Books by Mark Oestreicher

Helps you to discover the reasons behind a lot of your changes and get tips on how to survive them. This book offers insights on changes happening in your body, your brain and thoughts, your identity, your emotions, and your gender.

Many people run scared from the middle school youth room. But (thankfully!) there are people out there who are actually drawn to those young teens. Although often times they're not equipped to deal with the unique challenges that middle school ministry presents, or they're just not sure what to do when a room full of young teens (who are "e;part child, but not quite adult"e;) are running around the youth room. Finally, there's a comprehensive guide to middle school ministry, from two veterans of this unchartered territory. Mark Oestreicher and Scott Rubin help youth workers understand the importance of middle school ministry, the development process for young teens and their implications for ministry, and how to best minister to these sometimes misunderstood students. They share their experiences (as middle school pastors and parents of middle schoolers), giving youth workers he encouragement, hope, and training they need to succeed in middle school ministry.

Understanding Your Young Teen is a book on early adolescent development for parents of young teens and pre-teens. Parents of young teens will 1. Gain an understanding of the unique and not-always-obvious realities of early adolescent development. This new understanding can greatly enhance parents' patience, parenting approaches, and relationship with their child. 2. Review the developmental uniquenesses of the young teen years. Most parents don't fully appreciate the changes that are taking place in their teens bodies, minds and relationships. This resource will give them a solid understanding of those areas. 3. Explore new research and cultural changes. Parents will get a better understanding of the changing landscape of teen culture and see how much as changed since they were young teens. The bulk of the book will be based on the first half of: Middle School Ministry. The developmental chapters will be re-written for parents, and will not only include the developmental issues themselves, but the practical implications for parenting and living with young teens. A strong pro-young teen bias will permeate the book, as my affection for young teens and conviction that this age is a great opportunity for faith formation will be woven through all chapters. While the book will be based on research and experience, the tone will be conversational, from one parent of young teens to others. First-person tense will be used throughout, along with examples from my family and extensive involvement with young teens.

The English language version of this book is already stirring controversy among churches in the United States. The author gives us a quick glimpse of the history of youth ministry and presents principles that indicate when it is necessary to move to the next stage of youth ministry. This book should be in the personal library of any youth minister who values the ministry. This book will help the leader to see where we came from, why we do what we do, and where we should be heading to produce the results that God and this generation expect from us.

Don't worry, My Friends will give you all the tips and secrets you need to make the most of your friendships. In the pages of this book, you'll find helpful friendship tips like: * What you can learn about friendship from the Bible * Ways to be a good friend * How to deal with conflict and other tough stuff * How to make friends, and more. From piles of homework to understanding the variety of 'interesting' people working at your school to dealing with the new challenges of changing for gym class in front of everyone, it's normal to feel a little overwhelmed.

Features 50 two-page journaling devotionals sends students straight into the words of Jesus to discover the truth--then it dares them to live that truth today.

12 active Bible lessons, for junior high and middle school Sunday school or youth group studies, based on the scriptural self-portraits of a God who wants to be known.

This journal features 50 two-page devotionals that introduce junior highers to the many pictures of God in Scripture, helping them discover the character of God and challenging them to practice those traits in their own lives.

Here are twelve more active Bible lessons for junior high Sunday School or youth group that keep young teens' interest while involving them with the Bible. 12 lessons.

To Be a Junior High Youth Worker . . . takes a distinct kind of adult, just as junior highers are a distinct kind of people. Betwixt and between though they may be, early adolescents are as capable of a genuine spiritual understanding and growth as high schoolers.It's just that junior highers absorb Bible teaching and demonstrate their spirituality-well, differently. Help! I'm a Junior High Youth Worker! is your primer for understanding young teenagers, then teaching them with a mind-set and with methods that fit them.First Things First. Three axioms that define your territory as a junior high youth worker.So Just What Is a Junior Higher, Anyway? The essence of early adolescence: the need for appropriate rules . . . the dilemma of throwing sixth graders and eighth graders together in the same program . . . small is good.Developmentally Speaking. Changes junior highers enjoy and endure cognitively, emotionally, socially, spiritually . . . their changing relationships with parents . . . individuation and hair under their arms.Time to Teach! Your required dose of pedagogy: the case for fun learning . . . ten top teaching topics for middle school ministry . . . how simulations, role plays, and storytelling can be your best teaching methods for early adolescents.Faith Outside the Youth Room. Spiritual discipleship for middle schoolers: they don't have to be high schoolers to begin forming habits of prayers, service, and outreach.Help! I'm a Junior High Youth Worker! is help at hand surviving and thriving in ministry to early adolescents.

Ready to introduce your junior highers to wild examples of spiritual maturity? Check out biblical adventures of these people and the character qualities they exemplify -- real people who, in wild Bible stories, did really wild things for God: - Kid King . . . Josiah (influencing others) - Wise Guy, the King of Good Decisions . . . Solomon (wise decisions) - Little Timmy, the Teenage Teacher . . . Timothy (living for God while still a young teen) - Dave's posse . . . David's mighty men (doing outrageous things for God) - Whiney Bro, the Fair-Share Demander . . . the Prodigal Son's brother (demanding your rights) - Moe's Mom, the Cruise Director . . . Moses' mother (trusting God in difficult situations) - Pete, the Second-Chance Wonder . . . Peter (God's forgiveness) - Samantha, the Water Woman . . . the woman at the well (racism). You won't believe all the off-the-wall discussion starters, video ideas, scripts, games with a point -- and, of course, Bible passages you can use to springboard junior highers into topics that don't just mean the world to them, but are the world. Friendship. Embarrassment. Rights. Racism. Each lesson reaches back into history to underline for junior highers the reality of Old and New Testament people and principles -- and then reaches forward, challenging your students to make better decisions, better friends, better lives. Each lesson thoroughly preps you to teach it, including convenient reminders of what materials you need and when you need them. And in each lesson students dig into Wild Pages that bring scriptural principles right into the kids' own experience. 12 lessons