Audiobooks by Kara Powell

Faith Beyond Youth Group: Five Ways to Form Character and Cultivate Lifelong Discipleship

Because 'Nice' is not enough. Most typical youth ministries today produce nice, obedient kids who behave themselves-and then leave the church and the faith. Even those who remain struggle to extend their own faith beyond youth group. They seem like 'good kids,' but their lives and decisions outside youth group aren't oriented toward Jesus. Clearly that is not our goal. So what are we doing wrong? And how can we better serve the unique needs of the most anxious, adaptive, and diverse generation in history? If you're tired of youth ministry that fails to change lives, it's time to change youth ministry. Building on two decades of the Fuller Youth Institute's work and incorporating extensive new research and interviews, Faith Beyond Youth Group identifies the reasons youth ministry often flops both short-term and long-term, and offers five ways adult youth leaders can cultivate character for a lifetime of growing closer to Jesus rather than drifting away. It shows leaders how to cultivate trust, model growth, teach for transformation, practice together, and make meaning so that teenagers can become adults who hold fast to Jesus and boldly live out a robust faith in a watching world.

Brad M. Griffin, Jen Bradbury, Kara Powell (Author), Brad M. Griffin, Jen Bradbury, Kara Powell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sticky Faith, Youth Worker Edition: Practical Ideas to Nurture Long-Term Faith in Teenagers

Many of the statistics you read about teenagers and faith can be alarming. Recent studies show that 40-50 percent of kids who are connected to a youth group throughout their senior year will fail to stick with their faith in college. As youth workers are pouring their time and energy into the students in their ministries, they are often left wondering if they've done enough to equip their students to carry their faith into adulthood. Fuller Youth Institute has done extensive research in the area of youth ministry and teenage development. In Sticky Faith, the team at FYI presents youth workers with both a theological/philosophical framework and practical programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers. Each chapter presents a summary of FYI's quantitative and qualitative research, along with the implications of this research, including program ideas suggested and tested by youth ministries nationwide. This resource will give youth pastors what they need to help foster a faith that sticks with all the teenagers in their group long after they've left the youth room. Tables, figures, discussion questions, and deeper discussion of the data collection informing this book are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Brad M. Griffin, Cheryl A. Crawford, Kara Powell (Author), Charity Spencer (Narrator)

Audiobook

3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager: Making the Most of Your Conversations and Connections

Today's teenagers are the most anxious, creative, and diverse generation in history-which can make it hard for us to relate. And while every teenager is a walking bundle of questions, three rise above the rest: - Who am I? - Where do I fit? - What difference can I make? Young people struggle to find satisfying and life-giving answers to these questions on their own. They need caring adults willing to lean in with empathy, practice listening, and gently point them in the direction of better answers: they are enough because of Jesus, they belong with God's people, and they are invited into God's greater story. In this book, which is based on new landmark research from the Fuller Youth Institute and combines in-depth interviews with data from 1,200 diverse teenagers, Kara Powell and Brad M. Griffin offer pastors, youth leaders, mentors, and parents practical and proven conversations and connections that help teenagers answer their three biggest questions and reach their full potential.

Brad M. Griffin, Kara Powell (Author), Susan Hanfield (Narrator)

Audiobook

Growing With: Every Parent's Guide to Helping Teenagers and Young Adults Thrive in Their Faith, Fami

Many parents of teenagers or young adults feel as though they're guessing about what to do next-with mixed results. We want to stay connected with our maturing child, but we're not sure how. And deep down, we fear our child doesn't want or need us. But growing up doesn't have to mean growing apart. Based on brand-new research and interviews with remarkable families, Growing With equips parents to take steps toward their teenagers and young adults in a mutual journey of intentional growth that trusts God to transform them all. By highlighting three groundbreaking family strategies, authors Kara Powell and Steven Argue show parents that it's never too early or too late to accept the child you have, not the child you wish you had; work toward solutions rather than only identifying problems; develop empathy that nudges rather than judges; fight for your child, not against them; dive into tough discussions about dating, career, and finances; and unleash your child's passions and talents to change our world. For any parent who longs for their kids to keep their roots even as they spread their wings, Growing With offers practical help and hope for the days-and years-ahead.

Kara Powell, Steven Argue (Author), Rachel Fulginiti (Narrator)

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Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church

Unleashing the Passion of Young People in Your Church Is Possible! Churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, Growing Youngprovides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. It profiles innovative churches that are engaging 15- to 29-year-olds and as a result are growing--spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically. Packed with both research and practical ideas, Growing Youngshows pastors and ministry leaders how to position their churches to engage younger generations in a way that breathes life and energy into the whole church.

