Foreword
Introduction
Part 1: Foundations for a vine-centred youth ministry
1. Youth ministry 101
2. Growing teenage disciples
3. Form programs around people
4. Eight ministry mind-shifts
Part 2: Trellis and vine thinking in your youth ministry
1. Teaching the Bible to the whole group
2. Small-group discussion
3. One-to-one Bible reading
4. Reading theology books with students
5. Creating a culture of prayer among students
6. Evangelism training for students
7. School outreach: Reaching local schools with the gospel
8. Recruiting leaders to serve in the student ministry
9. Connecting with parents
10. Counselling students
11. Utilizing retreats and summer camps to supplement year-round ministry
12. Mission trips
13. Games and fun throughout the year
Conclusion
Appendices
A. Recommended resources
B. Training your leaders
C. Assessing spiritual maturity in students 

Kyle is Pastor of Family Ministry at Old North Church in Canfield, Ohio. He and his wife Jenna have a daughter named Madelyn and son named Benjamin. He is passionate about reminding students and their parents that true life is found in Jesus, teaching them how to read the Bible on their own, and breaking down generational barriers within the family of God. He hosts the Youth Ministry and the Vine podcast.

Youth Ministry and the Vine is the wake-up call youth workers need. Kyle cuts through the hype and reminds us that real growth doesn’t come from bigger programs; it comes from God’s word, intentional training, and time with students. His trellis-and-vine approach is sharp, practical, and dead-on for a generation drowning in ‘happathy’. If you want a ministry that produces mature disciples—not just attendees—this book will help you refocus and stay long enough to see the fruit.
—Doug Franklin, President, LeaderTreks Youth Ministry

The Trellis and the Vine has long been an essential model for faithful and effective discipleship ministry. Kyle’s application of the trellis-and-vine model to youth ministry is just what youth pastors need. Minimize time spent on programs; maximize relationships, Bible teaching, discipleship, and prayer. This book provides an excellent vision for discipleship ministry to teenagers in churches large and small.
—Cameron Cole, Founding Chairman of Rooted Ministry; Director of Adult and Nextgen Discipleship, St Peter’s Anglican Church

Youth Ministry and the Vine is a clear call for us to do better with the next generation. Kyle makes it clear that youth are not a problem to be endured, nor are they merely the church of tomorrow; they are an indispensable part of the church today. The short, focused chapters, full of practical observations and followed with discussion questions, make this an ideal resource for youth-leadership teams to read together and so help each other level up their efforts to reach, win, and disciple the next generation to maturity in Christ.
—Craig Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Youthworks

In a time when youth ministry is often driven by trends, urgency, and quick fixes, Kyle calls us back to what truly matters: the patient, prayerful, Christ-centred work of forming mature disciples. The challenge to slow down, reflect deeply, rebuild wisely, and remember real names captures the heart of the book, and the calling we as Christian leaders need to hear. Ministry is not about maintaining programs but cultivating people, and this book helps us reorient everything toward that goal. It is worth reading. It is worth wrestling with. And, more importantly, it is worth applying. Thank you, Kyle, for your labour of love—this work matters.
—Tim McAlpine (MA Leadership), Director of Faith Formation, Trinity Christian School, Calgary, AB, Canada

I have been in youth ministry for over 30 years, but I wish Youth Ministry and the Vine had been available when I started. However, I am both thrilled and sure that a whole new generation of youth workers will greatly benefit from reading this purposely concise and yet rich book full of practical wisdom for next-gen ministry. I know because I have been personally enriched by its author through personal conversations, by sitting under his teaching, and now by reading his book. If you are going to buy one book on youth ministry, get this one. Don’t wait 30 years!
—Dr David M. Correa, Senior Pastor of ‘Jesus’ Presbyterian Church, Progreso, Yucatán, México; Professor of Youth Ministry at San Pablo Theological Seminary, Mérida, Yucatán, México; Director of the Next Institute Mexico

I’m not sure I’ve ever met Kyle Hoffsmith in person, but I know we’re Facebook friends. And on Facebook, he seems like an incredible youth pastor: joyful, funny, relational, up early and out late with students of all ages. It’s clear that he likes to have fun, and it’s also clear that he takes his job seriously. So, given that Kyle’s virtual self was so impressive, I was eager to read this book. No surprise: it’s excellent! It’s joyful and relational. It’s serious, but not too serious. I wish someone had given me this book ten years ago when I first started in student ministry. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way. I can’t wait to meet this guy!
—Alex Duke, Retired youth pastor and Product Director, 9Marks

Youth Ministry and the Vine offers timely guidance for youth workers struggling with balancing busy programs and meaningful disciple-making. Kyle Hoffsmith effectively uses the trellis-and-vine framework to refocus student ministry on producing gospel-centred fruit rather than simply maintaining activities. This book is biblically grounded, practical, and accessible enough for volunteer teams to engage with. Hoffsmith values structure and fun, but he rightly prioritizes them as tools to cultivate mature disciples who love and follow Jesus for a lifetime.
—Zach Wyatt, Executive Director, Youth Leader Collective

