Andy Root 2019

Hear from Dr Andrew Root, youth and family ministry research, writer and global speaker, at this two-day training event for pastors, leaders and volunteers who reach youth and youth adults. This is Andrew’s first visit to Brisbane and promises to be a learning opportunity not to be missed.

Day 1 — Friday 16 August, 9 am to 4 pm
The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People who no longer need God

Andrew will focus on topics raised in his most recent book, The Pastor in a Secular Age (Baker, 2019), where he explores how this secular age has impacted the identity and practice of the pastor, obscuring his or her core vocation: to call and assist others into the experience of ministry. Andrew will explain how pastors can regain the important role of attending to people’s experiences of divine action, offering a new vision for pastoral ministry today.

Andrew will focus on Faith Formation in a Secular Age, the first book in his ‘Ministry in a Secular Age’ trilogy, offering an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulating how faith can be formed in our secular age. After covering ways of combining science and youth ministry, the final part of the day will cover the ongoing relevance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, based on Andrew’s highly popular book, Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker.

About the Presenter:
Dr Andrew Root (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of youth and family ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. A former Young Life staff worker, he has served in churches and social service agencies as a youth outreach associate and a gang prevention counsellor.

Andrew researches, writes and speaks around the globe in the areas of practical theology and youth ministry. His most recent books are:

• Faith Formation in a Secular Age series
• Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs
• Zombies: Youth Ministry in the Age of Science