Includes bibliographical references.

Part 1 : theological starting points : what does youth ministry have to do with theology? -- The new rhetoric of youth ministry / Kenda Creasy Dean -- God is a minister : youth ministry as fundamentally theological / Andrew Root -- Youth ministry as an integrative theological task : toward a representative method / Andrew Root -- Proclaiming salvation : the ministry of youth for the twenty-first-century church / Kenda Creasy Dean -- Walking into the crisis of reality : how theology is constructed / Andrew Root -- Youth ministry as discerning Christopraxis : a hermeneutical model / Andrew Root -- God's hiddenness, absence and doubt / Andrew Root -- Part 2 : theology enacted : exploring youth ministry practice -- Is Jesus magic? : healing and the cross in youth ministry / Andrew Root -- Talking about sin with young people / Andrew Root -- Holding on to our kisses : the hormonal theology of adolescence / Kenda Creasy Dean -- The eschatological significance of summer camp / Kenda Creasy Dean -- What are we doing in these mountains? : the outdoor trip and the theology of the cross / Andrew Root -- The mission trip as global tourism : are we ok with this? / Andrew Root -- Doubt and confirmation : the mentor as co-doubter / Andrew Root -- Ascension deficit disorder : youth ministry as a laboratory for hope / Kenda Creasy Dean -- Postscript : reflecting on method : youth ministry as practical theology / Andrew Root with Blair D. Bertrand.

Andrew Root and Kenda Creasy Dean invite us to envision youth ministries full of practical theologians, addressing the deep questions of life with a wonderfully adolescent mix of idealism, cynicism and prophetic intolerance for hypocrisy. The result is a more rigorous and meaningful youth ministry, and a more theologically grounded and engaged church.