Brad Griffin, Jake Mulder, Kara Powell (Author), Al Kessel, Jake Mulder (Narrator)

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The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family: Over 100 Practical and Tested Ideas to Build Lasting Faith i

The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family addresses one of the top current concerns about youth and the church: the reality that nearly half of all young people raised in Christian families walk away from their faith when they graduate from high school. That’s the bad news. But here’s the good news: research also shows that parents are one of the primary influences on their child’s faith. This book arises from the innovative, research-based, and extensively field-tested project known as “Sticky Faith,” designed to equip parents with insights and ideas for nurturing long-term faith in children and young people. Because of the Fuller Youth Institute’s six years of research with more than 500 young people, 100 churches, and 50 families, four of this guidebook’s unique qualities make it a “must have” for families eager to point their young people toward long-term faith First, it’s grounded in sophisticated, academically verified data. While Dr. Powell is a parent of three children who authentically weaves her own experiences throughout the book, the chapter topics correlate with parenting principles proven in national research. Second, it is positive. Amid gloomy and theoretical resources, this book leaves parents empowered and hopeful that even little tweaks to their family rhythms can make a big difference. Third, it is practical. Readers get what they want most: more than 100 ideas from other parents they can try today, this week, or this month. Fourth, its “guidebook” format is accessible. For busy parents who don’t have time and inclination to read, this format is a welcome resource that they can return to time and time again for fresh ideas and inspiration.

Kara E. Powell, Kara Powell (Author), Hillary Huber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sticky Faith

Most parents would give anything to anchor their children with a vibrant faith that 'sticks' and continues to mature long-term. Yet despite this deep desire, research indicates that approximately 40-50% of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. In response to this problem, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) has launched the College Transition Project, a national longitudinal study following 400 high school seniors during their first three years in college. This provocative and needed research is geared to spark a movement that empowers parents, churches, leaders, and adults of all ages to develop robust and long-term faith in kids.

Chap Clark, Kara E. Powell, Kara Powell (Author), J. Charles, Jay Charles (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deep Justice in a Broken World

It doesn't take a long list of statistics to convince you that our world is broken. Mission trips, service projects, and supporting children through relief organizations are just a few of the ways that many youth workers engage their students in serving the least, the last, and the lost. As good and helpful as these things may be on the surface, that's where they remain---at the surface. The problems run far deeper than an occasional paint job or fundraising project can solve. But it's not hopeless. Deep social justice is possible in your youth ministry. Following their bestselling book, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, Kara Powell and Chap Clark provide you with research and insights that will help your ministry get to the next level. In addition to helping you further understand the Deep Design method (introduced in their previous book), their practical Kingdom of God theology will help you go beyond simply trying to motivate your students to serve those in need, and invite your students (and maybe even your leaders) to wrestle with why those people are in need in the first place. You'll hear from well-known social justice leaders and youth workers who are making a difference in urban, suburban, and small town settings including: * Jim Wallis (Sojourners) * Tony Campolo (Eastern University) * Lina Thompson (World Vision/Vision Youth) * John Perkins (Christian Community Development Association) * Shane Claiborne (The Simple Way) * Larry Acosta (Urban Youth Workers Institute) * Rudy Carrasco (Harambee Christian Family Center) * Jeremy Del Rio (Community Solutions, Inc.) * Noel Castellanos (Christian Community Development Association), and more In addition to expanding your personal justice commitments, Deep Justice in a Broken World will help you reflect with your own leadership team, and will provide you with online resources to take you even deeper into the journey. So go ahead, dig deeper into what it means to heal the broken world in which we live. Take your ministry deeper into social justice.

Chap Clark, Kara E. Powell, Kara Powell (Author), David Salsa, Rebecca Rogers, Rebecca Rogers/david Salsa, Zondervan Publishing (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deep Ministry in a Shallow World

Deep Ministry in a Shallow World will show you a new way to prayerfully reflect on the questions you face in your youth ministry every day so you can find the answers that will take it to deeper places. That's because authors Chap Clark and Kara Powell have gathered significant research findings that will help shift your ministry paradigm. Did you know that: * the typical strategies we use to build relationships with kids might actually cause them to trust us less because of what this generation has endured? * recent research on communication could help us move past the witty talks and funny stories we work so hard to develop and instead actually connect the Bible to kids' lives? * studies show that offering students 'just Jesus' and not helping them at home, school, and in their neighborhoods might not help them very much at all? The authors' research also led to their development of the Deep Design problem-solving process---a revolutionary model that will give you better tools than ever before to address every last issue you'll encounter in youth ministry.

Chap Clark, Kara E. Powell, Kara Powell (Author), David Salsa, Rebecca Rogers, Rebecca Rogers/david Salsa, Zondervan Publishing (Narrator)

Audiobook