You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'For Youth Pastors' category.
Youth Pastor are an interesting breed of people. Generally, YP are ego-driven, people pleasers, always right, have facial hair, hip, stylish, and very opinionated.
If someone critiques the YP’s ministry philosophy, style, program, and theology, their knee jerk reaction is to get mad. Why? Because some Youth Pastors take themselves too seriously.
Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give it.
Why can angels fly? Because they take themselves lightly.
I am calling all youth pastors to get the edge over their emotions. Get confident and certain in what God is doing in your ministry and what He is doing in you and relax. And for goodness sake don’t take yourself seriously. You will only become bitter, depressed, and jaded. If you are going to take anything seriously take God’s work seriously.
Some signs to detect a high strung and a very serious youth pastor:
1. His/Her life is his/her ministry. Basically their youth ministry is their life and they are getting life from leading a immature group of jr high and sr highers. In 90% of their conversation revolve around what God is doing in THEIR ministry. My advice: Get a life. Hang out with adults. We get it, you like your job and your goatee.
2. Meetings are fun for them. Meetings are where they thrive. Okay meetings are meetings and artificial. Unfortunately meetings is when they people have to listen to them and their pontifications.
3. They have the last word in every conversation. The high strung YP needs to make sure their voice is loud and they get the last word in many conversations. If they preface the conversation with: “I am very opinionated”….run and run quick.
4. They are always right. And they wonder why some parents/students don’t like them?
5. They react when a student makes fun of them. The high strung youth pastor gets mad because a 16 year old highlights the their insecurity in front of the youth group. Come on….everyone was thinking it….the 16 year old had the guts to just say it. If you are letting some 16 year old punk get in your head, you need to get out of youth ministry. You have to have a thick skin when working with students. Why? Because they will immediately see your flaws and directly call them out. I am know as the PRETTY BOY YOUTH PASTOR who has perfect hair, wears tight shirts, and stumbles over my words. My advice: relax and make sure to make fun of yourself— a lot.
Many of my high school students have been struggling with the idea of: I believe God exists, but I haven’t experienced God. Some of their questions were: How do I connect with God? Where is God in my life? What do I need to do in order to feel Him? If I pray and ask Him, will He reveal Himself to me?
Some of my angry prayers/statements to God included: Why God? These kids think you are a flake. God, forcefully reveal yourself to them this week! These kids need you and they need you to drastically transform their lives and their soul so they can see your Kingdom, which is so beautiful, can you do that God? God I don’t care how you do it, but do it–appear to these kids.
Tonight during youth group, we explored the idea of Who is God and Where is God? I attempted to communicate that we need to release the destructive images of God while embracing the constructive images shown in Scripture. I asked and invited all students to think of one place in their personal life where they can connect with God.
In their contemplation and reflection time, I showed this visual video that encouraged them to explore how they might connect with God.
Last Sunday during our high school Sunday morning meeting, I brought in a New York Times article discussing the states (New Hampshire, Vermont, Hawaii, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Washington, Oregon and California ) that HAD same sex civil union available in 2004. On May 15, 2008, the Supreme Court of California voted 4-3 that a state law banning same-sex marriage was constituted illegal discrimination because domestic partnerships were not a good enough substitute. On November 4th, 2008 California will have an opportunity (Prop 8 ) to change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
In light of this article, I asked these questions to the high school students:
What is your knee jerk reaction towards same-sex marriages?
Do homosexual couples have a constitutional right to get married?
Do homosexual couples have a theological right to get married?
Do same sex marriages effect the family system?
Would you vote “yes” or “no” on Prop 8? Why? Give me a theological answer about your Prop 8 answer.
The high school students were fired up in how they answered the questions. 10% of the students would vote “NO” for Prop 8, while the other 90% would vote “YES” for Prop 8.
My goal of discussing Prop 8/same-sex marriages in CHURCH was not to convince them what to vote for or to hand out Prop 8 literature. Rather, I wanted my students to think theologically about the same-sex issue and how their theological interpretations are translated into state government. They needed to think about the societal implications at the state, family, and church level. If they are voting “YES” on Prop 8, then what is their theology that is leading them in that direction? If they are voting “NO”, what is the thrust of their theology that is convicting them to say same-sex marriage is legit in society?
The Founding Fathers taught us how to think politically, and it is up to the Church to know how to think theologically.
