PJ's Youth Ministry Minute

Doing it Right

2008-10-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

Last night after youth group two students got in a car accident on the way home. Youth ministry is kind of weird. We are dealing with minors, but most likely we don't check them in and out of our programs. Even if we do there is a sense of independence, they find there own rides home, or they drive, and for the younger ones parents will pick them up.
Waiting until everyone leaves to go home and making sure everything is ok once they leave may seem tough, boring, and unnecessary. Last night all of that changed. We had one student that kinda disappeared. In the end she was found and everything turned out ok, but what if I had gone home when I could have instead of when I should have? The student may not have been found and when the accident happened I would have already been in bead.
Staying late is hard on me and sometimes my family. Being on the scene of an accident two of my students were involved in was invaluable. They were ok, other than being shaken up, and in the end everything will turn out for the better. The relationship bonds that took place last night between me, my leaders, and the students can not be replaced.
Taking short cuts might get you to bed earlier, but it will hurt your ministry in the long run.

When Bad Days Happen

2008-09-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone has them. Sometimes they are caused by some kid having a bad attitude, sometimes they are caused by me having a bad attitude. There are still other times when it isn't about an attitude at all. I had one of those day on Sunday. My aunt was in town which changed by schedule a little bit. Because of that I attended first service when I usually attend third. Student ministries meets during second service. I usually take some time to prep during first service. I did plan ahead, I made sure the sound was set up and my guitar was tuned. Media Shout was ready and loaded. Everything was ready to go. We had worked hard on putting together a video for the students to kick off the fall campaign.

Unfortunately this was the day everything would go wrong. I got up to lead worship and my guitar was out of tune, I don't know how, but it was. It was far enough out of tune that I could not let it be, I had to tune it. I didn't have a pedal tuner (I do now) so I had to sit there and do it by ear. The students didn't exactly get excited about the worship (probably because of the rough start) and to be honest I have done a better job. The drummer wasn't on, and when we got to the video we had worked so hard on the audio didn't work because of a codec problem.

You might be waiting for the positive shoe to drop. Unfortunately that isn't the case. It was just a bad day. So what now?

The truth is I don't exactly know. I know I learned some lessons. The codec problem is fixed and I bought a pedal tuner. Those problems won't happen again, maybe that is all the good that will come of it. Sometimes there are just bad days. Maybe God did something that I am not aware of. Maybe there will be more good that will come of this.

Bad days come and go, Youth Ministry is no exception. What do we do? We move on, we point to the cross, and we continue to love Jesus.

Looking for a job

2008-06-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

I have been in transition since January. The church I attempted to plant didn't take root. My future in ministry has been in limbo for about 6 months. It wasn't that I was going to quit doing ministry as much as what kind of ministry I was going to do. After a long process of thinking, praying, talking to people, sending out resumes, and interviewing it looks like I am circling for a landing. I am going to stay (or go back into) student ministries. This blog entry is really an attempt to give some tips to guys who may be looking for a ministry position. If you are thinking about changing your position in ministry or simply looking to get out of the one you are in, this may be helpful.

I didn't leave the church plant, we closed. That left me without a job. Still I have left ministries in the past and there are several good reasons to leave. Most of this entry will focus on the new position, but I thought I would go over a few good reasons to leave a ministry:

Money

I know some of you are thinking, "what, ministry isn't about the money!!" You are right. I wish I was independently wealthy and that I could do full time ministry for free. I am not and I can't. I need to take care of my family in a responsible way.
That said, if you are in a good situation, give your current ministry every opportunity to pay you a reasonable wage.

Leadership

There is no one rule in this regard, but it is important for the leadership to at least be functional.
Sometimes perseverance pays off in these situations. Other times it just makes things worse. Use wisdom and prayer here.

Leadership change

When leadership changes (senior pastor leaves and a new one comes) this may be the time to move on. Again use wisdom here.

If the time to move on has come let me make a couple of suggestions regarding your resume:

Get Help

You are not a wiener if you get help with your resume. I went back to the career services department of my alma mater and sat down with someone before I even started putting my resume together. It was extremely helpful. Have the look at it and rip it apart. This is not taking God out of the equation.

