Back in the mid '70s I decided to take a youth ministry course while at Geneva College. At the time, Geneva only offered one such course, which was probably one more youth ministry course than most colleges offered back then. Our text was by Larry Richards and it was appropriately titled, Youth Ministry. That book still sits on my shelf and every time I've glanced at it over the years, I've wondered when someone is going to write a comprehensive youth ministry text that pulls together what's been learned as the discipline has developed since those early days.

Duffy Robbins has been doing and teaching youth ministry at Eastern University with tremendous energy and passion since the time Richards wrote his book way back in 1972. Robbins' years of research and practice have combined in his substantial recently released 600-page text, This Way To Youth Ministry: An Introduction to the Adventure (Zondervan/Youth Specialties Academic, 2004). Sound scholarship is never sacrificed in this engaging and comprehensive overview that introduces students to youth ministry, the adolescent, contemporary culture and the practical day-to-day realities of ministering effectively to kids. Those who understand the dynamics of ministering in a fluid youth culture will be especially pleased with Robbins' theology of culture and realistic look at how to respond to a changing culture—particularly the reality and influence of postmodernism.

While This Way To Youth Ministry looks and feels like an academic textbook, it's practical content and format make it equally useful outside the classroom, particularly as a training tool for use with youth ministry volunteers. In addition, parents longing to understand teens and their world will benefit from the book's helpful introductions and overviews of adolescent realities. This book is sure to serve as an indispensable introduction to the discipline of youth ministry for years to come.

—Walt Mueller