School's in Session for Youth Pastors

The work I'm in is called MINISTRY. It can be a strange and bizarre calling at times, but it's the most rewarding thing I've done when it's done right. But for most ministry professionals, youth pastors or youth directors in particular, finding a congregation where one "fits" is exceedingly difficult. And the reason may be that congregations and their leadership still view youth ministry as the business of keeping kids busy and out of trouble. But for most of us, we want so much more for our ministries. Just like other ministry departments, we want transformation of spirit, mind, and soul to happen before our very eyes. Unfortunately, that won't happen if the church tries to sanitize its kids. Youth need to be active participants in the life of the church and view other adults in the congregation as their very own "cloud of witnesses." What this boils down to is that youth workers must use great discernment before "jumping" into a ministry position.

For example, when looking for church work, a youth worker can feel like being caught up in a crap shoot--wondering if committees and sessions are truly praying about potential candidates or if they're waiting to see who can woo them the most. Unfortunately, it's usually the latter because search committees feel that the most radical-talking-in-your-face-guitar-hero-playing youth worker will do the best job ever. But in fact, most churches are "lucky" if that sort of youth worker stays longer than 18 months (the average tenure of most youth workers).

Princeton's Youth Institute did a study called the Bridges Project that looked at burnout and unsuccessful first calls for youth pastors. You can go to http://www.ptsem.edu/iym/research/bridges/index.php for more information about the project's findings. But at least this research demonstrated that youth workers are not alone in terms of feeling inadequate, dealing with high stress levels, and struggling with financial burdens. And it does point to the fact that when we are looking for work in congregations, we must be vigilant in researching the congregation's culture to see if we are going to "fit." For most of us lifers, we know that trying to fit doesn't cut it. It will drive you insane! So, instead of becoming a hireling in ministry, you gotta do your homework.