have finished reading “youthwork after christendom” and enjoyed it.  It is not a huge book but is packed with nuggets that are useful for youth ministry and rather than providing a way forward in youth work it provides a few roads that you may wish to travel as you work with the young people.

A historical context of christendom and youthwork is the starting point (very much in a UK context) that then develops into a perspective on spirituality and young people leads into Mission and the directions we can travel in youthwork in the new environment.  The 4th chapter dealing with the mission of God and the Homogenous Unit Principle (HUP) were interesting and provided some insight into how this can work in different settings.  Some short work on the “process v product” of the ministry was challenging and for some youth bods would be worth the price of the book alone.

The book does not provide a “how to” guide but does ask questions whilst underpinning the need to KNOW THE CONTEXT of your work.  Yes, I am shouting that bit – whatever your work/ministry is, it needs to relate to context.  There are illustrations littered throughout and it is definitely worth a read.