Life of a youth pastor .

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I’m looking for a HS Pastor!

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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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Get off the stage, you talk too much!

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shh2If the statement upsets you it could be a deeper conviction or perhaps I’m right. However, I’m not here to guilt trip you, but rather offer up one of the best kept secrets I have run into this past year. The method has benefited my student ministry tremendously.

You and I both know that even the most gifted and rehearsed speaker won’t connect with every student. I receive compliments and encouragement from some students while getting blank stares from others. Your audience needs different voices offering up the same truth in different tones. Just as there are a kazillion love songs on the radio, some prefer country music while others like the fat beat of a heavy rap song with a similar story…in both songs someone is stealing the girl or running off with their high school sweetheart  (I understand country music lyrics a little bit more clearly than rap…but maybe that’s just me?).

I found that asking guest speakers to take on a speaking series is beneficial to everyone involved in the equation. A couple of quick thoughts:

  • Give your audience another voice to connect with.
  • Rather than spend time on message prep that week, solve other problems in your ministry.
  • Allow a speaker/teacher to grow in their gifting.
  • Taking off a Sunday in the future will be much more possible when you share the stage with others.
  • Pastoral staff and those with the gift of teaching are selected guest speakers. BE SELECTIVE.
  • One day when you leave your position students will be more receptive to hearing from other voices…even the next youth pastor.

How often should you share the stage? The old-school youth pastor and even some modern day yp’s will speak every single Sunday. If you want to burn out and hate your job…then continue this method. Even if you LOVE speaking…your ministry needs your attention in other places other than the stage. I have done some math and it appears over the past year that I speak 40-50% of the time. That means that I am one of if not the most consistent faces on stage but not appearing every Sunday.

Getting off the stage has allowed me to recruit, train and cast vision for my leaders like never before. This year we have a full volunteer staff of almost 60 showing up every Sunday to lead small groups, greet students and serve up a meal for our high school program. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for the team of speakers I have around me that pour in their time to teach our students while I work on other “behind the scenes stuff” during the week.

In case the question came to mind. We use Orange’s Xp3 curriculum as our foundation for a teaching manuscript and small group questions. I allow the guest speaker to add their own stories and even some main points, but they have to stick to the bottom line and use the scripture given.

So, I leave you with this question: Who are you sharing the stage with?

2015 Student Ministry Survey

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This is not that conversation you have with another youth pastor to see who is “winning”, all of us are on the same team trying to reach the same generation, so let’s help each other out! The information I’m hoping to obtain with this survey can be life changing for your ministry and perspective on how your student ministry fits within your church.

After taking the survey you will know where you stand in these three areas compared to a variety of other churches.

  1. Student population in correlation to adult attendance
  2. Percentage of overall budget contributed to student ministry
  3. The student ministry staff sizes in relation to student numbers

After collecting information over the next few weeks I will email those that contributed to the survey, you will then be able to compare your own ministry to the averages obtained. This information will allow you to have real-time conversations with your church about where you are in these areas. (For me, I believe that I’m understaffed currently and I’m trying to discover if that is really the case.)

Your personal information and church name will be kept confidential, it will not be shared with anyone. The survey requires very short answers and should only take you a few minutes… when you are finished would you send the survey link to someone else? The more student pastors we can get to take the survey, the better averages and collective information we will have.

The Sunday backup plan.

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pixshark.com

pixshark.com

 

As I browse youth pastor forums it is pretty common to come across the guy or gal asking for last minute help on a Saturday night. We have all been in this situation where we just know that we simply can’t make tomorrow happen. Whether it be the flu, a death in the family, or you procrastinated all week, the truth remains the same: you have no idea how Sunday is going to work in your absence (or mental absence if you decided to wait until the last minute to plan).  [Read more…]

You should tell them, “I’m not going to remember this conversation”

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fearless-selling.ca

fearless-selling.ca

 

One of the worst habit phrases you could fall into…

“I’ll get back to you.”

This phrase most often is a “nice” substitute for:

  • Hold on a second.
  • This isn’t important to me right now.
  • I’m too busy to make your priority my priority.

Now, I know you don’t mean it that way …but it can (and has) come across that way. We have all used this phrase multiple times in ministry with staff, volunteers, parents and students.

Whether you oversee a dozen people or hundreds, someone will always have a question for you to answer or a problem to solve. Here’s the ironic part, [Read more…]

6 “must visit” youth ministry websites

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We youth pastors can be guilty of spending too much time on the internet all with good intent… browsing, spiraling, ending up watching too many videos of cats. Your intentions are good and you are just trying to find a game for this coming weekend or hit a writer’s block so you hopped on facebook. When it comes to youth ministry related topics wether it be games, curriculum, or ideas, these are a few of my favorites [Read more…]

The Outsider

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outside-the-loop

Perhaps you enjoy the crowd, noisy bleacher seats, and the occasional stepping into something gooey… something tells me it’s the mustard from your corndog that has now ruined your new kicks. While a seat among the crowd can have it’s perks and excitement it can also be distracting as all get out. I for one appreciate watching the big game from a leather recliner on a big screen. Sure, there might be a 2-3 second delay from real time but who cares? I get to see it all! I see the players faces up close, I can see the line of scrimmage right down the middle every single play… something no one, not even the coaches get to see. I’m completely in tune with what is going on, but I am an outsider.

We get caught up in the game of youth ministry. We are overwhelmed with whether or not students are coming back, parents are on our back about why we are eating pizza yet again, and still we are frustrated why others just can’t see how much we have going on. We are stuck in a loop of the same people, doing the same thing, week after week after week. You know the saying, “If you keep doing the same thing expect the same results.” So, are you tired of the same results in your youth ministry? Let me present to you one person that could help you greatly, the outsider. [Read more…]

Best Bible Memory Apps

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memory

We live in a day and age where technology can work both for and against us. I spent my last airline flight playing a game, listening to a podcast, memorizing a bible verse and falling asleep to some classical music. All of these things were done on my phone.

While in high school I dedicated the book of Philippians to memory. This was done through long and tedious hours of writing out each verse by hand. I made note cards and [Read more…]

Doing what you love will not always mean you love what you do.

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Love Hate Computer Keys Showing Emotion Anger And Conflict

I love working in the yard. Many times glancing up at the sky I’m reminded that these 100+ year old oak trees have seen much more than I have. My four chickens (Gladys, Gertrude, Marilyn & Lucy) follow me around hoping I’ll stir up some kind of treat for them. In the heat of summer the native flower garden is in it’s prime. I LOVE working in my yard. It usually means I’m without my phone, my hands covered in dirt, sun shining, deciding which plants need water, along with figuring out the best height for the lawn mower. Oh, and if I may, I think blues/jazz makes for wonderful music while working in the yard. While I love working in the yard, there are things about it I don’t always love doing. [Read more…]

Putting out fires and starting new ones.

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APTOPIX Western Wildfires Yosemite

Recently I watched a documentary on forest fires within Yellowstone, reminding me what I had seen first hand last summer. The charred and barren spots within the park remind us that fires can be damaging or beneficial, sometimes both. This all depends on where the fire begins, the duration of the fire, and the one fighting the fire.

Ministry can often feel like you are playing the role of a fire fighter, and many times it can feel lonely. [Read more…]