New
Andy Blanks
ym360, 2012, $9.99

I think New is excellent, the best resource for new believers I’ve encountered. I liked the visual layout—simple yet eye-catching. The topics covered were great and presented in an easy-to-understand manner: simple, short, not overwhelming. I like that the author varies the approaches and activities each day of the week and that he incorporates many ideas important to postmoderns: journey, discovery, narrative, community. I thought the extra resources in the back were great—simple, clear, helpful. I’d definitely use this with the youth in my care.
—Jeff Crosby

I had the privelage of reading New and enjoyed it very much. Andy Blanks did a great job putting together First Fteps for New Believers in this new resource. After letting the new believer know he or she is a new creation, there is a month of daily devotionals introducing what living a life of faith in Christ can be. At the end of the book, Andy provides a list of great things about the Bible and the history of the church since creation. I would encourage youth leaders to get ths book for the new believers in their groups. Using this Book: Youth Ministry 360 offers a Leaders Guide for this book to be used by any youth group. I also wonder if this would not be a good resource to use in a small group of new believers along with a few youth who are not believers so the unbelievers can see the enthusiasm of a new believer. Perhaps this book could be used to encourage people to come to Christ, as well in this manner.
—Rev. David Taylor

In New, Andy Blanks demonstrates a genuine inside knowledge into the heart of the new Christian teenager. He presents a clear and understandable layout and thoughtful material appropriate for a new believer. With a well-designed presentation, a new believer is presented with key knowledge and shown the basics of classic Christian spiritual disciplines to begin applying to his or her life immediately. This is a book well worth having ready and available to put into the hands of any student who makes a new decision for Christ; it would be helpful to many church-raised Christian teenagers struggling to find meaning in their faith today.
—Joel Heald, Student Ministries Pastor, Flushing Community Church, Flushing, Michigan

I thought this book was very well laid out. I enjoyed how the content was broken into sections that would not be overwhelming to new believers to read through on their own and really help them solidify the decision they have made to follow Christ. I appreciate the fact the book doesn’t lead someone to believe life will be easy from this point on, but gives hope that we are not doing it alone. This would be a great book to go through with a small group of teens or maybe for use once a quarter or so to walk through with new believers. Free resources are listed that you can print out, making it great that you don’t need to buy a book for each student. All in all, this is a fantastic resource for youth workers.
—Wayne Wrzesinski, Youth/Worship Director at BreakPoint Assembly, Longview, Washington

As a youth minister, I’m constantly looking for resources to give to students to help them start their faith journey with Christ. New by Andy Blanks (youthministry360) now has been added to that short list. This brief study on some of the basics of being a Christ follower is broken down into 24 short devotions. It is designed to be used by the student during four weeks (six days each week). It covers topics such as praying, trusting God, sharing your story with friends and knowing God. There was only one negative I found in New and that was a doctrinal difference in one minor point. Three things stood out as big positives: There is use of Scripture throughout; each devotion varies in format and lengthp; and there are additional resources at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book as a resource for new believers; plus, there is a downloadable small group curriculum you can use alongside the book.
—Mike Kupferer

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