10 things I have learned in 10 years of youth ministry.

December 20, 2017 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

This year marks 10 years of me contributing to vocational youth ministry and living out that calling…(starting to feel old-er) and I know many of you have contributed that and much more. I’m so thankful for your service to the next generation.

For the fun of it, and perhaps helpful, I asked myself the question, “What are 10 things you have learned in working with students over the past 10 years?” While I didn’t put a lot of time into this, these are some of the first things that came to mind.

Students always want to have fun.
Students want to be invited into serious conversations about life and faith.
Students need a Christ-following role model in addition to mom and dad to influence and reinforce what is learned at home and church.
Small groups are better than large groups, but large groups are still necessary.
Getting a student to serve somewhere in the church increases their chances of staying connected to the church after graduation.
Milestones such as short-term mission trips and camps/retreats provide major pivot points for a student’s faith journey.
Becoming a youth pastor to those that actually pastor the youth (small group leaders) can be your greatest asset. I love students, but I LOVE people who love students.
Networking with other youth pastors and youth leaders can only help your current situation.
Communication and strategy of communication can never be over thought. We live in a fast paced, media hungry world. You need to know what to say and how to say it, both in your messages and in social media.
Students “hang out” more via social media than ever before. The art of connecting in a personal conversations is being lost…we need to be aware of this and press into what this means for how we do youth ministry.

Many of these if not all of them are probably not new for you but I’d challenge you to evaluate how this is going at your church.

In my next post I’ll share with you about two big life events that made this year a big one and why the blog has been quiet.

Stay tuned!

Leadership Development Program: Come. See. Do. Learn.

March 29, 2017 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

The short version: An amazing, fully immersive, hands on, learning experience is waiting for YOU!

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE APRIL 28th. Apply here to begin in Fall 2017.

The detailed version:

When I was a freshmen in college (almost 10 years ago!) someone gave me the great opportunity to intern and learn from them, this happened again both during and post college. If it weren’t for those opportunities I wouldn’t know the things I know today nor have the privilege of leading where I am currently. I want to offer a similar opportunity for someone else out there that is curious about student ministry or ready to dive all in.

I can promise you this, you will gain more working knowledge from this program about student ministry than you will any class or book. How can I promise that? Myself along with many of my peers are products of this model. I went to college (a prestigious bible college at that) and I’m grateful for all things learned… but there are simply things you cannot learn in a classroom. Perhaps you graduated college and now you are eager to begin full-time ministry. My word of encouragement: DON’T! At least not until you have taken an opportunity such as this one to put things learned into practice. The program will save you tons of time, heartache and protect you from burnout in the long run.

This is not an internship. It’s so much more. The Leadership Development Program at Gateway Church in Austin, TX is an immersive ministry experience with mentoring and leadership training. You will do hands-on ministry and work along-side our NextGen team.

This one-year opportunity will ensure that the student ministry LDP gets both a broad overview of a NextGen team and a close look on how to operate a student ministry. This will involve hands-on learning by attending weekly planning meetings, helping run middle & high school programs, and learning student ministry philosophy from a well seasoned student pastor. If the LDP brings a certain gift/trade to the program we will do our best to utilize and empower them in that area (speaking, worship, administration, etc.) Our goal is that after this experience, you will be ready to find a full time staff position at a church or para-church ministry. There are a limited number of LDP positions available. The LDP opportunity is flexible in hours, a minimum of 25 hours a week is required.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE APRIL 28th. Apply here to begin in Fall 2017.

Compensation

The role requires raising support, but allows the flexibility of also having a part-time job.
Free housing with a staff family may be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
One frisbee golf disc.
Unlimited supply of jelly-bellys, your choice of flavor 🙂

What will I learn?

Assist in leading student ministry at one of our campuses.
Participate in preparing and executing Winter Camp.
Participate as an adult leader on a summer GO! Team.
Assist in recruitment and training of volunteers.
Have a weekly presence on local school campuses.
Be an active mentor for at least one student.
Learn the unique complexities and opportunities of student ministry.

Desired Qualifications/Skills

Must be an active, committed Christ-follower.
At least one year of college or work experience outside high school.
Must have basic computer skills.
Has a passion to serve, interact and be around MS/HS students.
Must be teachable. This program is a learning experience! Do you have a desire to learn?

Desired Strengths/Spiritual Gifts

Leadership
Responsibility
Administration
Personable

About Gateway Church

Gateway Church in beautiful Austin, Texas, is a highly diverse culture, reaching people far from God. Our staff gets to be a part of an amazing movement making a difference in the city and around the globe, living out our values of Come As You Are, Live Connected, Be Transformed and Change Your World. If you’re a fan of ACL, SXSW, year-round sunshine, great Tex-Mex and not ever wearing a tie again, then you get us. We are a church where no perfect people are allowed and we’ve worked hard to create a non-threatening, culturally relevant environment that welcomes anyone and everyone who seek out the claims of Christ. For more information about who we are, head to www.gatewaychurch.com where you can experience our services live streamed, listen to podcasts, learn about our staff and much more.

