Real World Success In Youth Ministry
I was once in a meeting with an elder and the senior pastor in one of those “the real meeting is the private meeting after the public meeting” meetings. In typical fashion for one of those meetings, I was told that the youth ministry had to make some dramatic changes over the next two months. I asked, “What does success look like in two months?”
Success in youth ministry should not be so subjective that the personal satisfaction meter of influential people defines it. Success in youth ministry is partially subjective (one size does not fit all), yet must be based on Biblical principles.
Who determines success in your youth ministry? Rarely is the point person for the student ministry the only one who determines which Biblical principles should be emphasized and measured in their student ministry. I can’t provide eight easy steps to success in youth ministry, but I can share the following eight principles that can be your starter kit for finding success in your youth ministry.
1. Know yourself. Know who you are, your personality, your dreams, your experiences, your strengths, your weaknesses, what makes you tick, what ticks you off, and more. Tell yourself the truth about yourself – in case you don’t think you know yourself fully, ask a close friend. This can take a long time, but until you know yourself well you will only be frustrated and will probably frustrate others.
2. Uncover the uniqueness of your church. You should know the operational values of your church, the acceptance level of taking risks, the history and corporate baggage that your church may have, the strengths, the history, how things work in the constitution, and how things work day-to-day.
3. Visualize how you can work best with the way your church is. You will not change your church or its culture. Evaluate and foresee how you and the church’s uniqueness can work together. If it’s only a short-term option for you, begin looking for something else so they have a chance at longevity with the next person.
4. Be fully there. Don’t get distracted by the green grass elsewhere. Water, fertilize, and care for your own grass. Being fully where you are means you don’t care that you’re not elsewhere because you have joy about being in your particular corner of the world, and you can rejoice with the good things other churches and youth ministries are doing in your area.
5. Have a system that cares for the students who are a part of your church. This can be almost anything as long as it works for you the church. There is no Biblical prescription for how you should care for the students in your church, but you need to care for them. Caring involves feeding and leading students spiritually, knowing them by name, ensuring that there is a concerned adult that is trying to connect with them. You can’t make students love you or your adult team, but you can offer that love in proper ways and then wait to see their response.
6. Reach out to unchurched students. We also have to love students who are not part of our church. I’m not sure that balance between discipleship and evangelism is really achievable. Although most of us are wired to emphasize one, we can’t neglect the other.
7. Work in natural, creative, and culturally relevant ways. Only you and your team can best determine what’s reasonable and wise to do in light of your history, the church’s history, the students, your culture, and your theology. Look for ways to build your brain’s creativity muscles. Brainstorm everything, and learn that the first idea is rarely the best idea.
8. There is no one-size-fits-all model for success in youth ministry. We cannot open a can of instant youth ministry, heat it, and serve it to our students. This eight-step process takes time, teamwork, prayer, discernment, and patience. Here is the necessary warning and obvious statement: The church leadership has to agree with you about what success looks like for your ministry.
Good things rarely come quickly. Real world success in youth ministry is worth the effort and cost to achieve.