Be Honest

You want to present your good side as much as possible, but you don't want to create false expectations.

Include personal information

This is not necessary or even good in the business world, but in the ministry world things like family are important.

Cover Letter

My cover letter morphed as time went on. At first it was really positive and sounded great (If it was in the business world). As time went on I was not happy with the response I was getting, so I began (with the help of some objective eyes) to change things. When I started to talk about failures (in a general sense) and the fact that I have learned and changes for the positive as a result of those failures I started to get a much better response. To be honest this approach is more reflective of my personality anyway.

Don't send your resume to everyone!!! I was selective when it came to sending out my resume. I would check out the web site of the church, listen to sermons if they were available, and I would definitely Google them. I would sometimes check out the town or city and get an idea of what the cost of living was before I sent the resume out.

When it comes time for the interview, make sure you are prepared to ask some questions of them as well. The idea is to find a good fit. You might be a rock star, but if you end up with a country band it wont matter, you need a rock band. Be yourself. When you notice differences that might be a problem don't conceal them, point them out. Where there seems to be agreement point that out as well. Whenever possible give examples. Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know" or "I haven't thought about that." If you try to fake an answer they will probably see through that. It is better to be thought teachable than to be thought of as a know it all. Last, learn for every interview. You will probably be asked the same kind of questions over and over again. If you don't think you did very well on a question develop an answer for the next interview.

There will come a time when you will be turned away. Understand, this may not be something negative about you as much as it is a chemistry thing. I was interviewed for a student ministry position at a large church (600) that had a beautiful youth center. The interview went well, but they were only going to bring back two guys for a second interview. As it turned out I was third on the list. They started with well over 50 resumes and I ended up third, that ain't bad. There have been many churches that didn't even respond to my resume. It looks like I will be headed to a larger church (1100) who had well over 120 resumes turned in. Being turned away may mean you weren't qualified, but it might also mean it simply wasn't a good fit. There are times when you may be able to find a position for which you are not qualified because the chemistry is good. Be patient.

Make sure you are debriefing after interviews or visits. Be honest with yourself. I interviewed with another church that was about 200. I had a good time at the interview, I enjoyed the people and thought I could work well with the pastor. In the end I moved on partially because of another opportunity and partially because I was not sure if I would be a good fit. I think my time there might have been short. I don't think I would be satisfied long term in that community. It would not be fair to them for me to take that kind of job. I had one church I interviewed over the phone with three times. It wasn't until the last interview that we both realized things were not going to work out. It is about fit!!!

There are some sites I used to find postings. I used sites I had access to for free, because I am cheap:

www.churchstaffing.com
www.denverseminary.edu
www.ys.com
seminary.bethel.edu
www.nwc.edu (need user name and password)

Over the next year I will be making some entries about starting in a new ministry.

Why Youth Ministry Rocks

2008-03-19T06:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes youth ministry is hard, some times it is thankless, and it is often exhausting. There are days when you wonder if it is worth it to keep going. I could probably think of 100 reasons, but here are ten off the top of my head:

It's fun. Where else can you do cool and crazy things without people thinking you are a complete moron? Ok, they might think you are a moron for doing youth ministry, but at least you have some kind of excuse.
You can sleep in. This may not be the case for everyone, but a lot of youth pastors get to sleep in a little when they are working at night.
You get to answer ridiculous questions like, "When are you going to become a real pastor?"
You get the privilege of doing announcements on Sunday Morning.
You can take students skiing, have the church pay for it, and call it work.
You get paid to study scripture, that rocks.
You get to travel for mission trips, conferences, and continuing ed. Again the church picks up the tab. Those things are work, but it is still fun.
You have the privelege of telling your wife you need two wardrobes. One for working with the kids and one for working with the parents and pastoral team.
You get to officiate weddings for students whom God has impacted through your efforts. (Way to go!)
You get to brag about the students who were once in your ministry and are now serving God in ministry.

I probably missed a bunch, but these are some pretty good ones. Keep up the good fight.

Reading the Dead Guys

2008-03-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

The older I get, the older the books I read get. I am going to do something rare and recommend a book, but before I do I want to suggest something else. Read the dead guys!!

