Andrew Root joined Luther Seminary in 2005 as assistant professor of youth and family ministry. Previously he was an adjunct professor at Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington D.C., and Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J. Root received his bachelor of arts degree from Bethel College, St. Paul, Minn., in 1997. He earned his master of divinity (2000) and his master of theology (2001) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. He completed his doctoral degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2005. Root's ministry experience includes being a gang prevention counselor in Los Angeles, youth outreach directed in a congregation, staff member of Young Life, and a confirmation teacher. He has also been a research fellow for Princeton Theological Seminary's Faith Practices Project. Root has published articles in the Journal of Youth and Theology, The International Journal of Practical Theology, and Word and World. He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry and the International Bonhoeffer Society.
Series
Books
Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies
Youth Ministry in the Age of Science
2018
A Pilgrimage into Letting Go
Helping Parents and Pastors Embrace the Uncontrollable
2025
The Relational Pastor
Sharing in Christ by Sharing Ourselves
2012
Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker
A Theological Vision for Discipleship and Life Together
2014
Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry
From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation
2007
Taking Theology to Youth Ministry
2012
Churches and the Crisis of Decline
2022
Unpacking Scripture in Youth Ministry
2012
The End of Youth Ministry?
2020
The Church after Innovation
Questioning Our Obsession with Work, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship
2022
The Promise of Despair
The Way of the Cross as the Way of the Church
2010
Youth Ministry in This Season of Disruption
2020
Faith Formation in a Secular Age
Responding to the Church's Obsession with Youthfulness
2017
Relationships Unfiltered
Help for Youth Workers, Volunteers, and Parents on Creating Authentic Relationships
2009
The Pastor in a Secular Age
2019
The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry
2011
Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms
2023
Taking the Cross to Youth Ministry
2012
Christopraxis
A Practical Theology of the Cross
2014
Evangelism in an Age of Despair
Hope beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness
2025
Unlocking Mission and Eschatology in Youth Ministry
2012
When Church Stops Working
2023
The Grace of Dogs
A Boy, a Black Lab, and a Father's Search for the Canine Soul
2017
Children of Divorce, The
The Loss of Family as the Loss of Being
2010
The Congregation in a Secular Age
Keeping Sacred Time against the Speed of Modern Life
2021