I wanted my students to see the complexity and polarity regarding the same-sex marriage issue. I wanted to hammer home the idea that how they voted does not jeopardize their salvation. Political messages and theological messages should never be mixed. It is a bad combination. My students are smart, they will figure it out. They don’t need their youth pastor telling them how to think politically. Although their youth pastor will tell them everything about hermeneutics, church history, theology, and the Bible.
Let the pastors do what the pastors do best and let the politicians do what the politicians do best.
I never thought I would be a small church youth ministry youth pastor. I had multiple opportunities to go to the mega-church youth ministry. Honestly, my personality and charisma could easily fit the mega church ym model. Seriously, there is no $ in small church ministry and I have a lot of seminary loans to pay back. So why would I be so committed to small church youth ministry? Despite the many disadvantages( lack of funding, resources, space, and staffing) of small church ministry, I am still a firm believer that small church youth ministry is the most effective approach in ministering to student’s souls. Why?
Intimacy! Intimacy!
If a student walks into a small youth ministry, he or she will most likely be greeter and ask a few questions. If a student walks into a mega-church youth ministry, he or she will most likely become one of the many who simply just take a chair and become a spectator. Small church ministries have a faster ability to start relationships and learn about the student before he/she fills out a card indicating he/she wants to get involved in an area bible study/small group.
Ability to rethink and implement more quickly
Youth culture is always changing, so therefore your youth ministry should always be changing. The youth pastor should always be asking? Why are we doing what we are doing? Is it working? And how can we do it better? I would say if you have been using a model for 3 to 5 years, ditch it. Models are immediate responses to current contexts. Trust me your students have probably out grown the model two years ago. After many months of planning, preparing, praying, and assessing you can develop a model without stepping on anyone’s toes. The youth pastor has the ability to implement fast.
Dialogical approach
Small church youth ministry is literally an on-going conversation. I would recommend that teaching times during program are not 25 minutes sermons. Rather the teaching times be a focused dialogue and at the end the youth pastor land the conversation. In my experience, dialogues are more fruitful than a three point talk. Talks only allow the student to listen, a dialogue engages the student and allows them to interactive with the content presented. In the end having the opportunity to dialogue allows the students to have a higher change to take an ownership to his/her faith.
Intergenerational opportunities
Students should have a place to serve and participate on Sunday mornings. The small church should value the idea of: Family of Families. Essentially the small church should not be as fragmented as the mega-church, rather it should be more interconnected. The men’s ministry should have some exposure to the youth ministry and the children’s ministry should have the opportunity to hang out with the youth ministry. The youth pastor should feel as sense of connection with the entire church, rather than a connection with his/her mini-church of student ministry. Also, the youth pastor should be a team player with the other senior leadership of the church. Intergenerational solidifies more of a connectedness.
Not ministering to the masses
Small church youth ministry programs should not turn into spectators shows. A small church youth ministry should not have students sitting for the entire program. Actually remove all tables and chairs in your youth ministry program. Invite the students to interactive with one another. The more people, the higher the program relies on performance. We have to remember that the postmodern student is very skeptical of hyper programs.
Not driven by programmatic models, but driven by theological values
We as small church youth pastors should not feel guilty because we don’t have a solid small group program. Our entire youth ministry is a small group. I argue that small churches don’t need small groups. Our youth ministries departments need to be defined by theological values (missional, communal, serving, and love)and not by particular programs (i.e small groups, entry events, discipleship groups, student leadership). For example, youth group can consist of going and getting ice cream and the youth pastor should not feel guilty of fitting a program schedule.
Youth pastors are not managers of programs, but a manager of student’s lives
The small church youth pastor can spend a lot of his/her hours with students, not emailing their team to make sure the banners are ready for Sunday. Also the student can have direct access to the youth pastor if he/she wanted. Yes adult leaders are great, but they don’t have the time and expertise the youth pastor has. How much of your time is spent on planning the program?
Generally, student ministries of mega churches become more about their “label”, than about loving kids. It is easy to get so overwhelmed when hearing about the latest fad the mega church is doing. Small church youth ministry cannot talk about their label because we do not have one and if we did have a label no one would hear about it because we are so small. The only thing to brag about is how we are loving our kids. Small church ministry challenges the youth pastor to assess the community and the kids and creatively develop a program that meets the students right where they are at. The small church youth pastor does not need to get caught up in the “labels”, “systems”, and “models” and DONT feel overwhelmed because your small youth ministry is not doing what the mega-church youth ministry is doing.