So much of the time we are flooded with books to read. If I read every book recommended to me I would have to read a book every day for the rest of my life. That doesn't even count the books I see in the book store that I would like to pick up. The problem is you never know what you are going to get. So here is my suggestion, read the dead guys!!

The thing about reading the dead guys is this, they have been tested. There is a reason the names Spurgeon, Calvin, Boice, Luther, Augustine, Tozer, C. S. Lewis, and so on have so much meaning. Their writing has stood the test of time. They will say something significant in their writings. Besides the test of time, you sound so much smarter when you quote dead guys as apposed to quoting the latest author on a particular topic. I have been amazed at how culturally relevant these guys are. It almost seems like human nature doesn't change...hmmmm

Alright, here is the book recommendation. Spurgeon wrote this little book called Come Ye Children aka Spiritual Parenting. This book is a small treasure!! It is excelent for children's workers and youth workers alike. As a parent it contains some excelent advice. Pick this book up for under ten bucks and read it. After you are done reading that book, pick up the book I contributed to Youth Ministry Lemonade @ www.pjs-web.net. (can you say shameless plug?)

Something New is Something Old With a New Paint Job

2008-02-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

When I was 11 or 12 my step dad had a 1968 Camaro SS RS. It had hidden head lights, leather interior and an amazing stereo system. To this day it is my favorite car. It was really loud too. I love loud pipes!! We only took the car out on special occasions and my mom was barely aloud to drive it.

The funny thing is that car was old. Sure it was in perfect condition. It had a new paint job and everything was pristine. Today Chevy is still making Camaros and they are amazing cars. In the end they are still just cars. They are completely new yet they still accomplish the same old purpose of getting you from one place to the next. What does this have to do with youth ministry?

Remember that book in the Old Testament, that one written by Solomon. He said there is nothing new (paraphrase). In ministry we would do well to remember this. It is amazing how relevant the Bible is in todays world. Some of the "new" things are just old things with new paint jobs. I am not against giving old things new paint jobs, especially if it is a Camaro. Some things, however, are not Camaros. My first car was a Ford Fairmont. It was baby blue and went 0-60 in 4.5 hours. The good news is tickets were hard to come by, I still managed. That car didn't need a new paint job, it needed to be driven to the junk yard.

When something new comes along in ministry or anywhere else the first thing we should ask is, "where have I seen this before?" Many of today's churches have been distracted by old things with new paint jobs. Many of those old things might look cool, they might even have flames painted on the side, but in reality they need to be driven straight to the junk yard.

New theology is usually just old, bad theology with a new paint job. The latest trends in ministry are trends, they will fade away. Recently I heard a sermon by a pastor who openly downplayed theology from the pulpit. He was attempting to make the Bible look attractive to a young and hip crowd of mostly college age people (we felt old with our two kids). I must admit I was disappointed. Clearly he had no idea what he was doing. The Bible isn't a book meant for entertainment, although it can be entertaining at times. The Bible is not a reference book with short and simple answers to all of life's little problems either. We should not present it to students in that manner. Instead it is a book filled with life changing truth (theology) about God, man, and how God saves man. It isn't trivial, it isn't an encyclopedia, and it isn't to be taken lightly. It is the WORD OF GOD. I wonder if that is the impression we give to students when we read from it, study it, and communicate it to them?

I left church that day thinking, "if the pastor would just teach the life changing message of scripture he wouldn't have to try so hard to make it sound interesting!"

Growing The Church

2007-11-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

What do you do with kids who are coming to your ministry programs, but do not go to church anywhere on Sunday?

This can be a difficult question. In the past I had been happy with the fact that they were attending one of my programs. I thought that was my job. Over the past few years I have become less satisfied with that. There are several reasons:

Students that do not become involved in the church on a deeper level usually are the ones who leave the church completely once they leave high school.
Students who have parents that are committed to Christ are more likely to continue there own commitment.
One student may give us an opportunity to minister to an entire family.
God is a jealous God, and we should be jealous as well. God wants all to be saved not just students.

Getting this done may require creativity and more work, but it seems irresponsible to ignore this opportunity. Working with other staff or having different kinds of events that include the whole family are a couple of ideas to accomplish this.

Grow the kingdom and your own church at the same time.

