Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: Contemporary youth culture -- What the future holds in youth mi nistry -- An analysis of different types of youth work -- Adolescence : a description -- Age characteristics of teenagers -- Crisis of identity -- How self-identity is formed -- A biblical perspective of identity -- The purpose of youth ministry -- The youth worker as a pastor-shepherd -- Th e goal of youth ministry -- What's going on with Sunday School -- Philoso phy of teaching young people -- Learning and today's youth -- An overview of teaching methods -- Methods in teaching teens -- Programming youth mi nistry -- Music and the adolescent -- Worship and the adolescent -- The f oundation of counseling young people -- Principles of counseling young pe ople -- Structuring the actual counseling session.