The beautiful thing about a small church youth ministry is that it is not about the show and it is okay if our “program” sucks and we only have 15 students showing up to our weekly meetings. Stay small and feel great about your small group.
Stay small and think BIG. If you get big, figure out a strategy where you can get small again.
Tragedies of death, disease, drug over dose, suicide, alcohol abuse, parental abuse, and sexual abuse happen in our youth group settings. How do we help the students face the community tragedy?
Dealing with the emotional intensity of a tragedy in a group setting is a very difficult task. It is really tricky and awkward. In my youth ministry experience, I have dealt with disease, death, suicide, sexual promiscuity, and an abusing of drugs and alcohol. I have found myself saying: I don’t have a clue what to do when trying to help the community process the confusion and pain. Through a series of failures of what not to do, I have slowly discovered what to potentially do.
1. Ask the student/family permission to talk about the tragedy in the youth group context.
2. Clearly describe the tragedy in a factual matter. Clear up any misunderstanding of what the students may have heard. Get the facts straight. Avoid talking about the uncertain aspects of the tragedy.
3. Ask descriptive questions using the “what,” “where,” and “how”. For example: What did you see when [the event] happened? Where were you when you first heard about it? What did you do next? How did you feel when that happened? What do you think about the [the event]?
4. Allow the students to ask questions. It is healthy for you students to process out loud in a public group setting. Be prepared to encounter a lot of different emotions. Remember to listen!
5. Read and talk about certain Scriptural passage that deal with understanding tragedy. Job 42.1-6, 2 Cor. 1.3-5, 12.9, Psalms 27; 40; 71; 86; 121; and 139, & James 1.12. Make sure to highlight that God did not intentionally orchestrate this tragedy. Don’t blame God for the tragedy or the person. If God is going to be the healer, then He cannot be the tragedy starter.
6. Use creative activities to help facilitate a greater understanding of the tragedy. Some activities can include: Have student journal describing how they are feeling and what they have learned; Have a memorial service; Have the students write an encouraging letter to the student(s) involved in the tragedy; Have teenagers raise funds for groups such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, Cancer Research or whatever group that relates to the tragedy; & Have the group make a hospital visit. The goal is to find activities that can bring the students together and give them a sense of realization and contribution to the healing of the community.
7. A continual effort in praying for the not only the tragedy invididuals, but for the inviduals that are also facing the tragedy.
Getting Fired For the Glory of God is one book with collections of Mike Yaconelli words and works. Talk about a package deal. When you buy this book you even get a DVD containing video and MP3 audio speeches given by Yaconelli. Okay I am starting to sound like an info-commercial.
What I learned from Mike’s words:
What characterizes followers of Christ is that we tell the truth. I am not talking about doctrinal truth—I am talking truth Truth: Where we talk about our strengths and weaknesses where we talk about our victories and defeats; where we talk about our successes and failures; where we talk about our answers and doubts; where we talk about our joy and depressions, where we talk about our courage and fear. (26)
We tell youth Jesus is the way, not about our 7 point doctrinal statement. We don’t teach series on doctrinal truths, we teach series on the real Jesus. And when we teach we be transparent, admit weakness and doubt, and we don’t pretend we have all the answers.
Modern YM has turned discipleship into principles rather than a process, activity rather than inactivity. Discipleship has become a commitment that can be measured instead of a relationship that cannot be measured. Discipleship has become a short-term program instead of a lifetime process. (55)
Jesus’ program of discipleship was simple: Hang out with the disciples; let them see you at your best and worst; spend lots of time alone; teach truths that none of your disciples can grasp at the moment; avoid crowds; go slowly; spend hours in solitude; don’t worry about opposition; ignore criticism; don’t expect immediate results. (55)
I am not a big fan of the discipleship programs and of extensive discipleship campaigns. I don’t think it is very effective gathering a group of boys who are in the same grade and going through a curriculum because they checked “yes” on their invitation card. I am a big fan of hanging out with students and allowing them to see into my world, which they will quickly conclude I am not that spiritual…. Discipleship is living a life and reflecting about it with other people and watching the spirit transform.