Ideal candidates are:

College students or post-college emerging leaders
Growing Christ-followers
Have leadership experience
Open to raising support
Will be able to work 25-40 hours per week.

This opportunity is right around the corner, don’t wait too long, space is limited and our next round for LDPs won’t be until Fall of 2017! Apply now. Got questions? Just ask!

I’m looking for a HS Pastor!

January 23, 2017 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Around five months ago I stepped into a new role at Gateway Church as the Associate NextGen Pastor.

While still balancing my old role of high school pastor, this left little room to do anything “extra” (thus the quiet blog). Thankfully I was able to hire some part-time help to achieve more balance in the interim while looking for a new high school pastor.

After being in this role for 4 years I can say we have a solid small group structure and some AMAZING leaders! We are looking for a new HS pastor to come in and build upon that foundation. To take it to the next level we need someone who can look outside the church walls, equipping and encouraging students to see their schools as a mission field, meeting students that are far from God on their turf, at football games, school lunches, etc.

We have some good candidates in the running but our hiring team is still taking applications and resumes, if you or someone you know might be interested in the role of high school pastor please have them check out the job description in its entirety and apply here.

Youth ministry will always have a special place in my heart and I will (to the best of my ability) continue to write about my learnings along the way in tandem with my new journey as a NextGen pastor. Thanks to all who have found my blogs helpful over the past few years, you have been my fuel for writing. Stay tuned for more to come!

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What if students baptized their friends?

November 8, 2016 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

Just a few weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to witness fifteen high school students be baptized at our high school program. Some of them were baptized by me, some of them by their small group leaders and yes even some of them by their Christ-following friend that invited them!

Recently I did a personal study on the phrase “follow me” that Jesus used a handful of times and reiterated it in different ways with his disciples. This eventually lead me to doing a three week series with our high school students on this very thought which comes to complete fruition in [Read more…]

New places inspire new ideas.

August 20, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Amazon is on to something. Consider this leading “you want it, we have it” industry that can make something magically appear on your doorstep within 48 hours and now some items within the hour.

In reading a current article on their newest “office” in Seattle, I contemplated what this could mean for the church. Amazon is investing millions of dollars and hours of thought into something that won’t give an immediate return on it’s use. This outside the box idea for a creative space is pointing towards a larger idea and I think we can learn from it as the church. [Read more…]

9 cities // 14 days

June 12, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

I’ve been a bit slow to post anything as of late…things have been busy to say the least.

Currently I’m writing this at 4AM before my ride picks me up for the airport. Last week I was in Dallas, Texas with 6th graders and now bound for Mexico with 8th graders. In a span of two weeks we have 200+ from the next generation going to various cities throughout the states and around the world to serve God in various ways.

Check out the photos and follow us throughout the week to see more pictures. What these students are doing is truly inspiring for all! When I return from Mexico I hope to write a bit about short-term trips and best practices I have found over the years. What questions do you have about short-term serving experiences?

3 ways to avoid living in the past.

May 12, 2016 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

The glory days.

I remember back in 6th grade I had hit my prime on the football team. I racked up 26 touchdowns that year, I thought I was headed to the NFL. Then I stopped growing and oddly enough stopped being good at football. Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive that season, but that’s not going to happen and I have to live with the fact that it’s a different season of life and no matter how badly I wish to be in the NFL it’s simply not going to happen, I need to focus on what I can do with the gifts and strengths I have now.

We hear senior pastors and youth pastors reminisce about the good old days when they had 500 students show up for a camp way back when or people bring up what happened when “that” person was on staff. Or perhaps they hang on to “one of the best moments ever in our church was when…”

The past. It’s a slippery slope. The longer we live in the past the harder it is to strive for the unseen success of the future.

A mission/vision statement should be able to tell us if we have done our job in the past and keep us focused on what we are chasing after next. Strategy will shift and morph along the way with culture to help accomplish the said vision, this part can be frustrating for those that like consistency and to some point you do indeed need consistency to have the necessary traction to move forward.

So, how do we stay focused on what’s next rather than dwell on what was? Here’s 3 thoughts. [Read more…]

The Leadership Development Program – a guest posting by Kristen Johnson

May 6, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

This is the first guest post on lifeofayouthpastor.com and I could not be more thrilled of who is writing it. Kristen (one of my former students) is awesome at what she does in ministry and has a bright future ahead, if you are at all considering an internship type program you should consider what she has to say. -Chris

Last June I was presented with an opportunity to be in the Leadership Development Program(LDP) at my church, Gateway Church in Austin Texas to work in student ministry. It’s basically been my dream since I graduated high school to intern or be an assistant here. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be in full time ministry for the rest of my life, but I did know that I loved what Gateway was all about and I loved the NextGen team!

