Ministry with Youth on the Margins
- Church Leadership & Ministry
- Publisher: Baker Academic (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
Helping Every Teen Feel Welcome, Seen, and Valued The greatest opportunity for the gospel may be for the church to reach one of the largest unreached groups in the US and the world: teens with trauma and disability. This resource equips ministry students, youth pastors, and denominational leaders to ● build a theological framework paired with field-tested, practical guidance for reaching students affected by trauma, disability, and mental health challenges; ● create trauma-informed, accessible, inclusive programming for local church youth ministries; ● navigate foster care legal issues, challenging behaviors, and referrals to professional counselors and caseworkers; and ● cover foundational topics in youth ministry, disability concerns, and program design in classroom, congregation, and denominational settings. While awareness of disability and mental health has grown in recent decades, the church has fallen behind the culture in engaging specific at-risk individuals. Churches and youth ministries often unintentionally marginalize teens with trauma, disabilities, and mental health challenges, but young people deserve better: a church that is wider and willing to go to the margins to be welcoming and accessible. Mike Severe and Laura Widstrom offer a theological framework and practical guidance for serving students on the margins, including those affected by significant life challenges such as foster care, chronic health issues, a death in the family, or divorce. Drawing on research and their personal experience in youth ministry and foster parenting, they address the most common issues, questions, and roadblocks to creating disability-inclusive, trauma-informed ministry. This theory-to-practice resource invites critical reflection on ministry approaches, confronts the mindsets and barriers to creating inclusive environments for teens with disability and trauma, and calls the church to those places where God is at work.
Endorsements (4)
“Brimming with the practical wisdom only a fusion of personal and professional experience can offer, this book is a must-read for any youth worker committed to a fully inclusive, welcoming youth ministry that honors the imago Dei in all of God's children. Not only does it offer detailed advice you can use immediately; it also invites you into a deeper theological understanding of why this advice matters—to God, to the church, and to our families.”
“Ministry with Youth on the Margins challenges us to move from awareness to action in serving unreached groups of people in the United States. Students with disabilities and in foster care experience loss, instability, separation, and trauma that shape the way they relate to adults, peers, authority, and community. The authors connect practical ministry with theological conviction to challenge youth leaders and the church to see others through the eyes of Jesus.”
“How have we carried out decades of youth ministry without this book? Drawing from a deep well of their combined education, ministry, and personal experiences, Mike and Laura remind us that just as Christ seeks those on the margins, so we, too, are called to welcome and prepare a place for teens on the margins. When we do, everyone in the community is enriched. In this book, expect to find a theological vision and practical ideas that equip your faith community to become a place where every young person has access to healing because they know they belong.”
“I believe that every child has a special purpose in the kingdom of God. But children and youth with disabilities are the most vulnerable in any society, and they often struggle to thrive. As the father of two daughters with special needs and an advocate for disabled youth in the world's hardest places, I commend the authors of Ministry with Youth on the Margins for equipping Christians and churches to reflect the heart of Christ by loving, serving, and empowering vulnerable children.”
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