May God give us a new generation of youth workers, un-intimidated by denominations and institutions, who refuse to be held hostage to paychecks and who believe it’s their calling to rescue this generation from the jaws of a comfortable, compliant, lifeless religion so they can proudly introduce this generation to the unstable, captivation, erratic, wondrous, inconsistent, irregular, noble, and outrageous, glorious life of a disciple of Christ. (67)
Routine deadens our imaginations (139)
I am a recovering religion addict. I was a religion addict for about 4 years. It is sooooo easy to fall into the systematic traps every church has. A church organization organizes our ministry life, which includes several pointless meetings and returning complaining parent emails how we need to change our youth group night because little Timmy has too much homework on Tuesday night. Playing the church political game is pointless and only will destroy you.
Mike request every youth pastor do these 7 things:
1. Write into your job description: TIME ALONE WITH JESUS
2. Ask for a book budget that’s separate from your youth ministry book budget
3. Suggest that the staff get together weekly or even daily for communion to help everybody remember their calling
4. Find a wise older person who’ll agree to meet with you regularly to help you listen what God is saying in your life
5. Journal regularly (moleskins are preferred : ) )
6. Ask the staff to brainstorm ways to increase the percentage of time during staff meetings spent talking about their relationship with Jesus
7. Suggest that the staff have annual spiritual retreats
When Youth Group is done—the lights are off, all the students and adult volunteer leaders are gone, and it is just you, your Bible, and your teaching notes, how are you feeling?
From time to time after youth group is done, I experience a variety of dark emotions: depression, loneliness, doubt, insecurities, questioning, hopelessness, confusion, and tiredness. I absolutely hate the drive home because I am left alone to deal with my negative emotions and thoughts.
It is my belief that there are external forces (including a demonic force) attempting to hijack us after a night of ministry. When everything is said and done, we are vulnerable and exposed.
In dealing with post-youth group we have two options:
First, we pretend that we are fine after a night of giving our souls away. And we somehow try to comprehend this confused and depressed state while we are doubting our call and our gifts for ministry. We wonder why we are snappy towards our spouse and why we had such a huge shift in our mood? By living in this state we are simply taking a beating and absorb the hits.
OR
We confront the negative and dark emotions and thoughts. We get strong and seek His spirit and fight the good fight. We take guard and we fight back. We be proactive, not passive. We have to stand up to these external forces. I don’t care if you dont believe in the cosmic battle–It is the real deal. Spiritual warfare in the USA manifests itself in different ways and it is alive! The demonic attaches to our deepest secrets and deepest insecurities and controls our energy and emotions. We live and function in a world that is ruled by a King who lies and wants to destroy us. We have to acknowledge we are exposed to a power that is not the Kingdom of God. This is why I strongly and violently embrace the Christus Victor atonement paradigm.
It is essential we get in environments that will shift our psychological and spiritual state, to a strong and confident state. Can we see why John calls the Spirit a paraclete? So it is a wise idea to console with the paraclete in places that will mends and counsel us back together.
Here are a few of my places:
1) Car. I love the car and I love to drive. Driving for me is very therapeutic and a great connecting point with God. I also play music that matches my spiritual and psychological state. If I am mad, I play mad music.
2) Beach. The sound of the waves and the movement of the ocean ministers to my soul.
3) Scenic Views. I love to find look out points or points where I can see for miles. I imagine that I am right by Jesus praying (like in Luke 4)in a isolated place as I am exposed to the evil ways of the evil one.
4) I take a walk. There is something about walking that generates an energy for me to gain my spiritual strength back.
5) I work out. By exerting force, I am able to combat any force working against me. I love to run, pump iron, push ups, pull ups, and muscle ups.
I wish ministers would talk more about this post-youth group period. Not enough pastors are talking about it. We need to talk about it a lot because it is a very lonely and depressing time, which may contribute to burn out or a deep depression or even a demonic suppression. For too many years, I would just take the pyschologoical beatings and pysch myself out., which ONLY contributed to me being a insecure youth pastor. I started to flourish and thrive once I realized that I had to fight and I needed to learn how to fight. I was prepared and not blindsided after everything was said and done. It is all about awareness and sensitivity. I knew how to identify my dark emotions and deal with them while leaning into the paraclete. Not to get all super spiritual, but I think it is foolish to say there is NOT something working against us after we had an effective day in “ministry”.