Authority and Youth Ministry

2007-06-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been told to do something you didn't want to do? How about something you didn't believe would work? I sat down with a friend recently who has been asked not only to do something they didn't want to, but something they had significant doubts about. In youth ministry this happens often. How should we respond to this kind of request?

There is not one right response or one set of rules that will help you determine how to work your way through this kind of situation. The advice I gave my friend was specific to that situation and would likely not help you. Instead of offering some kind of broad advice I would like to ask some questions that might help you when you face this kind of a situation yourself. I hope these questions will help you work through the difficulty you face.

If you were to do what you are being asked would you have a clear conscience? Is it morally acceptable to God? I would hope the answer to this question would always be yes, but perhaps it is too much to assume.
Has the program or action been thought through well?
Does this fit with the mission and values of the church?
Is this something you knew you would have to do when you signed on?
Is there a way to change the program or action so that it would work better for all involved?
Most importantly have you been honest and respectful in communicating your opposition?
Is it worth losing your job over?

Missions is Here and Now

2007-06-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

I guess I can understand how we ended up in a place where missions is understood as something you do when you go to another country. Missions is perhaps the most important thing a church participates in, but it is too often misunderstood. Fortunately things are changing.

Now we talk about being missional. Of course being missional is simply being a missionary wherever you are. It is about time we begin to change how we talk about the mission of the church. It is unfortunate there has ever been a time when missions was considered something you do in other countries.

We must continue to work on changing not only the perception of missions, the language we use to talk about mission, but most importantly the attitude people have about missions. Being missional has a prerequisite of understanding that the mission is every one's mission! It is the responsibility of the church to do missions every day wherever they are. This attitude change must start with two and three year olds and it must be hammered home in the teenage years. God's mission is every Christ follower's mission.

I wonder what kind of perception we create about the mission of the church? What do the words we use communicate? What to our ministry events communicate about missions and being missional?

Marketing Jesus?

2007-06-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

It just sounds wrong doesn't it? Marketing Jesus seems almost sacrilegious. I must admit this is contrary to my nature. Jesus doesn't really need me or any one else to market him, to "sell" him. There is a real sense in which we do need to market Jesus.

When Jesus is mentioned people begin to have a certain perceptions about who he is and what he stands for. Mention the word church and people may have a whole new set of perceptions. Let's be clear, we need to market the Bible, the church, and even Jesus because we need to change peoples perceptions.

Marketing isn't just brochures, TV commercials, and print ads. It is everything from the logo we use to how we preach the word of God. It is how we worship, how we speak, and even how we dress.

In reality every ministry must market Jesus because we need to help people understand what is true and remove false perceptions. It isn't necessarily about crowds or numbers as much as it is about truth.

Helping Students Think Well

2007-05-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N Roll seem to be the things a lot of youth ministries spend their time on. Certainly there is good reason to be concerned about the kind of decisions students will make regarding these real life issues. The question is not whether we talk about these issues, but in what context.

Too much of the time ministries focus on telling students what the right decisions are. We use verses and passages to back up our points about why sex outside of marriage is wrong and we speak of God's intentions in creating sex. All of those things are fine, but there is something more we must consider. What will these students do when they no longer have their youth group or their parents to help them make decisions?

We must help students think well about life and about scripture. The way we do this is not by telling them what to do, but helping them understand how and why these are the best conclusions based on both God's word and general reason and logic.

I might suggest that teaching through books of the Bible will help them do this very thing. If they can understand God's word and how to think clearly then they will be able to make good decisions long after you are out of the picture.

Helping Parents Communicate

2007-03-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

As the parent of an 8 & 1 year old I have already begun to see many shortcomings in my parenting ability. Perhaps one of the most difficult ones to overcome is my own arrogance. Certainly my life experiences along with my years of working with youth have given me significant insight and wisdom ( I say that only somewhat fasitiously). I have 33 years of experience on this planet, some good and some bad, but all have influenced who I am and I have learned valuable lessons from many of them (probably not as many as those who are less stubborn). Certainly my daughter and my son know this!!

It is that last sentence that shows my arrogance! The truth is they don't know this. They don't know my life experiences (thankfully), they don't know the pains and the disappointments, and they don't know the joys. Part of my job as a parent is to communicate the lessons I have learned!! The problem is I sometimes forget and even when I remember I don't know how to communicat these things. Most of the time I simply expect my kids to know how much I know and trust me.

