Student Ministry Stuff is the title of a new series of posts I started two weeks ago.  Not sure if it will always take place on Monday, but it looks to be the pattern so far (edit: I just reviewed, I had done these the last two Tuesdays… ha, so I guess I broke the early pattern).  SMS, as I call it, will continue to be little tid-bits, editorials or advice for those involved with student ministry.

With todays post, I hope to help the non-Administrative Youth Worker.

At first glance it seems as if the post is specific to Youth Pastors, but can certainly be adapted to those who are Bible Study/Small Group leaders and/or those who work closely with non-administrative Youth Pastors.

For the first five years that I was a Youth Pastor I did not have the benefit of having any administrative help (admin assistants/secretaries, etc.).  Therefore, if it was to get done, I was to do it.  I think I may have already been wired along the lines of being administrative, but I do believe during these formative ministry years I not only used the spiritual gift, I believe I developed some administrative skills to boot.

Most Youth Pastors I know are HIGHLY relational and very non-administrative.  They are great people-persons and are drawn to relationship.  They’d much rather be at a coffee shop discipling a student, coming alongside a volunteer leader at a lunch appointment or at the high school watching a basketball game than taking time behind the desk making phone calls to get the vans for the trip, the contract for the camp or writing thank you notes to help from last week’s lock-in.

I do believe that Youth Pastors should excel in the areas he/she is most gifted.  However, he/she needs to be careful to not allow their weak spots to become the downfall to the ministry.  Administration is often that downfall.  So, let me help with just three tips.

1. Charts. I broke my calendar year into thirds, which was pretty consistent with a school year calendar:  Fall Semester (Sept.-Dec.), Spring Semester (January-June) and Summer (with summer scheduling being dramatically different than the fall and spring).  I would take just a few hours a several weeks before a new segment (Fall, Spring or Summer) of the year and I created a chart with the different areas of ministry needs and then would assign a person for each of those areas. After completion I’d send out the rough draft, get feedback/cancellations, etc. then make the changes and re-send so that all were ready to go into the new semester. The categories included: Sunday School teaching, Sunday School Worship, Sunday School Announcements, etc.. Then for Youth Group I’d do the same with areas like, speaking, games, worship, snacks, extras.  By doing this and assigning tasks early I had all of my staff on the same page and every person knew his or her role for each week.  It also gave specific volunteers opportunity to prepare for their role and get things on their own calendars.
2. “First 15.” I suggest that the first 15 minutes in the office each day have a specific task.  For those who are non-administrative, the first 15 minutes on Monday may be the time for them to write out a “to-do” list for the week.  Tuesday could be the “thank you and/or encouragement” notes for the week.  Wednesday could be cleaning out the email inbox (and REPLYING to the ones that need to be replied), etc.  Regardless, if a non-administrative person could be disciplined for at least 15 minutes each day with administrative tasks they will probably be miles ahead.
3. Constant communication. I believe the greatest gift a YP can give his or her teens, staff members and parents of teens is consistent communication.  For me that meant a monthly email/newsletter to students; a quarterly letter (and often a gathering with parents) and a weekly email to my student ministry team (staff).  The weekly email to the staff was probably the best thing I did to keep my team on the same page.  I used it to encourage the team, remind of weekly assignments and quickly set the vision for things ahead.  All of this plays into the area of building trust with all three segments of the ministry (student, staff and parent).  Ultimately we want everyone freed up to do what he/she is gifted in and passionate about.

I have examples of all of the above in my archives of Youth Ministry (electronic) folders.  Don’t hesitate to ask me for any of these as a sample of what I did.

Hope those who are not-administrative can become slightly more administrative so that you’re miles ahead and more freed to do what you’re most passionate about!

Grace,

Brian

Student Ministry Stuff (SMS) is a new feature I started last week.  If you missed it, you’ll want to click here and start with that post since this subject is a two-parter.

As I stated near the end of that post, I spoke directly to the leadership of the church that has a Pied Piper Youth Pastor.  I warned them that it most-likely is that they have  a Pied Piper Youth Pastor because of the flaw in their church youth ministry system, and is probably not (just) the personality of the youth pastor.

On the flip-side, today I will speak directly to the Youth Pastor who may be a or may have Pied Piper tendencies.

Let me reiterate that you may be in this position because the church you are in expects a Pied Piper Youth Pastor–a person who can and should do it all; after all, you are the one who is paid to be in that position.

