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-04
• Publisher: Zondervan

Summary

If you’re new to youth ministry, whether paid or volunteer, you can learn a lot from the stories of veteran youth workers who have made some common, but avoidable, blunders. Here you’ll find encouragement and wisdom of what not to do when it comes to everything from soul care, to programming, to crisis, and more. Don’t make the same mistakes they made!

Author Biography

For much of his adult life, Len Woods had been involved in student ministry. He's been a wild-eyed summer intern, a clueless part-time youth director, and a mistake-making full-time student pastor. He's been a bumbling adult volunteer as well as a stumbling father of teenage sons. The former editor of Youthwalk, Len has also authored and helped create numerous books and Bible study materials for youth and youth leaders. A graduate of LSU and Dallas Theological Seminary, Len is now the lead pastor at Christ Community Church in Ruston, Louisiana, where he still goofs up on a regular basis. Dave Veerman worked for 26 yeas with Youth for Christ/Campus Life. He also led the junior high ministry at his church for several years and, with his wife, Gail, parented two daughters through the teenage years. So he's had his share of misadventures and on-the-job lessons. Dave has authored 60+ books, many on youth ministry, and was a senior editor of the Life Application Study Bible. Dave is also an "Understanding Your Teenager" seminar presenter. But he's probably best known for playing his nose (a talent developed in junior high, of course). Dave is a graduate of Wheaton College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a founding partner in The Livingstone Corporation, a company that serves publishers by creating, developing, and producing Bible-related resources.

Table of Contents

First Things First	p. 7
Soul Care	p. 25
Building a Team	p. 45
Relationships with Kids	p. 61
Communicating Truth	p. 77
Dealing with Parents	p. 89
Common Programming Mistakes	p. 107
Dealing with Authorities	p. 123
Money Matters	p. 139
The Moral Minefield	p. 155
Safety Issues	p. 169
Getting Better	p. 183
About the Authors	p. 198
Contributors	p. 199
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