So what does this have to do with youth ministry? Youth pastors and workers must work with parents and help them as much as possible. I don't know that you have to have the answer to this quandry (remember parents have a lot of life experience and probably some problem solving skills). I would suggest you remind them (the parents) that their students think the world they live in is so different from the world their parents lived in, that they often don't know how much their parents know. In some ways they are correct. Technology and media has certainly changed. That said, the human condition hasn't changed. Parents have valuable insight, but they need to figure out how to communicate with their students.

The struggle of communication between parents and students is difficult. I would suggest a book by Kent Julian How to Get Your Teen To Talk To You.

How To Be A Man

2007-03-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is also the title of a book I am currently reading. As the father of a 19 month old boy I recognize the importance of teaching my son how to be a man. As a result I am working on some book ideas. The above book is part of my research. Although it is dated, the ideas and thoughts in it are very helpful. This would be a great book to share with parents.

The book is by Harvey Newcomb. The language is dated as well as the cover, but the info is at the very least challenging.

Are Students Prepared to be Persecuted?

2007-02-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

The sky is not falling, yet. The world is not coming to an end tomorrow (at least it doesn't look that way). I don't intend to cry wolf, unless I see one. Unfortunately there are many wolves in this world we live in. Are we preparing students to live in a world where Christians are persecuted for living out there faith.?

In Canada it is illegal to speak out against homosexuality. In the united states we are getting closer and closer to that point. Christians are told by culture to keep their faith to themselves. Prayer in public could even be a dangerous prospect. It was not that long ago that rumors were being floated about the airport putting in a "meditation room." The consequence would be prayer would not be allowed outside of that room.

I don't mean to sound alarmist, but I can see the writing on the wall. It seems more and more likely that today's students will experience persecution for living out their faith at some point in their life.

I leave you with this question, how do we prepare students to follow Jesus in a world that doesn't particularly like what Jesus taught (some of them just don't know what he taught and wouldn't like it if they knew it)?

Near Sighted Youth Ministry

2007-02-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Driving is on of those mile markers in the life of students. Every time someone got their license or their Learners Permit I heard about it. If it wasn't the student is was the parent who told me the news. Of course I usually had some kind of smart alic remark about how people should stay off the sidewalks or the streets are no longer safe. It is amazing the amount of preparation students must go through in order to drive a car.

Cars are dangerous and can kill. There is good reason to make people go through a lot of training before they are given the license to drive a car. The mind and the spirit are equally as dangerous and fragile. It is amazing to me how little we prepare students to use these and understand these powerful things. A life is a terrible thing to waist. We will often challenge students to avoid waisting their life, but do we really prepare them to use there life well?

This is a daunting task one in which youth ministry plays a small role. The question for any ministry is, "How does your ministry help accomplish this in students lives?" and "What is the Biblical basis for this?"

Retreat Mussings

2007-02-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was in Ohio speaking at a retreat. I was at some old school that is being turned into a youth center(www.soncenter.org). My phone didn't work, there was no way to check my email, and it was freezing cold even inside the building. I am not complaining, it was great. Actually it was good for me not to be so "connected" all the time. Over the weekend I was reminded of several things:

Those who give their time and money to minister to students are amazing people.

I made some new friends this weekend!! The youth pastors and workers who were there were amazing people. They were servants who gave up sleeping at home in a nice bed for a weekend of freezing (even inside) and sleeping with a bunch of high school students. I would be hard pressed to find higher quality people anywhere.

Youth pastors are more often than not passionate and qualified people who are sacrificing much in order to do what they love.

The youth pastors who I spent time with love what they are doing. More than anything they want to serve God. They are not less qualified than "Senior Pastors." They are often younger, but not always. They have chosen a career that does not pay lucrative salaries (though it is much better than it used to be) and it demands odd hours along with frequent travel. Why? Because they have been given a passion by God to reach students for Christ.

Youth ministry is difficult and tiresome work!!

