Life of a youth pastor .

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I wrote the email, but they will never know.

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This week my inbox continues to receive a handful of the same looking emails… and they are all from my small group leaders. It could be surprising, but it’s not, I planned for this to happen.

Partnering with parents can sometimes feel unreachable, but it’s just like anything else we do, if it seems unreachable perhaps we haven’t reached for it yet. I focus my small group strategy by always training with a weekly WIN for my small group leaders. When they walk in the door for the leaders meeting they see the WIN on the board and the WIN was emailed to them earlier in the week. I make sure my WIN(s) revolve around the subjects found in the book Lead Small. This ensures I don’t forget anything that could reinforce our strategy when training and equipping leaders.

This year the bulk of my WINs will revolve around partnering with parents. If you don’t know why that’s important or how critical it can be, perhaps I can convince you. A mom of high school student recently said to me, [Read more…]

And the winner is…

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winner

In my last post I posed this question, “If you had to choose between large group or small groups, which one would you choose, and why?”

The reality is so many times we do in fact choose one over the other. We give more resources, time, thought, planning, and staff toward one rather than the other.

It is easier to staff, budget and run a weekly large group program… and there are some fantastic large group programs out there for both students and adults. The large group has become a formula that we plug people into and expect a certain outcome. During the 60 minutes they sit in that seat we hope to present and accomplish church for them. We hope to provide the opportunity of what could seem to many like a one stop shop for Jesus. I know this isn’t the heart intention of our churches or youth groups, but it’s the way it comes across to many. How did I come to that conclusion? Because they show up for the large group but won’t get involved in a small group or take next steps to serve in the church.

If I had to choose, and I do… the winner in my book is small groups. I will not deny that large group has a very important role and without it many would not attend church, hear truth, or perhaps even be challenged to get more involved by plugging into a small group or serving. I have a feeling this is backwards, we have detoured from how the church initially expanded–through smaller groups, church planting, the sending out of disciples.

There needs to be a healthier relationship between the large group and small group planning. For me and my ministry, the large group exists to support our small groups. My actual “large group time” is cut in half… half of the program time is actually given to small groups and their small group leaders to connect, have conversations, ask questions, and enjoy relationships with the students they meet with every week.

What are your thoughts on this?

 

Will leadership sufferings expire you?

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Time-expired-by-Joel-PennerAfter being at my church now for just over 18 months as a youth pastor I have come to the realization that I have reached my expiration date. Yup, the average tenure of student pastors across the nation. But why? In comparison to other jobs and positions held both inside and outside of ministry why only 18 months? We can knock on leadership’s door and ask why and many times the excuses could vary from we can’t have more money for our ministry or more staff to help us do our job, perhaps we just feel like a step-child in the church at times, staff and parents patting us on the back thanking us for “dealing” with the teenagers. I don’t think a student pastor leaves a church or ministry because of the students, budget, or even staffing, it’s simply a leadership thing.

A nugget shared from J. Oswald Sanders in his book, “Spiritual Leadership”…

“True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you. True service is never without cost. Often it comes with a bitter cup of challenges and a painful baptism of suffering. For genuine godly leadership weighs carefully Jesus’ question: “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:38b). The real spiritual leader is focused on the service he and she can render to God and other people, not on the residuals and perks of high office or holy title. We must aim to put more into life than we take out.”

I inherited the leadership of a student ministry with a small handful of dedicated leaders knowing we needed many more to help develop authentic faith for our students… forgetting what was behind and pressing on toward the goal over the last 18 months we now have 45 leaders and volunteers serving in student ministry! And while many give the thumbs up and applaud the numbers, we know it wasn’t just handed us. Take a good hard look at any church or ministry in the world that is growing – growth didn’t happen without painful moments and suffering that cuts deep emotionally and spiritually. In my situation I would say for every one leader recruited there has been a difficult or bitter conversation to be had with another. If anything, I have learned that my leadership sufferings have made me stronger, allowed me to carry more and develop a higher capacity of compassion for others.

The next time a challenge is added to your bitter cup or you experience painful suffering, just know that it’s part of the job description. And if you think quitting your position will excuse you from that, you are simply wrong. Challenges and suffering live at the top of the list when it comes to following the way of Christ. Hang in there, work through the bitterness and find joy on the other side, don’t quit too soon.