Want to encourage ministry volunteers and those in ministry to children, teens and their parents? What better gift than a resource that will help them grow in their ministry? For those who are truly passionate about their ministry efforts, receiving something that makes them even more impactful in their efforts is the best gift possible.
We have a few new favorites this year for you to consider. Some are new and some are new to us, but all would make a great gift. Best of all, three of the five books are actually free!
- Encountering Jesus in the Real World of the Gospels by Cyndi Parker should be in the library of everyone who teaches the Bible. It explains how the cultures impacting the Bible impact understanding the Bible, but manages to avoid having a political or theological agenda in the process. This book is not about trying to change what the Bible says, but simply place it in context of the world in which it was written.
- Ministering to Marginalized Children is our latest ministry ebook. Our reviewers all claimed they learned a lot of new information from it – regardless of how much experience they had in ministry. The book examines various groups of children who are often marginalized in societies – sharing statistics, the challenges they face, ministry accommodations, felt needs and more. The book also addresses important topics like how culture impacts ministry, working with children who have experienced trauma and avoiding secularization of a ministry. Best of all it’s free!
- The Food and Feasts of Jesus by Douglas Neel and Joel Pugh. While not a new book, this book was new to us this year. So much great information and even authentic recipes to help Bible class teachers incorporate food in the learning process. This is a great book for ministry volunteers ready to take their classes to the next level in experiential learning.
- Effective Teen Ministry written as a textbook for a school of ministry, this book contains everything a volunteer needs to know to begin effectively ministering to teens. We’ve even been told it’s being recommended to parents of teens because it’s full of helpful information useful to know when raising teens. Best of all, this volume is free!
- Effective Children’s Ministry this is another book originally written as a textbook, but is a great resource for children’s ministry volunteers everywhere. It contains basics like how to keep children safe to important ministry tools like creating the best learning environments, lessons and activities and much, much more. This popular volume is also free.
If you are looking for something in a specific area of ministry, try our resource list of great books for those in ministry to read. It probably has what you are wanting to find. We encourage you to share this post with your volunteers and their friends and families. There are no affiliate links in this post, but if you would like to help support our ministry (including our many free resources), feel free to order through Amazon Smile and choose Teach One Reach One Ministries as your charity. This year, give your volunteers something that will help them learn and grow as a token of your appreciation for their love and dedication to ministry.