This isn’t the beginning of the “you may be a pied piper if” type of a joke, because the punch lines may hit too close to the heart.  But you should examine your ministry, your style, the text messages and the amount of time you spend on the job and determine if you are or are not a pied piper youth pastor.

Ask yourself:

• When Joe/Joanne gets asked to the prom, am I the first adult authority they call/text to tell?
• Do you find yourself justifying Pat or Patty, the 18 year-old senior, as an “adult” for that camp, retreat or mission?
• Even though you may have someone else at your church who is better at teaching, leading music, more funny upfront or a more gifted small group leader, have you intentionally ignored asking them to be part of your youth team because they may garner more attention?
• Are you consistently wondering if the elders, pastor or others notice how much you work?  Do you find yourself saying “I haven’t taken a day off in __ days”?

I can write these examples and many others as potential Pastor Pied Piper tendencies because at some point in my Youth Ministry career I found myself thinking/doing these things.

• I eventually became thrilled when Joanne called Sarah, her small group leader after being asked to the dance.  Why would I want a teen gal to be calling me to talk about that anyway?
• Pat and Patty may be mature at 18, but Phil and Phyllis, though over 65 proved to be very wise and still immature enough to hang with the x-box, adrenaline-laden kid who just needed to be loved at camp.  All I needed to do was ask.
• And the funnier guy, more talented teacher and better administrator were actually people that would help the ministry grow, even though the attention would fall away from me, the happier parent, more proud pastor and friendlier board actually led to a better experience for me at those respective churches.
• I remember countless times I told people how many hours I had worked that week or how many days it had been since my last day off… I came to learn (way too late) that I was the only one celebrating those facts.

The likelihood is that you agree with the principles I have named above.  The problem is that the potential Pied Piper Pastor doesn’t know where to start in forming, training and maintaining a team so that he/she may get rid of not just the title, but improve the ministry.  So, let me conclude by simply offering a few thoughts.

1. Don’t say “no” for them. If you have identified a potential team member for your youth staff, regardless of adult age, talk to them and make the ask.  Let them say no (or quite possibly “yes”).  When asking, give them the reasons why you think he/she would be a great member for your team and the specific roles you would like for them to play (which means you should have a philosophy of ministry, staff roles, etc. thought out well in advance).  But, remember, the answer is “no”, if you don’t ask.
2. Allow them to Shepherd, don’t recruit chaperones. The most common reason for a leader leaving a youth staff is that they don’t feel they are being used effectively in the ministry.  You (Youth Pastor) should do what you do best, and surround yourself with others who are best at what they do best.  So, if you are not an admin person, recruit a staff person who is great at admin.  Adult leaders, more often that not, want to know their role, please, for their sake, give them a role other than “just be there to make sure things don’t get out of hand.”  If you do, you’ll soon have them out of your hands.
3. See Youth Ministry as three (equal) prongs.  With each needing your (equal) attention. This will most likely be a separate post later, but I believe a effective youth ministry will give equal attention to: Students (duh), staff (as described with 1 and 2) and the third… Parents.  Ugh, the “P” word.  Yep, parents.  Giving attention to this HUGE resource will go miles in ridding the Pied-Piper name, but you’ll find great volunteers in this area as well.  Change your “Parent Meetings” to “parent gatherings.”  Make them fun and informative.  Come to the gatherings with questions rather than answers; while at the same time giving them valuable information (calendar, philosophy, etc.).  When parents and staff feel shepherded it will be natural for people to see the ministry as a team effort and not a Pied Piper place.

So, potential PPP (Pied Piper Pastor), are you a team oriented pastor?  Are you making the ask, looking to shepherd and allow others to use their gifts?  Are you pouring into parents at the same time?  If you would like some specific ways to engage, don’t hesitate to ask me (brian[at]youthmark[dot]com).

Once again, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of this subject, but don’t want these posts to be too long.  Hopefully it has sparked some thinking.

Grace,

Brian

The new SMS editorial has commenced.  Welcome.

My intention with this series of blog posts will be to give my thoughts on specific areas of student ministry.  Call it a rant, free advice or something that makes you think.  The series comes out of my weekly interactions with Youth Pastors and some of the thoughts that form as a result of my communication with the YP’s, parents, pastors and students.

So… here we go.

Let me start by saying this is not a rant against Youth Pastors… it is a warning to the Pied Piper Youth Pastor or to the church that allows for a Pied Piper Youth Pastor.  You potentially give Youth Ministry and the Church a bad name.

