Steve's PDYM Book Review

My perspective on this book is a little different because I originally read it when I was servant leader for Ardent. So the impact from the book is a little different for me. I believe the book The Purpose Driven Youth Ministry was a Godsend for me. I had just stepped into the role as servant leader for our youth ministry when I found this book just laying there in our former youth pastor’s office. Our full time youth pastor had moved on to other endeavors in his life and I felt I could offer the leadership our ministry needed at that time. But there was a problem, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t go to Bible college and didn’t have any type of ministry training. I went to a state school and graduated with a Criminal Justice degree and most of my experience had been working with criminal kids. Basically, I had the heart to minister to students, but no practical training.

So, as you can see I needed a little help. This book gave me structure and direction and it really gave me a starting point. Most people who have been living in evangelical bubble has heard the words "purpose driven" and understand what this phrase is based off of. It is based off the five fold purpose found in Matthew. What I found the most helpful about the five purposes is it gave me a foundation. It gave me a way to measure if I was fulfilling those purpose. It was kind of like a gauge for me. As I progressed in the ministry I could back and look at the book to see if I was following the purposes. It helped me come up with a purpose statement so I could convey the vision for the youth ministry to my youth sponsors and students. Most of all it helped lay a foundation from the beginning.

It gave direction on how to develop leaders and how to ministry to different type of students. It also gave practical advice on how to organize my time. It also gave ways on how to cast vision for the youth ministry. I could go on and on with all the tips, instructions, how to’s and ways of doing ministry that the book offered, but I would end up writing a book. This book, other than the Bible, is a youth ministry training guide. If you are entering youth ministry or have been doing it for years, it is must read. It will really help with purpose and direction.