Youth ministry workers face a mountain of challenges, not the least of which is designing and implementing a ministry that is faithful to God, doesn’t cut corners, and provides spiritual nourishment. Kyle Hoffsmith is a thoughtful and studied practitioner who has given us a roadmap to what a healthy and vital student ministry looks like. Youth Ministry and the Vine is grounded in the Bible, succinct in focus, and balanced in theory and practice. It will be a valuable resource to ministry veterans and newcomers alike.
—Greg Anderson, President, Inspiration Point Christian Camp and Retreat Center, Vining, MN, USA

Youth Ministry and the Vine is a timely recalibration for youth ministries that want more than attendance and excitement. What I appreciate most is Kyle’s pastoral realism. He understands students, volunteers, parents, and the real pressures leaders face. He doesn’t call us to abandon programs, but to evaluate them honestly. Programs are trellises, not the point. Students are the vine, and gospel growth is the goal. At a moment when many of us are trying to shift from event-driven to disciple-making ministry, this book gives us language, clarity, and hope. I’m already using it—and I’m on my way to the hardware store to install a trellis in my office as a clear reminder of my calling.
P.S. I wish every youth pastor could have a 30-minute conversation with Kyle Hoffsmith to see his joy for the Lord and for students!
—Isaac Leimeister, Middle School Minister, Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, USA

We know that just feeding young people hype and entertainment doesn’t keep them in church. Then, when they walk out, we youth leaders are discouraged—what’s the point? We long for them to meet Jesus, live for him, and persevere to eternity, and we know they crave something real, both in relationship and in purpose. So, what do we do? In this concise book, Kyle challenges us to go back to the main things of teaching and training around God’s word in real relationships. He helps us assess our current youth ministry principles and practice, and gives strategies for effectively growing teenage disciples. This would be a great starting place for any youth pastor or youth ministry team seeking to make and mature young followers of Jesus (while still having fun!).
—Mike Snowdon, Campus worker, Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students; Author, A New Freedom: How God’s word equips you for life

Youth Ministry and the Vine is a book that should be in the hands of every person within the church who is working with young people. This is a refreshing look at gospel-centred ministry done well. Kyle gives high-level ideas and encouragement for a youth worker or volunteer, while also coming alongside the reader to help them apply what is discussed in their own ministry setting. I recommend this book to new and veteran youth workers seeking to walk alongside students.
—Kerry Trunfio, Director of Children, Youth and Family Life Ministry, Our Savior Lutheran Church

Any youth leader who wants to get off the treadmill of simply planning fun events and get down to the business of making spiritually mature disciples who make spiritually mature disciples should pick up a copy of Youth Ministry and the Vine. This inspirational but practical book lays out an attainable path to building a youth-ministry program that helps teens know their faith, own their faith, and consistently share their faith. By coaching leaders to form programs around students’ spiritual needs versus cramming teens into existing programs, author Kyle Hoffsmith presents a customizable approach that can help every youth leader raise up disciples who boldly point others to Christ.
—Greg Stier, Founder and visionary, Dare 2 Share Ministries; Author, Unlikely Fighter, Radical Like Jesus, and Gospelize Your Youth Ministry

Youth Ministry and the Vine is a book every youth pastor and student ministry leader should read. After more than 20 years in the trenches of youth ministry, I wish I’d had this book when I first started out! It resonated with me deeply because it addresses the real issues we all face, and offers a better way forward. Kyle Hoffsmith clearly and wisely reframes student ministry around what truly matters: discipling students rather than sustaining programs. He uses a powerful framework of the trellis and the vine to remind us that structures exist to serve people, not the other way around, and that gospel growth must always take priority over activity and attendance. What set this book apart for me is its clarity and practicality. Kyle does not just share stories of success; he shows you how to build ministries intentionally that prioritize teaching, training, and time with students in order to equip them for lifelong faith rather than short-term engagement. This is not a book about making disciples of ourselves or our personalities; it’s a compelling call to make disciples of Jesus; to engage students deeply with Scripture, prayer and mission; and to cultivate ministries that bear lasting fruit. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone serious about discipling the next generation.
—Eric Miller, Executive Director of Ministry, Momentum Ministry Partners

Here is a resource from Kyle Hoffsmith, an experienced youth pastor whose work is grounded in biblical theology, meaty texts (I love the resource section in the back of the book!), and lengthy in-the-trenches ministry experience. Readers will find enormously helpful the four concepts: Engage, Evangelize, Establish and Equip (the four Es). I must say that I appreciate the author including all four of these elements (as opposed to some youth ministry books that seem to exclude one or two), and including them in this order (which occasionally gets confused by other youth ministry authors). Then, as readers move through the rest of the book, we find one practical chapter after another, each unfolding basic principles for building a ministry based around the ‘vine’ (growing fruitful disciples) and not around the ‘trellis’ (building nice programs). My favourite quote in the book: “The noun ‘pastor’ is more important than the adjective ‘youth’”!
—Duffy Robbins, Professor of Christian ministry, Grove City College, Grove City, PA, USA