We started the year long LDP off in August by going on a retreat to bond as a group, to work on character building, and to take a look at our personality types (myers briggs, and strengthsfinder). After those days with my fellow LDP’s and our leader Shaula, I realized that this was more than the simple internship I thought it would be. It has been an immersive ministry experience with a ton of hands on training, theology classes, mentoring by multiple people in different areas in my life, accountability with the other LDP’s , and spiritual development.

I have had the opportunity to help plan and execute our Winter Camp, help run GO! Teams (mission trips) and participate as an adult leader, go on a scouting trip to El Salvador, and to Orange Conference in Atlanta with my team. On top of all that, each week we have huddles where we get to learn about a variety of topics, from strategic planning and working with volunteers, to evangelism training and how to study the Bible!

So far, this year of being an LDP has been one of my favorite things I’ve done so far in my life! I have been blessed to work primarily under the amazing student pastor, Chris Parker, and also with the rest of the NextGen staff. I have learned so much about myself, ministry, and God’s plan! All the things I have learned this year will not only help me in my future in ministry, but also in all other aspects of my life!

The time commitment is a full year (August-August) in which you can choose to work part time (25 hours) or full time and the hours are consistent with a typical ministry schedule. Depending on your ministry area, you will serve 2-8 hours on Sundays. There is no cost to apply or attend the program. You can either work a part-time job to pay for your living experiences, or you can raise support to cover the cost of rent, food, and other necessities…Gateway will help you walk through this. The program begins in August, so you would need to be able to move to Austin prior to your start date. This year, Welcome Day is August 22nd, and the kick off week includes a retreat for all LDPs. (Read here for more FAQ’s)

If you read this and you are interested at all, with no hesitation, I would encourage you to APPLY! This program is an amazing opportunity to be mentored in all areas of life, learn from the best and make amazing friends!

Apply here before May 9th, to begin in Fall 2016.

Small Group Leaders: Listen before you lead.

April 29, 2016 by Chris Parker 2 Comments

I stood in the courtyard after church one Sunday and saw something that every youth pastor dreams of seeing. The services were over (yes we dream of that haha!) yet an entire middle school boys small group was still hanging out…with their leader. They weren’t “meeting” as a small group, just talking with their leader…not throwing a football, not playing tag, not making farting noises…though this happens most of the time. In this moment theses students were relationally engaged with their leader, looking up to him, and incredibly fixed on him.

What was different about this leader than many of my other leaders? Sure, he was “cool” but even still there was something different in the way these boys just continued in conversation beyond service letting out.

After doing some digging I came to find out that THIS SMALL GROUP LEADER IS A GREAT LISTENER.

He didn’t show up to tell them how to do life better. He didn’t show up to punch a volunteer clock. He certainly didn’t do it to feel better about himself. He wanted to hear, know and empathize with these middle school boys. No doubt, it worked. These boys opened up in a way that I didn’t see other boys opening up. Because these boys knew their small group leader cared more about them as a person rather than pushing an agenda the listening became mutual.

Many small group leaders and even youth pastors are trying to figure out how to “make this small group work” because the kids are way off topic, always making jokes, not respecting the leader, etc. We try to implement rules for the small group, come up with behavior agreements, and even get parents involved to help reinforce the idea of authority. I suggest we begin with listening. If our students/kids are feeling heard I strongly believe they are more likely to listen to the leader during and more importantly AFTER small group is over.

2 things when considering strategy.

April 28, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Yesterday I attended a Jon Acuff breakout here at the Orange Conference in Atlanta, he talked about strategy. It was short and sweet, and to the point…with the ~~occasional~~ jokes of course. Jon has a great way of weaving authentic truth into his entertaining messages. I walked away with two nuggets of truth I’d like to share with you.

Strategy forces you to acknowledge the limits.

Many times we believe that the sky is the limit. And guess what? As leaders we are guilty for aiming at the sky. When we don’t hit the sky we’ve been chasing after, we feel as if we have failed. It’s time we consider our strategy and understand it has limits. A strategy encompasses a unique DNA that “should” help us better focus on what we are saying NO to. The word NO can be interpreted as a bad word, an uncomfortable word or even discouraging about what you can’t do. However, when we learn to say NO to good things we will begin to understand what it looks like to acknowledge our limits. This will help us remain faithful to our strategy and execute the desired outcome.

Bigger isn’t better, better is better.

I’ve had the privilege of touring many churches over the past few years. Some with bigger buildings, bigger youth groups, others with bigger budgets and bigger staff. What have I learned? Bigger isn’t better, better is better. The high school ministry I lead is actually historically smaller than back in the hay-day when it was huge. Nonetheless, I’m told often by past leaders, previous students and current staff that our ministry is healthier than it ever was before. Our team has worked hard to put a Christ following adult if not two in the life of every teenager. When you do that, things get better. We also shifted the mentality of not just getting students plugged into a program, we wanted them to be part of something greater. 50% of our students volunteer in the church on Sunday mornings, this helps make our church a better place and gives the student a place to belong in the church beyond high school program. If you are considering simply program attendance you will miss it. Bigger isn’t better, better is better.

Life of a youth pastor .

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