Hopefully in our youth ministry career we have encountered the cynical youth pastor. The cynical youth pastor is: burned out, jaded, extremely frustrated with the church, no motivation to hang out with students, complains a lot, talks negatively, and doesn’t like his/her senior pastor. The cynical youth pastor is always right and is so weary and tired from trying to fight for what is right.
How to AVOID becoming a cynical youth pastor:
Don’t dwell in your depression. A form of cynicism is complaining about how your expectations are not being met. Cynicism is an outlet for the YP to talk about what is not happening. Simply, don’t focus on what is NOT being done, rather focus energy on what IS being done. Negativity is poison and contagious. If you model cynicism, then more than likely your youth group will become complaining and non-complacent students. If I recall correctly, Jesus did not talk about the downers of life, rather he brought and restore life.
Don’t get heavy involved in Church politics. I know it is hard not knowing what is bugging the senior pastor and associate pastor. Some of us love getting involved in the political affairs of our church, because it give us a sense of value. If we are in the KNOW, then we tend to think we are ALWAYS an insider and that we are in the circle of trust. Church politics are a dead end road. Instead of wasting your time in politics, invest your time in students.
Be a PEACEMAKER. Always reconcile when you have relationship problems. Realize you are part of the problem. If there is a family/parent/student/intern/pastor/secretary who you have a problem with, go out of your way to be forgiven and to forgive them. Remember you are a pastor of a church; all eyes are on you. Never leave aa un-reconciled relationship at loose ends. Within relationships in the church, unresolved problems are detrimental to your youth ministry because they will always come back to haunt you. Bottom line: don’t burn bridges.
Get involved in a Youth Pastor Support Group. Get other liked minded youth pastors together to talk about complaints, failures, and downers of your current church. You will be surprised the similarities of struggles. And don’t insert your complaints in your youth sermons to the kids. The kids don’t need to hear more about the dysfunctions of the local church. If their youth pastor is jaded, more than likely they will be jaded. It is okay to be jaded, but be aware and careful where your jadedness is manifesting.
Take a day off. It helps getting away from the church office. Taking a day off helps detach you from the church and the people that may be bugging. Rest helps clear your head and give a new and fresh positive perspective.
Become a realist, and not an idealist. A realist understand the problems and the success in the present and knows how to develop an action plan. A realist is an actionary, while an idealist is a visionary. An idealist knows how to pontificate really well the problematic areas, but is unsure how to fix them. I would argue that idealist’s are more inclined to depression and cynicism because they are focusing their energy too much on the what needs to happen instead of what is happening, which only leads to disappointment. Students of the 21st century not only need to hear great ideas about being a follower of Christ, but they also need to actually and physically follow Christ. Our youth groups cannot ONLY be a place where we talk about what the church is NOT doing right. Rather our youth groups need to talk about the teachings of Jesus and walk out the teachings of Jesus out
A note to the CYNICAL YOUTH PASTOR:
Why do still pretend to enjoy youth ministry? You are miserable. You know it, the kids know it, and your family knows it, so stop now. Your jaded ways are not helpful, and probably more hurtful. Resurrect what your passions are and pursue them. Jesus didn’t say “Go make disciples of every nation and make sure to complain all along the way.”
We get it. The church and God’s people have hurt you. We are sorry. I personally apologize for the church and its people. Please…Please don’t let frustrations, cynicism, and rage be what defines your youth ministry. If students of any youth ministry are exposed to the traits of cynicism, that is not Jesus. Jesus is love, grace, forgiveness, peace, and gentleness and the One who brings life and the One who talks about a better and more abundant life.
I am thrilled to announce our 6th and final interviewee. He graduated from Princeton Seminary with a dual degree–M.Div. and MA in Youth Ministry. He has deeply contributed to the emerging conversation and in fact started a website: Presbymergent, which is geared for emergents who are Presbyterian. Also, he just started as the Minister for Youth & Young Adults at Asbury United Methodist Church. Let’s give up for Adam Walker Cleaveland (aka in the blog world as: pomomusings.)
1. Why are you doing what you are doing?
I’m doing youth ministry right now for a variety of reasons – one of which is certainly the fact that I don’t like working 8-5 jobs. But more importantly, I’m doing youth ministry because I care about investing in the lives of youth. I think it’s important work. Awhile ago, someone “challenged” my call to ministry, and I had such a visceral response, that I know I HAD to be doing youth ministry.
