An Introduction to Youthwork and Ministry
By Danny Brierley
Spring Harvest/Authentic Lifestyle. 201 pages. £7.99
ISBN 1 85078 483 3
Youth work (secular) and youth ministry (Church) can and should exist harmoniously alongside one another. This is the stated claim of Joined Up. The author, Danny Brierley, works for Oasis and writes regularly in Youthwork magazine. Four previously published articles make up the middle third of the book. In the first section he outlines his thesis and gives us some history of work with young people. In the final section he seeks to apply his thesis practically in the areas of fellowship, worship and mission.
The text is peppered with grey boxes containing questions 'to think about...'. Some of these spark off genuinely interesting ideas; others seem bizarrely placed, as if edited in en route to the printer.