Many who have not done youth ministry think it is just a bunch of games and gimmicks. They could not be further from the truth. Sure there are those who rely on such things to give the appearance of success. Good youth ministry, on the other hand, requires much more. The youth pastors I talked to this weekend were tired because they want so much more. They want students to become men and women of God. They want them to learn to follow Jesus with every aspect of their life.

As a former youth pastor and someone who loves students, I want to thank every youth worker who reads this for your efforts. I would also like to encourage you to keep it up. Galatians 6:9 reminds us to persevere with good works. Don't allow yourself to grow tired of doing them.

Understanding Adolesence

2007-01-22T21:08:00.001-08:00

Adolescence as it is understood today is relatively new. Of course the word "understand" may be a little presumptuous. Adolescence has changed over the centuries, especially in North America. It is not only confusing for those who are going through it, but their parents, their friends, and for youth leaders.

Over the past 150 years adolescence has begun at an earlier age and ended at a later age. Boyfriends, girlfriends, and dating have taken on a new meaning (not that any of us know exactly what that meaning is). The only thing we know about cool is some have it and some don't of course that seems to change on an almost daily basis.

The question becomes how do we help students navigate this difficult time? Teaching about abstinence, peer pressure, and being willing to go against the grain are all good things. Still there may be a more simple and effective way to help these student. Perhaps instead of telling them what they should and shouldn't do we should give them an anchor.

Jesus Christ is the anchor. Students who stay attached to the anchor will never wonder too far away. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish."

As leaders who work with youth we must not forget that the best thing we have to offer is not our wisdom about sex, drugs, or avoiding the peer pressure . The best thing we have to offer is Christ himself, the gospel story. If we remember this we will do well, if we get sidetracked (which is easy to do) we will not be serving the best interests of the students or the kingdom of God. We need to stay focused.

Does Exigetical Teaching Have a Place in Youth Ministry?

2007-01-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid I would visit my Grandpa and Grandma in Wisconsin. My Grandpa served as the pastor of a very small church in a small town called Comstock. On Sunday mornings I would accompany my grandparents to Sunday school and church. You need to understand Sunday school consisted of pretty much the same people who attended church. There was only one class and it was not intended to be friendly to kids. My grandpa taught the class and the people (all 7 or 8) interacted.

As far as youth ministry is concerned, this was not the best environment to help a young boy(maybe 13 or 14 years old) grow spiritually, but for me it is one of my most important spiritual memories. I don't know what it was, perhaps I was intimidated by all the gray hair in the room, whatever the case I paid attention. I even took notes. I learned about God and about my relationship with Him.

Perhaps youth ministry needs to take a closer look at teaching the Bible in more of an exegetical fashion. I wonder if teachers and preachers get in the way of God's word when we try to make it "relevant" or we worry too much about keeping students attention? Maybe students are capable of more then we think. Maybe we should be challenging them to partake in "big church" with the intent of learning and growing in the same ways adults do.

Understanding Adolesence

2007-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Consequenses of Consumer Driven Youth Ministry

2007-01-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

I love the technological advances of the world we live in. As I sit here listening to my ipod while I type on my laptop that is connected to a wireless network at the local sports bar I wonder if it is all worth it. Those who know me well know how much I love techno-gadgets. I want to be able to communicate in every way possible at all times. I know, it is a little ridiculous.

I wanted it all as a youth pastor too. In many ways I had it. I had a great student worship team, cool games, and freedom to try all kinds of new and cool ways to attract as many kids as possible. When it was popular I had student led cell groups, fancy videos, and very cool and hip staff. In many ways there was nothing I didn't have except the biggest youth ministry in town (I think it was the second biggest, and I was working on the biggest). Was it all worth it? Did that mean I was successful?

I don't want to give you some speech about numbers and success, but there seems to be something in us that makes us operate that way. Instead I want to ask a different question. In a society where teenagers will camp out overnight to buy the latest video games should the church try to work through culture or offer something counter cultural? As I reflect, it seems like Jesus did both, but the gospel message itself is counter cultural.

As I reflect on all of my youth ministry experiences most of them were very man centered, very culturally relevant. I wonder now if I should have focused less on the needs of students and more on the desires of God. Maybe instead of asking if what I was doing was relevant to students I should have asked if I was helping students become relevant to God.

