Cameron Cole, Director of Youth Ministries at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and the chairman of Rooted: Advancing Grace-Driven Youth Ministry, articulates five tools needed to reach today’s teens:
1. Knowledge about the canonization of Scripture.
2. Developed theology of sexuality, particularly homosexuality.
3. Ability to teach the Bible in the greater context of redemptive history.
4. Theological, not only moral, understanding of sin.
5. Understand adoption as an element of salvation.
See his post for an explanation of why each of these is vital in our day, along with recommended reading.