ALONGSIDE: LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK
“Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel” was written specifically for Young Life leaders!
Winner of the 2019 Christian Book Award for Best Ministry Resource, it’s already been read/listened to by thousands of Young Life leaders around the globe.
Ellie Holcomb, Dove-Award winning singer/songwriter and Young Life camp musician, says this:
“Alongside is a beautiful and practical companion for anyone who wants to learn how to better love the teenagers in their life. I found myself in tears as I read incredible real-life stories of the gospel breaking through the distractions, darkness, loneliness, and pain that often accompany adolescence. It tells the beautiful story of the gospel, and also offers tools that will help you communicate that story well as you walk alongside the teenagers in your life.”
Bulk Orders
If you would like to make bulk orders at a significant discount for your Young Life Region or Area, there are bulk discounts and free shipping on the New Growth Press website.
If you have any trouble, feel free to email me here.
HOW TO USE “ALONGSIDE” IN YOUR AREA
Many of you have emailed and asked how to best use Alongside: Loving Teenagers with the Gospel in your Young Life areas. Below are a few different suggestions.
Individual Devo for Leaders
Including the introduction, there are 30 short chapters, around 5 pages each. Most leaders can easily read 5-pages-a-day and finish the book in a month. It was designed to be used as a morning or evening devotional. Each chapter is focused on scripture and ends with a section for practical application, a verse for meditation and specific prayer related to the chapter.
Team Leader Meetings or Team Meetings
At the bottom of this post is a 6-week reading plan that averages around 5 pages/day over 5 days/week. It could be used as the guiding book for Team Leader meetings. Following those discussions, Team Leaders could take their individual teams through the book, one week behind the Team Leader schedule.
New Leader Training
You could use the same 6-week reading plan with new leader training, or you could cut each week in half and do a 12-week semester-long reading plan with 2-3 chapters (10-15 pages) each week.
Alongside: 6 Week Reading Plan
Week 1
- Read the Introduction and “Part One: Runaways”
- This section creates the felt need for why we share the Gospel with teenagers.
- Including the introduction, it’s 5 chapters, 5 pages each, 25 pages total.
Week 2
- Read “Part Two: The Pursuer”
- This section answers the question, “What is the Gospel?”
- 5 chapters, 5 pages each, 25 pages total
Week 3
- Begin “Part Three: The Pursuit”
- This section is the meat of the book and answers the question “How do we do it?” Each chapter is based on a question I first heard from Steve Gardner – “What does Jesus do outside of the miracle?”
- Continue to shoot for 1 chapter/day over 5 days, averaging around 25 pages a week.
- Go through chapter 10-14
Week 4
- Continue in “Part Three: The Pursuit,” chapters 15-19
- Continue to shoot for 1 chapter/day over 5 days, averaging around 25 pages a week.
Week 5
- Continue in “Part Three: The Pursuit,” doing 4 chapters this week instead of 5: chapters 20-23
Week 6
- Read the final section, “The Long Road Home.” This part concludes the book with an introspective look at what the Lord might be doing, not just through us, but within us, as we minister to teenagers.
- There are 6 short chapters averaging around 5 pages each.