Is There a Place for Students in Your Church?

2006-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

Mark Yaconelli in his book Youth Ministry: A Contemplative Approach said, "If we are to keep young people involved in the church and if we are to renew our congregations, we first must acknowledge that many of our current forms of youth ministry are destructive"

There are many difficulties when it comes to church ministry, and this is one of them. Different churches respond in different ways to teenagers. Some look down on them. They think they are incapable of being responsible or doing a good job. Others value them highly but are not interested in putting in the effort to help them become contributing members of God's family. Still there is another group of churches that value them and are willing to help them become Godly men and women who contribute to the kingdom of God.

It is easy to see which of the previous three types of churches is the best, the question is which one is your church? I would suggest really reflecting on this for a while, on the surface your church may look like one and actually be another type when examined. Here are some characteristics of a church that seeks to be the third option:

Students are encouraged to be involved in ministry of all kinds.
The thought of depending on the likes of a teenager to get something done may be scary, but not scary enough that it is not done.
Students are not turned away from ministries where they may have talents simply because of their age. An example of this would be worship teams. Some students are very gifted, but some adults are intimidated by someone younger doing a better job.
Does your church allow students to use equipment that may be valuable? (sometimes it is appropriate to put limits on this kind of thing, but some churches don't even trust the youth pastor)
When one student makes a mistake (especially a significant one) is judgement placed on the entire program or ministry?
Is failure by students expected and looked at as an opportunity for growth?
Are the ministries students can be involved with limited to ministry with children or their own age group?

Evaluating this is not an exact science. There may be very good reason for some limitations. Still if we want students to believe they are valued and the church is interested in them then we need to communicate that message. This is one of the most difficult parts of student ministries. If we want students to graduate from High School but not from their faith it is important to show them there is a place for them in the church.

It may be the case that youth ministry has, at times, been its own worst enemy in this area (breaking things and not being responsible). This is one of the most difficult cultures to change in the church. I have tried at the churches I have ministered in to varying degrees of success. I don't know what it will take in your situation to make this a positive in your church, but it is important. I might suggest starting with the Senior Pastor.

Working for the Parents

2006-12-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

Perhaps one of the most difficult parts of youth ministry is dealing with parents. Even when I say the words, "dealing with parents" it sounds almost derogatory in nature. I certainly don't intend it that way.

I wonder how many of those in youth ministry speak of parents with the tone that I have in the past. Parents love their kids more then anyone else, they want what is best for them, and they have insight into the heart and mind of their kids that youth pastors and workers simply don't. They may not be ministry experts and they may not understand why Korn is spelled with a backwards "R," but they have been the primary disciplers of their kids since they were born.

In one sense those in youth ministry work for the parents. I know you might be thinking you work for the board or your senior pastor, but think about it. What group of people can get you fired the fastest? The answer is the parents. Even if the Senior Pastor wanted to fire you, if the parents like you, it would be difficult for him to do so. If the Senior pastor likes you and all the parents want to see you gone, you will be gone.

This is the way it should be. You don't have to agree with parents all the time and you don't have to answer to them in the same way you answer to a board or your senior pastor. Yet they have more influence on the kids then you will ever have. It seems to me Youth leaders would be better off (and so would the kids) if youth ministry worked with the parents.

Maybe:

Parents would be great leaders in the youth ministry because they have a vested interest.
Youth ministries should ask, "how can we help parents become better parents?" for the sake of the kids.
Youth leaders should be working side by side with the Senior Pastor, Adult ministries Pastor, and Kids Pastor to reach the entire family.
Trix are for kids, but youth ministry is not as much about cool trix as originally thought.
There should be more focus on providing family time rather then taking another night away from the family. Families have a busy schedule as it is, why should we unnecessarily add to it?
A simpler ministry would be more effective in the long run?

Does Exigetical Teaching Have a Place in Youth Ministry?

2006-12-20T12:13:00.000-08:00

A New Blog by PJ

2006-12-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

This is the first blog on PJ's Youth Ministry Minute. This blog will be updated at least once a week usually on Monday with some challenging thoughts about youth ministry. It is not intended to proide youth ministry answers, but rather to provoke thought.

I look forward to great thoughts and discussions.