10 Books Every Christian Teenager Should Read

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”  Jim Rohn

My children often want to earn extra cash in the summer. While I don’t typically pay for normal household chores, I have been known to offer a summer reading stipend, also known as a bribe, for books that make them think. I love to pick inspiring and faith-deepening stories. I recently asked our CCA staff what books they read during high school and college that helped them move into a deeper relationship with Christ.

Here are some of their top faith-deepening reads:

  1. Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard: an allegorical tale of Much-Afraid, an every-woman searching for guidance from God to lead her to a higher place.
  2. Knowing God by J.I. Packer: explains both who God is and how we can relate to him.
  3. Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper:  makes a passionate plea to the next generation to avoid the dangers of a wasted life.
  4. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: explores the common ground upon which Christians stand together.
  5. Radical by David Platt: challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences.
  6. Jesus Freaks by DC Talk: stories of martyrs who stood for Jesus.
  7. Faith is Not a Feeling by Ney Bailey: In 1976 the Big Thompson River flood in Colorado took 150 lives, including those of seven women on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ International. Deeply grieved by the loss, survivor Ney Bailey embraced a journey of faith that led her to a life-changing truth: No matter how things look and no matter how we feel, God is in control.
  8. The Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis: captivating case histories and anecdotes about such famous people as George Burns, Howard Hughes, and C. S. Lewis, that teach the secret of how to love and be loved. 
  9. Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot: candidly shares her love and is honest about the temptations, difficulties, victories, and sacrifices of two young people whose commitment to Christ took priority over their love for each other.
  10. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller: a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.

I will definitely be reading some of these books this summer as well as bribing my older children to do the same.

Happy Summer Reading!