The (Not-So-Secret) Secret to Reaching the Next Generation

Kevin DeYoung

Reviewed by: Emily Van Dixhoorn

The (Not-So-Secret) Secret to Reaching the Next Generation, by Kevin DeYoung. Crossway, 2024. Paperback, 28 pages, $4.99. Reviewed by OP member Emily Van Dixhoorn.

If there were ever a highly relevant book that you do have time to read, it is The (Not-So-Secret) Secret to Reaching the Next Generation by Kevin DeYoung. Are we not all concerned for the next generation? Are we not all heartbroken to see a covenant child walk away from the church? Is the book not only 28 pages in length? More of a pamphlet than a book, this quick read gives us hope that God has provided a way that we can meet the urgent need to reach the next generation with the gospel.

In his characteristic style, DeYoung points his readers away from gimmicks that we, perhaps in a moment of panic, might be tempted to entertain and back to God’s promises and provision in his Word.

The book can be summarized as 2 Peter 1:5–8 applied to youth ministry. DeYoung writes, “If we are growing in faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, we will not be ineffective ministers for Christ. If there was a secret to effective ministry, these verses give it to us” (12).

DeYoung unpacks this secret with five suggestions. In Goldilocks fashion, they are not too many and not too few:

1. Grab Them with Passion (Rom. 12:9–11) ,
2. Win Them with Love (John 13:35) ,
3. Hold Them with Holiness (2 Pet. 1:5–8; 1 Tim. 4:15) ,
4. Challenge Them with Truth,
5. Amaze Them with God (Acts 17:23; Rev. 4)

Because these tactics are backed by God’s Word (and a touch of sociological study), the book assures us we can have hope for reaching the next generation in our day.

DeYoung uses a tone that is both confident and convicting, making for a memorable read and motivating for action. For example, DeYoung concludes the section on “Challenge Them with Truth” with, “The church in the twenty-first century must go big on truth or go home” (22). This statement could be the theme for a youth study on the Westminster Confession of Faith or another in-depth doctrinal study.

For such a short piece, it is packed with a punch. Because of its drive away from trendy programs, it is especially well suited for confessional churches attentive to the means of grace.

I would love to hear of churches giving this brief book to all youth workers and parents as a way of building unity and focus in reaching the next generation and spurring on all its members in growth in Christ.