Presence-centered Youth Ministry:
Guiding Students into Spiritual
Formation by Mike King
King Gets It Right
About the Book How many programs does it take to change a youth
group? That question has bothered youth workers for decades, and the
cracks in its logic are beginning to show. In place of the contrived, artificial
mechanisms employed so widely in modern youth outreach and
discipleship, Mike King proposes a ministry centered in the presence of
God. Young people encounter Christ not in the flash and pop of arena
ministry, but in the sacred shadow of his presence. They learn what it is to
love and follow Christ by observing others loving and following Christ--
letting Christ shape their worldviews, their habits, their virtues. Presence-
Centered Youth Ministry gives shape to such ministry through the classic
disciplines and potent symbols and practices that have sustained the
church over the centuries. The sound and fury that has characterized
youth ministry for so long has left too many youth workers tired and too

many young people disillusioned. Come explore the deeper terrain; your
students are sure to follow.
Personal Review: Presence-centered Youth Ministry: Guiding
Students into Spiritual Formation by Mike King
Presently within YM, Presence-Centered Youth Ministry is a great book
that will engage the young people of the America church. Mike King serves
as President of YouthFront, a Youth Ministry organization. YouthFront
works to bring youth into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by
creating environments where spiritual transformation occurs, by working
with those who are involved in the spiritual formation of youth and by
providing church-assisting events. King's youth ministry experience and
expertise is highly evident in Presence-Centered Youth Ministry.
King in chapters 1-3 describes why youth ministry is experiencing much
hardship. King argues that youth ministry is playing it too safe and
comfortable. He states: The call to follow this true God is not safe or
convenient, unlike much of the feel-good, carefree god-think being
modeled to our young people today. The present of Jesus in the lives of
adolescents who are nurtured by the power of Scripture is not safe, but it's
the essence of presence-centered youth ministry. (47)
King argues in chapters 4-7 what youth pastors and youth ministries need
to be in order for their youth ministry to become presence-centered. Youth
ministry is about being with youth, not just as a role model or friend but
also as a spiritual guide and a traveling companion. (6 8) There needs to
be a new way of doing youth ministry--a youth ministry that experiences
and embodies the presence of God. King suggests that when student
sense a polished performance and impeccable image, students are
immediately turned off. Research reminds us that students are suspicious
of bigness, of advertising and ego trips. They want churches to be down to
earth and unpretentious. (74)
Chapters 8- 11 illustrates how to implement a presence-centered youth
ministry. He suggests the practices of: listening prayer, imaginative prayer,
prayer postures, providing signs of the cross, praying with icons,
storytelling, incent prayers, sacred reading and contemplation, and lectio
divina. King also refers to a website to obtain more presence centered
activities: www.sacredgateway.org.
I loved how passionate King was about creating environments that
experience God's presence. King wants a youth ministry to connect to the
early church and tradition, embody their faith, explore the challenge and
cost of being a disciple of Jesus, connect between personal faith and a
faith community, arrange a tangible expression of faith within a local
community, emphasize on being a servant and living out faith, emphasize
on classic Christian formation, and deemphasize the activities that do not
lead to genuine transformation. Encountering God's presence will bring

forth transformation. Youth ministry should not be a means of information,
but a journey towards a life long transformation.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Presence-centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students into Spiritual Formation by Mike
King 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!