Audiobooks by Kara Powell

Future-Focused Church: Leading through Change, Engaging the Next Generation, and Building a More Div

"In the past few decades, the church has experienced rapid and distressing change. Hard-working pastors and leaders often know they need to embrace diversity, creatively engage younger generations, and equip their people to love their neighbors. But since they don't know how to make the changes needed, they feel stuck and wonder, 'What do I do now? What steps can I take to lead our church purposefully and prayerfully into a more hopeful future?' For these dedicated yet drained church leaders, this research-informed resource from the team at the Fuller Youth Institute offers a clear roadmap to faithfully and effectively navigate change that will revitalize your church. Through extensive research, interviews, and case studies, you will learn how to see the big picture, activate a transformation team, know your 'why,' discern where God is leading, communicate a compelling vision, maintain disciplined attention, and experiment toward a more fruitful, faithful, and lasting future. This hope-filled guide for building tomorrow's church today is the resource your church has been waiting for."

Jake Mulder, Kara Powell, Raymond Chang (Author), Kara Powell (Narrator)

Audiobook

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 (Narrator)

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

"If you are eager for an authentic action plan you can use every day to point your kids toward lasting, lifelong faith, this is it. Building on the bestselling go-to guidebook Sticky Faith, The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family shows parents how to actively encourage their children's spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith. This accessible guide presents more than 100 practical, easy-to-implement ideas to set your family on a trajectory of lifelong faith, including how to . . . - Handle mistakes and show forgiveness - Connect and relate to your teenager - Talk faith with your kids - Build faith during downtime or on vacation - Make your house a hub of faith - Be a family of service - And more! Perfect for busy parents who don't have time and inclination to read--yet grounded in sophisticated, academically verified data by the Fuller Youth Institute--this guidebook is a welcome resource you can turn to time and time again for fresh ideas and inspiration."

Kara Powell (Author), Hillary Huber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids

"Sticky Faith delivers positive and practical ideas to nurture within your kids a living, loving faith that lasts a lifetime. Research indicates that almost half of high school seniors drift from their faith after graduation. Struck by this staggering statistic, and recognizing its ramifications, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) conducted the 'College Transition Project' in an effort to identify the relationships and best practices that can set young people on a trajectory of lifelong faith and service. This easy-to-read guide presents both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children's spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith. Written by Fuller Youth Institute Executive Director Dr. Kara E. Powell and youth expert Chap Clark--authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people--Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages. Further engage your family and church with the Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith curriculum, and Sticky Faith youth worker edition. Sticky Faith is also available in Spanish, Cómo criar jóvenes de fe sólida."

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

Audiobook

Deep Justice in a Broken World: Helping Your Kids Serve Others and Right the Wrongs around Them

"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 Powell (Author), Rebecca Rogers (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deep Ministry in a Shallow World: Not-So-Secret Findings about Youth Ministry

"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 usless 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 Powell (Author), David Salsa, Rebecca Rogers (Narrator)

Audiobook