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Toward a Prophetic Youth Ministry: Theory and Praxis in Urban Context

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I'm a youth pastor working in Paramount, CA. That is the city next to Compton. I work with both church kids and community kids. I was excited for a book on Urban Youth Ministry theory and praxis. My excitement was a bit disappointed.

Arzola claims that most youth groups have an unhealthy bent toward one of the following paradigms: spiritual formation (traditional), personal growth (liberal), or social justice (activist). He contends that a healthy, "prophetic" youth ministry, contains a balance of all three. I agree; however, this just seems obvious - especially in an urban context where the need for spiritual formation, personal growth, and social justice are constantly shoving themselves in your face.

I was also bummed by the overuse of extended quotes (nearly one on every page in some chapters) and redundant charts and graphs.

All that to say, I imagine Arzola is very talented at working with and creating environments where urban students are blessed and flourish. I imagine he could come to Paramount and create a ministry that is at least twice as effective as I will ever be a part of. And that is just the problem. Youth Ministry, especially in an urban context, is very particular and specific. It is a very difficult task to say anything ground breaking to a wide audience of Urban Youth Workers. I applaud Arzola's attempt. I would have done a much worse job, so I won't.