Life of a youth pastor .

Subscribe

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact

Humble beginnings & building a team of volunteers

March 30, 2015 by Chris Parker 5 Comments

Photo Cred: toddhenry.com

Photo Cred: toddhenry.com

Have you ever felt as if you were swimming against the current, going the opposite direction and all the while trying to get everyone else to turn and swim with you? This is what my first year on staff as a youth pastor felt like.

When I arrived on scene almost 3 years ago, accepting the position of student pastor at my church, I was handed a hefty job description. This job description was littered with a myriad of bullet points, given the focus each needed to succeed I knew (God willing) I would be in this position for some time. Most of my interview process 3 years ago was zeroed in on questions like…

  • “Can you build a team?”
  • “Can you recruit leaders?”
  • “Do you know how to make leaders of leaders?”

I don’t have it all together. I’m not the best youth pastor out there and I have had my fair share of failures learning moments. Even so, God has allowed me to continue to partner with Him to build the student ministry I believe He desires. Exchanging war stories with other youth pastors it seems my humble beginnings at a new church may not be too rare…

I started with 18 volunteers and from those original 18 I had lost 12 of them [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: building, developing, humble beginnings, leadership, recruiting, team

Leading your leaders.

March 27, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

 multiply

Perhaps the best thing you can do for your students is understand that you simply cannot lead them all. Whether your youth group size is 30 or 300, you need to inherit this mindset if you don’t already have it. An authentic relationship is hardly possible with 30, let alone 300.

Do you want to offer the very best to the students and make sure they are connected to great leadership? The answer isn’t you, at least not for all of them. Offer the best through your leaders. Recruit them. Develop them. Get them connected to students. Focus your leadership on the leaders, in turn you will multiply your leadership beyond what you could have ever offered students on your own.

If it weren’t for the 35-40 leaders that were investing into our students, the students would not be truly connected to the church body… they would be connected to just a building, just a program, just another student function.

My goal is to get a Christ-following adult into the life of every student that walks through that door, and I have to be okay with it not being me… but only because I recruited, developed and am in touch with those that are leading the students.

Filed Under: Church Planting, Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: church, Discipleship, leadership, multiplying, recruiting, small group leader, student pastor, youth pastor

Juggling Rocket Ships.

October 2, 2012 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

What goes up must come down…so the saying goes. But what about the rocket ship? If it goes high enough it will reach zero gravity and stay in orbit for a long time! That ship is not coming back down unless given a force in the opposite direction in from which it came.

In ministry, don’t you wish you were juggling with rocket ships?! What some of us would give, to know that we could throw a task so high that it succeeds in flight and all we need to do is keep an eye on it, making sure the flight pattern is on the right path.

Often pastors, staff, and volunteers throw one ball up at a time just for it to come back down. One area of your ministry needs help, attention, a process – you spend hours, days and even weeks helping it succeed. Just when you think you have thrown that ball high enough you see many others speeding at you like asteroids about to hit your ministry. You have now lost focus of the one ball you spent so much time with! And very soon, it too will be speeding back at you.

I’m not here to say I have the answers to this juggling act, but rather offer some sympathy and encouragement…

I know ministry is exhausting at times, find strength in the Spirit. I understand you are frustrated, find contentment in the Gospel.  I recognize you are probably not getting the results you desire at the moment, find fulfillment and joy in being a child of God!

What are you juggling right now? Budgets, retreats, capital campaigns, small groups, recruiting leaders, meeting with students, parents, equipping volunteers, casting vision for staff, writing messages for Sunday. I’m right there with you.  So, how do I juggle these tasks? I recognize that the Spirit has given each one of my staff, leaders and volunteers a gift. I play to their strengths. You are not alone in ministry…so don’t do ministry alone!

How am I currently juggling? I try to begin with prayer, knowing that God is ultimately responsible here. “God, give me someone to oversee this check-in process.” Now you have to act! Seek out people who have a gift of hospitality – put them in charge of overseeing your greeting and check-in process. This one person can focus on the one ball of greeting. Seek out who has a gift of humor, I strongly believe God has created some people to be more funny than others…and every student ministry needs one. Have this person focus on the one ball of games. I am a partnering students with these adults in the juggling act, help share the load and feel the ownership. I would strongly discourage you from just putting anyone in a postion of coaching or ownership in an area of your ministry, make sure they are qualified, passionate about that specific area, and gifted in that way. It is better to keep looking than try to find a quick fix!

As these teams develop, you do not get a free ride. In some cases, your position becomes more difficult. You will have to learn how to explain your vision, desires, why’s and how to’s, when it comes to juggling. Hopefully, somewhere along the way you aren’t the one juggling all the balls that make up your ministry. You have gone from juggler to aircraft control tower – directing the airspace in your ministry where your rocket ships have launched and are flying high!

I am praying for all the pastors out there today who are juggling away.  I pray that God guides you to people who hold gifts and passions that your ministry needs to successfully launch!

If you are really interested in learning how to juggle, take a shot at it!

Subscribe to lifeofayouthpastor via email in the top right corner.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Church Planting, coaching, juggling, leading, ministry, pastor, prayer, recruiting, student ministry, volunteers

The calm before the storm…

August 9, 2012 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

My move from Chicago to Austin is now complete and we are settling into our new home here. Settling may not be the right word, things are crazy busy as we strive to launch for a new school year right around the corner!!! I am still meeting new staff members, being introduced to some of my volunteers, hanging out with students, etc. All along, trying to wrap my head around how youth ministry is being done here currently while continually asking God, “How do you want me to serve here? What is your desire for these students/leaders/volunteers?” Though it may seem like the calm before the storm, I think the waves are getting choppy and my ship is headed full steam ahead into a school year of programming, recruiting leaders, and establishing healthy community. Anyone else feel the storm brewing? While I have done this all before at my previous church it does feel like a new ship and some unchartered waters…where do they keep the life-jackets, where is the throttle, how much food and water do we have aboard, do we have any leaks that need patching or repair?!

I need some key items going into this storm. These things I must keep aboard to ensure health and safety for my staff/volunteer team, while also providing good vision and direction to get us to the other side, knowing we accomplished what God had asked of us after the school year is over.

Here are a few key things that came to my mind, what would you add to the list or emphasize?

  • A leaders retreat early on in the school year
  • Setting clear tangible goals to help maintain vision throughout the year
  • Consistent community hangouts for my leaders (once a month)
  • Defining our roles. What defines a leader? What defines a volunteer?
  • Recruit. Recruit. Recruit. Follow up, Follow up, Follow up. KEEP THEM ENGAGED!
  • Collecting student visitor information – making sure they are invited back to the program each week

Subscribe via email in the top right hand corner of the page.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: direction, goals, leaders, recruiting, ship, storm, vision, volunteers, Youth Ministry, youth pastor

Hey there, my name is Chris. I wake up every morning thinking youth ministry. If you are in the same boat, then I know you will identify with me, because you also live the life of a youth pastor .

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Twitter

Stuff you should read

Best Bible Memory Apps
What if students baptized their friends?
StuMin Survey

Here’s a book I recommend

MakeBelieve

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in