Review
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"In their new book, Sustainable Young Adult
Ministry, Scott Pontier and Mark DeVries tackle this important
topic in ways that far surpass my expectations. Whether you've
been working with young adults for decades or you're a curious
church member concerned about where all the young adults went,
this book is hands down one of the most accessible and practical
books available on this topic today. With its winsome prose drawn
from a deep pool of ministerial wisdom, Sustainable Young Adult
Ministry will no doubt become a classic in the ever-widening
swath of literature surrounding young adult spirituality and what
the church must do to reengage this generation anew." (Jason
Brian Santos, mission coordinator for Christian formation,
Presbyterian Mission Agency)
"'What do we do about young adults?' There are very few
challenges facing the church today that are so regularly paired
with a sense of helplessness and panic. Churches are desperate
for answers, but they have mostly just given up, assuming the
solution is beyond them. Hark! On the horizon! A book with
genuine help, honest encouragement, and buckets full of hope.
There is, quite literally, no other book that I'm aware of that
provides what this book provides." (Mark Oestreicher, partner,
The Youth Cartel)
"Once again, DeVries and the Ministry Architects team have
demystified ministry in a way that leaves us feeling less
concerned with how we fit into a pair of skinny jeans and more
focused on the y (and accessible) habits that lead to a
vital culture for ministry. If your experience is anything like
mine, you'll twinge at the accuracy of their common ministry
mistakes, but you'll laugh enough to know that you're not alone.
In the end, I had a punch list that left me feeling like
effective ministry to young adults wasn't so impossible after
all." (Trey Wince, director of new disciples, United Methodist
Church of Greater New Jersey)
"Pontier and DeVries offer an integrative and adaptive approach
to relational ministry with young adults as they are, not as we
wish them to be. This practical and holistic read will help your
church build a young adult ministry with them instead of one for
them." (Victoria White, leadership education, Duke University)
"In the same winsome style of Sustainable Youth Ministry, this
book paints a simple and challenging picture of the young adult
ministry landscape. However, unlike many books I have read on
this topic, Mark and Scott don't just tell us how to think but
help you develop a clear plan of what to do. Whether you are a
veteran youth worker or rookie ministry leader, this book
provides a clear road to navigate and succeed in young adult
ministry. Sustainable Young Adult Ministry is sure to change the
trajectory of young adult ministry for the next fifty years. I
only wish I had this book five years ago." (James Wilson Jr.,
Freedom Life Church, Hampton, Virginia)
"There are two kinds of perspectives: the outside perspective of
the one who studies (the academic and the researcher) and the
inside perspective of the one who experiences (the practitioner
and the player). In this crucial and desperately needed book,
Mark and Scott combine the strengths of both perspectives into a
juggernaut case for a radical change in the way church leaders
are attempting to reach a disappearing generation. Their systems
approach to ministry strategy may sound, well, unsexy―but they've
chosen the road less traveled, which is the path of courage.
Don't just read this book; use it." (Rick Lawrence, author of
Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry, The Jesus-Centered Life, and The
God Who Fights for You)
"I don't know of many churches that have truly cracked the code
of young adult ministry, let alone the issue of sustainability.
This book helps unlock the code and lays a clear path to a
preferred future. Once you and your team have read it, do what
the book says . . . put it down and go meet with some young
adults who have so much to teach us. The future of the church
depends on this." (Alex Shanks, assistant to the bishop, Florida
Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church)
"So many voices, academic institutions, research organizations,
and denominations are sounding the alarm about the decline of
young adults in church. However, very few are looking at this
issue from a holistic, systemic, developmental, cultural, and
common sense perspective. Mark DeVries and Scott Pontier's
Sustainable Young Adult Ministry is a wellspring of fresh, yet
sensible thinking about the spirituality and formation of
emerging young adults. This book is filled with both accessible
practical concepts along with thoughtful theological
considerations. Instead of offering faddish and gimmicky program
strategies that are too-often embarrassingly inept, the authors
put processes, procedures, and systems in the forefront of what
it takes to curate environments of transformation. Having
ministered with young adults for four decades I highly recommend
this important book, not just to youth pastors, young adult
pastors, and pastors but to all who love the church and its
future." (Mike King, president/chief executive officer of
Youthfront, author of Presence-Centered Youth Ministry)
"I wish every church that wanted to build relationships with my
college students would read Sustainable Young Adult Ministry.
This book will help churches avoid mistakes that most make and
develop a systemic approach to young adult ministry that works."
(Teri McDowell Ott, chain of Monmouth College)
"There are far too many easy answers thrown around these days
about why 'young people' aren't in church, and they tend to be
unhelpful. Mark DeVries and Scott Pontier set about the difficult
task of creating a nuanced analysis of the pained relationship
between young adults and the church, and take on the even more
difficult task of providing meaningful recommendations about how
that relationship might be restored. Their ins are helpful
for anyone wanting to tap into the passion of the younger
generation." (Meredith Mills, Westminster United Methodist
Church, Houston)
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About the Author
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Mark DeVries is the founder of Ministry Architects
and author of Sustainable Youth Ministry, Sustainable Children's
Ministry (with Annette Safstrom), and Family-Based Youth
Ministry. He served for twenty-eight years as associate pastor
for youth and their families at First Presbyterian Church in
Nashville.
Scott Pontier is a senior consultant at Ministry Architects, a
consulting team that helps churches and ministry organizations
build sustainable ministries. He is also the lead pastor of
Jamestown Harbor Church, a multi-site church in western Michigan.
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