One of my good friends and co-workers announced that he is leaving his job the other day.
The good news is that it was no big deal to the volunteers who he announced it to! Though, it probably would have been good for the ol’ ego for there to be weeping and gnashing of teeth, the truth is, this response is an indicator that he did a great job!
One of my biggest pet peeves in youth ministry is to see a young leader get a promotion and then watch that young leader’s program die.
It has nothing to do with the fact that I think the leader shouldn’t have taken the promotion. It’s not that I think the only commitment you should ever have is to youth. Let’s face it.
Number one…this is tough work and there are few who can do it for years at a time.
Secondly….Youth Pastors are often thought of as the minor leagues for “The Big Show.” This is the way the system has developed. Student pastors are the future leadership of the church. But this is a topic for another time.
So…back to my issue. Why do we see this pattern across the country? A new person coming in, a youth group growing, that person leaving, and the youth group dying…waiting for the next big personality? Come to think of it…why is that the pattern we see in the church in general?
I think the problem is us!
We can be pretty cool. We are relational, so people are attracted to us. We have vision, so people are inspired by us. We are creative and do a bunch of interesting and new stuff, so people like to come see what we do. People dig us. And therein lies the problem…right there in front of our eyes. It’s us.
In my world at North Point Xtreme, our anchor is the small group leader. The only thing consistent every week is the same small group leader with the same group of kids. When my friend, with an identical program, announced he was leaving today, it was not a big deal. When I leave, the show will go on the same way. (I’m not saying it will be easy on my ego.)
Great speakers (the hooks) come inside our student ministry and then go on to do great things on bigger stages. Great bands (also hooks) minister to our kids, are developed, and head on to “Big Church.” They go to the “Show!” I love it when that happens…and the ministry keeps growing and doesn’t miss a beat!
So…I hope you are incredibly talented, passionate, and an amazing vision caster…but the truth is, You may be a great hook…but…it’s not about you…it can’t be about you.
This is good stuff, and a great reminder to always be developing from within. Time to look at that again with fresh perspective.
P.S. This “hooks” me on your blog.
Thanks John….Hope to interact some more in the future. Glad you liked it.
I agree with you as well as what Steven Furtick said 2 years ago Catalyst about young ministers. Specifically, from SF, and i paraphrase a bunch here…too many young pastors are playing guitar hero with their jobs. They think that they can read the bible and instantly be flooded with the ability to preach like the Louies or Andy’s of the world. Its like playing guitar hero and thinking you can really play the guitar.
Its the same way for many of my youth pastor comrades i see around. It is either a game or a stepping stone to something “bigger” or “better”. My students mean so much more to me than that.
Thanks Chris…that is officially the first time someone has paired me with Steven Furtick. I appreciate the thoughts.
Shef
Well said friend, I love that when students come here on a Sunday and many of them don’t even know who works here and who doesn’t- all they know and care about (the most) is their small group leader and their small group. And for many- their small group leader is an anchor well beyond their time here… but for life. Great stuff.
Thanks man. Love that truth. And it’s well said by the guy who would be missed WAY more than I would be. Loved your post today too!
Great Word — thanks for sharing this…
Thanks Brad…big fan of your blog as well. You guys got a great Guy with Andy Green BTW.
Very well said. God has called us to grow disciples, not dependents. Thanks for the reminder that it should not be about “us”
Thanks James
Great post. In student ministry we’re currently entrusted with a generation of students who all struggle at some level with adult abandonment in their lives and in our culture. It’s important that as leaders we carefully steward our student communities in a way that we don’t reinforce the message of adult abandonment, but instead model adult leaders who commit to sticking with students for the long haul. Communities where adult volunteer leaders commit to journeying with students for the long haul are communities where students grow.
Absolutely true. It’s one of the reasons we have small group leaders stay with them all three years in middle school and four years in high school. It takes some a year until the kids actually believe they aren’t going to go away.
I agree but I think from a small church perspective when the parents don’t invest and it rests singley in the hand of the youth pastor who may well play other roles like worship…when they leave the student ministry will suffer. My husband isn’t trying to build anything based on himself but we’ve talked many times about what will happen when god leads elsewhere. We would love for us to have small groups where the ball keeps rolling if he steps down but until others step up to the plate no luck on our end.
I think I need to disagree with you here. I was a youth pastor at a small church (250). When I got there, I had to fire a Jr. High director that was doing a poor job, and on the first night in HS, I had 8 angry students. In 3 1/2 years, I was focused on building a Christ centered student ministry program, top to bottom. I hired a guy into the Jr. High ministry that I knew would be able to do the job of running the student ministry if/when I left, and I groomed him to do just that. I recruited leaders and set up a program that is the anchor. It was never me. When I left, The Jr. High ministry was about 120, and the HS was 65, and when I announced it, some where sad, but there was not a panic, or worry that the program would die. I admit, I wanted people to fight to keep me a little. But I am so pleased that I built things the way I did, so that even now, there is a thriving ministry where once there was none. I am proud of that.
Those parents didn’t play huge roles in everything or invest themselves anymore than other churches. It is a focus on building this way that makes it happen.
Good points, but I don’t think 250 is a small church. Something like 90% of churches have less than 200 members. I work for a 100 member church and it is a STRUGGLE to get parents involved. Part of the problem is the mentality that led them to hire a youth worker in the first place: the job got too big, so they brought somebody in to do all the work for them. There are certainly strategies to counteract that negative energy, but those of us in small churches do have unique struggles in getting volunteers that many in the megachurches can’t appreciate.
Thanks for this. Our middle school ministry is built around anchoring students in with small groups. In 6th grade they get a small group leader that (hopefully!) will stay with them all three years. Last year was the first group to graduate having had the same leader for 3 years. If you don’t share the ministry with small group leaders, you’re bound to fail. Thanks!
Chris
@chrischaudoin
Great post! Our church has structured our Student Ministry around small groups. It is hard on my ego because it really is not about me. Students meet in homes on a weekly basis. I don’t get to see them on a weekly basis. It’s hard because it’s different, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
good word man!!! way to say it!
Love this post. I have seen that as I came into an awesome ministry, it went as the prior left. I have purposed to led as this post describes. I pray that when God calls me to another work, this ministry will grow more rapidly! Thank you!
Awesome stuff Caleb. Tough to do …but so important.
Hate that it is just so assumed that youth leaders are using their current position as a stepping stone.
Think you missed something Neel….I’d read it again and remember that this is from an “old” youth guy.
Good post, so right on track here. Small Group leaders MUST be our foundation. good job man
Thanks man. I appreciate it.
As a MS small group leader I think it is important for us (ie ME) to recognize that I am both a hook and an anchor. It helps keep me grounded. I think of the hook part as “a grown up who likes to have fun” and who cares. The fact that MS kids think I’m cool to hang with is ego inflating, however The old adage that “I don’t care what you know until I know you care about me” keeps me grounded in the fact that you cant fake caring for very long. The anchor is truly caring about the boys. Manufacturing enerfy only lasts so long. Luckily our staff helps keep us filled up.
Very, very, very well said!
Thanks Jesse.