2. Where do you see youth ministry in 10 years?
I hope it’s moved a long ways away from a very programmatic style. I myself struggle with that even now, wishing I were more creative and could come up with alternatives to all the “programs” we tend to plan as youth ministers. I hope to be able to strike some balance between offering things for students to do, but focusing more on the relationships that we, as youth workers, have the opportunity to engage in.
3. Right now, what is the biggest epidemic program in youth ministry? How are you addressing the problem?
I think, as mentioned above, it’s just giving our students too crazy of a schedule for the ministry. They are already going insane with their school schedules, and then we require them to come to church and at least one or two other events throughout the week. Hopefully, I can plan a schedule that is both energy-giving and enjoyable to the students, as well as one that challenges them and engages them where they are at.
4. Who are your influences?
My mentor and advisor at Princeton Seminary, Kenda Creasy Dean, is a huge influencer in my life and how I think about ministry as a whole and my work, specifically, with youth. Also, another professor from Columbia Seminary, Rodger Nishioka, is a strong influencer in how I think about communicating the gospel to youth.
5. What does every youth pastor need to hear?
It’s not your job to convert your students, or to teach them how to convert their friends through events like See You At The Pole, or others. Your job is to be there for them, to support and care and love for them. To help them through the hard times of life….
If you did a google search regarding “student ministry” you are guaranteed to get our next interviewee’s website. His website is full of great youth ministry resources for any type of youth pastor. Ladies and Gentlemen lets give a warm Midwestern nice welcome to Tim Schmoyer :
1. WHY ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING? (why are you doing youth ministry?)
That’s a pretty broad question.
I do youth ministry because I’m passionate for seeing teenagers come to know Christ and grow in the knowledge and application of His Word.
I do my blog because I want to help other youth workers do the same, especially those who operate on tight budgets and aren’t resourced very well (I was there once and know what it’s like).
2. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUTH MINISTRY IN 10 YEARS?
The biggest challenge for youth ministry will be defining what community is. The Internet continues to change how people view relationships and how they interact. Since we are made in His image and one of the core essentials of that is relationships, we know that community will never go away, but the church’s ideology may either have to shift along or be intentional about making a stance.
3. RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST EPIDEMIC PROBLEM IN YOUTH MINISTRY?
HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM?
There’s a couple problems.
– Youth leaders are not internalizing the Word themselves before they teach it to others, and thus a disconnect between real life and faith is unintentionally communicated.
– Parents are not being the spiritual role models their teenagers desperately need.
– Youth ministries are too wrapped up in “doing” ministry rather than “being” ministry. Ministries find their identity in their function instead of seeking the Lord FIRST for their identity and then letting function flow from that.
– Youth leader don’t pray enough. If we truly believed in the power of prayer, we’d spend more time in prayer than anything else.
I’m addressing the issues in my ministry a couple ways:
– I apply God’s Word to my own life before I share it with others.
That way it’s credible and I know how it works, rather than just how I think it should work.
– I have open house parent dinners at my house on a regular basis just to talk about how the youth ministry can partner with them, and I always challenge them to be the spiritual role models their kids need.
– I have a clear vision who God wants us to be in ministry, where He is taking us and what He wants it to look like. We’re excited about following that, despite all the necessary changes and hard work.
– I spend time in prayer, we have extended times of prayer at youth group and small groups, and I challenge all the youth leaders in their personal prayer life at home.
4. WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
– My dad (http://www.mainstreetbaptist.org/blog): been a pastor all my life, taught me the Word growing up and forced me to apply it when I wasn’t applying it myself.
– Charles Ryrie: the guy’s grasp on theology is amazing, and so is his ability to communicate profound concepts in very simplistic ways.
– Bob Klein: He’s the guy that got me kick-started in youth ministry back in high school. His passion for teens was very contagious and rubbed off on me through all our one-on-one times together.
5. WHAT DOES EVERY YOUTH PASTOR NEED TO HEAR?
– Pray!
– Apply God’s Word to your life before you teach it to others.
– Team up with parents and challenge them to evaluate their own spiritual growth because their kids’ growth depends on it.
– Know where God’s calling you in ministry instead of falling into a programmatic rut.
– Pray!
– Study the Word!
– Pray!
– Study some more. This time apply it and let it transform your life.
Recent Comments