When I was younger I was told that "leaders are readers." This is true. Although you can be a leader without reading, I believe that the best leaders usually are readers. God uses books to educate us, guide our thinking, and help us discuss topics with others. Beyond this, I love reading books that are useful for ministry as well as recommending books to others. This year I recommended three books to my team of small group leaders. They are:
- More Than a Carpenter by Josh and Sean McDowell. This is a classic book that is concise and informational. It looks at claims that skeptics might make against the historical accuracy of Christianity. This is a great book for youth leaders to read and to think through topics that students might ask them about.
- Student Ministry Matters by Ben Trueblood. This books lays a foundation for students ministry. One reason this book is helpful is that it can be read and applied to both youth pastors and youth leaders. It serves as an overview of youth ministry and can lead to discussion on how to start or sustain a youth ministry.
- Conversion by Michael Lawrence. This book is a short theology book on the topic of conversion. It is short enough that anyone can read it without getting stuck, but deep enough that even theologians will find something to talk about when reading it. Conversion is one of the most important theological topics in youth ministry which points to why this is an important book for youth workers to read.
There are obviously other books that I could have recommended to my small group leaders. However, these are the three that I recommended to them at our meeting before we launched this school year!
