Eight-teen (Four Benefits to Long Term Youth Ministry)

Today is March 1st 2016.

I realize that it has been almost an entire year since I updated here. But today I felt it necessary.

On September 1st 2014 I packed up my car, bought a Starbucks, and hit the highway for a 7 hour drive. A drive that would end at a small bachelor-type apartment (two old motel rooms converted into one apartment), a small community, and about an hour from Starbucks.

This was 18 months ago.

When I began as Pastor of Youth and Family Ministries at Florenceville Baptist Church it was general consensus that the average tenure for a youth pastor was 18 months. I was reading it everywhere- on blog posts, Facebook statuses, tweets, it seemed to be everywhere... even though I couldn't find out where this information originated from.

I still can't - in fact minds much greater than mine can't seem to find it either. It's an untraceable bit of information that has been floating around the inter webs and I for one am glad that this doesn't seem to be true and that it definitely isn't true in my case. (Or the case of my convention of churches... which is roughly average of 3.5 years)

I'm just getting started at this ministry- just starting to build relationships, just now making memories, finally building trust, and just now starting to see the fruits of the labour that has taken 18 months to build- I can't imagine turning around and leaving now... even for a closer Starbucks (and now with their new points system I wouldn't want to anyway).


I guess the rest of this blog is for those who are starting out or are going through a difficult season in their ministry. I am not an expert- I have only been here 18 months but I can already see the benefits to a long-term youth ministry.

1. Relationships. 

Youth are relational beings. No matter their situation in life they strive to feel wanted, accepted, loved, and cared for. Youth who come from 'good Christian homes' and youth who come from broken, destroyed, messy backgrounds all desire this. It was just after my 12 month milestone that one of my youth asked 'How long are you going to be here?' (meaning as their Youth Pastor) and I  sarcastically answered 'Well.... I still like you so I'm gonna stick around for a while'
I realize now that that wasn't a smart way to answer that question but it was how I was feeling- I was loving the youth, the community, the church, the ministry and so planned on sticking around.
They took that to say 'When I don't like you anymore I'm out of here'
.... again- I've only been doing this for 18 months.... I'm still learning, I make mistakes.
Building relationships takes time and to come in as a youth pastor, develop a relationships, and  build on them is longer than an 18 month process. Imagine the damage you are doing to a youth if they have a different youth pastor every 18 months- that would be 4 different youth pastors during their time in Middle and High School programs. By number 3 they are never going to open up... which leads me to the second reason for long term youth ministry positions.


2. Trust.

Trust is built. Youth are struggling through making their faith their own or developing a faith from scratch. They need someone with whom they can work out that faith with. Someone who can guide them through the tough questions, someone they can turn to when they feel far from God, someone who can assure them that God is with them when life gets messy. Someone they can talk about their messy life with. And no, this isn't always going to be the youth pastor (it's actually better if it isn't a youth pastor- hopefully it is another mentor, a neighbour, a family friend) but the youth pastor who knows the youth's past, who knows where they have been is going to be MUCH more trusted by a youth than one who knows nothing about them.


3. Development of Program.

It's true..... Churches don't like change. For any Pastor heading into their first church be ready.... churches take time to come around to new ideas, new ways of ministering, and letting go of the ways they have operated in the past. This is simply the fact of ANY group of people (have you seen the new way schools do math!? I don't understand it... I don't like it.... but someday I'm going to have to help my children learn it). In a church a youth pastor needs to be willing to go to bat for the youth. Needs to be willing to build trust with the adults of the church so they can try new things, reach new people, make youth programming more engaging and age appropriate for them.... and these programs take TIME to develop.... not only getting approval from adults BUT changing the minds and hearts of the youth from the old to the new AND building it to be what you dream and vision it to be.... don't give up after one failed attempt- perhaps the next will go better.


4. A Time For Everything. 

It's true- scripture says there is a time for every season under heaven. And one of the benefits of a long-term youth ministry is experiencing ALL of these seasons with youth, with their families, and with the church.
You will go to a board meeting and be questioned on the scratches on the hallway floor, the lack of Bible Study for High Schoolers, the board will hate your idea of painting the youth room (or creating a youth room). They will get mad at you when youth are distracting during the service or when the gym isn't cleaned up properly after a program and parent's will call you and ask why you haven't invited their child directly on the youth mission trip! You will get frustrated and angry at yourself when attendance is low, when nobody volunteers to help, when you run out of money in September. Somebody will comment about how messy your office is or as you "What do you do all week anyway"- these things will happen. (*This is all hypothetical of course*)
And then your youth will go through difficult times - a family member will die, depression and athletic and academic pressures will kick in. But they will also have celebrations, graduations, baptisms, newer and stronger relationships with Jesus, inviting friends to ministry events. Youth will work at camp, ask you if they can run a food drive, start their own Bible Study, suggest a youth oriented worship night. The board will celebrate the joys of new students in midweek programs, be overcome by the testimony of a youth before their baptism, you will have prayers answered with a new youth leader you didn't expect (okay.... maybe not). There is a time for everything.... and just because Ecclesiastes says 'a season for every activity' it doesn't mean it will all happen in our 4 seasons....
With the bad comes the good, the great. What I am trying to say here is don't become discouraged and leave your ministry because of a bad season.  Stick it out- your ministry will benefit from it in the long run. Celebrate the small wins and realize that God has called you to youth ministry- a ministry that thrives in longevity- not in short bursts.





Oh...... and if God hasn't called you to youth ministry but this is just a 'stepping stone' to the 'real thing' then get out of youth ministry and get where God has called you.