Wikipedia gives the background of the Pied Piper:

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great many children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Germany, in the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in pied (multicolored) clothing, leading the children away from the town never to return. In the 16th century the story was expanded into a full narrative, in which the piper is a rat-catcherhired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizenry refuses to “pay the piper” for this service, he retaliates by turning his magic on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as a fairy tale.

You can recognize the  Pied Piper Youth Pastor as the guy/gal who leads his or her team to the water-park, mission trip or back to school shopping trip in the 15 passenger van with no other adult sponsor to be seen.  You’ll see him in the concert mosh-pit with the teens trying to hold onto his teen years or you’ll see her lead worship, do announcements and then lead the discussion in Sunday School because she has nobody else helping her.  They may get adult chaperones to an event or two, but an adult shepherd is nowhere to be found.

Let me first recognize that exceptions to this rule do exist, but the vast majority of Youth Directors/Leaders/Pastors who are alone in ministry are doing so by choice or by force.  They don’t know how to recruit, feel like nobody wants to help or have fallen into the trap of believing “I am paid to be with the teens, therefore I am the one who should influence these teens.”

Mr. or Miss “Pied Piper Pastor” please understand that Jesus trained, entrusted and expected others to carry out the mission with Him.  You should too.

You may have the most education, training, and experience.  You may even be the best speaker, worship leader and most creative thinker; but this does not mean that you should be the one doing it all.  In fact, you shouldn’t.

And to the church that allows for a Pied Piper Pastor.  Be warned: when he or she encounters the angry parent, pastor or board member, Pied Piper will likely leave.  Because he or she doesn’t feel loved, supported or that he or she is part of team, s/he may just pack up the suitcase and move on to the next place (which may or may not be a place of ministry).

Rather than a rant against and contributing to the problem, let me begin to unpack some practical suggestions for both the Pied Piper and the Church of the Pied Piper…

This week, we’ll start with the church, next week, we’ll examine it for the potential Pied Piper.

To The Church:

1. Create an environment of prayer, support and encouragement for the Youth Pastor and the Youth Ministry. Is there a faithful elder or two, several parents and “at large” congregants who are not necessarily involved with the Students who will commit themselves to prayer for not just the Youth, but for the Youth Pastor?  What would it look like for these individuals to unite for corporate prayer the way some churches do for the overseas missionaries.  The Youth Pastor is a trainer for our “at home” missionaries.
2. Invest more than your dollars in the program, give the program/pastor the “platform.” What would it look like to start your service every week, or at least once a month with a “Youth Ministry Moment?”  Give the Youth Pastor, an adult leader and a student 2-3 minutes to share what has happened, what will happen or a key story/testimony.  This will help the congregation see that youth ministry is not just an entertainment based program, but one that is shepherding the flock of the best missionaries we ought to be supporting (because 80% of those who call themselves Christians came to Christ at the age of 18 or under).
3. Create a philosophy of Youth Ministry that is Youth Pastor proof. Don’t hire a Youth Pastor and allow him/her to create the philosophy of youth ministry, rather hire someone that will “season” it with their personality flavor. Expanding that analogy… you go to a restaurant of your choosing because it is an Italian, Mexican or Chinese place… the establishment is what it is and you chose it based on what you know you’ll get when you go. Could you imagine going to Outback and all of a sudden their menu had only sushi?  What happened to the Outback 9 oz. Special of steak, potato, bread and salad?  Outback Ownership has chosen to be a steakhouse.  They may change their spices, but the core of the restaurant stays the same.  As we look at Student Ministry, the church should decide upon and create the philosophy of ministry.  Build this philosophy around solid team leadership (require an adult staff of volunteers), relationaly based ministry with Bible teaching, practical application and discipleship (where disciples become disciplemakers) at the core.  Allow the Youth Pastor to season it through methodology, but not to create/change the philosophy.*

This is just scratching the surface of this deep subject.  But let me say, I believe the “blame” could certainly be placed on the Pied Piper, but I believe more often than not, the Pied Piper is actually created by the church, not the personality of the Youth Pastor.  If the church creates an environment of love and support (namely through prayer), gives the ministry attention (not just financial support) and has a clear objective with accountability in place, the Youth Pastor will have no choice but to be part of that environment and not rebel against it by becoming the Lone Ranger (aka Pied Piper).

Next week I’ll take on the Pied Piper Youth Pastor…

Grace,
Brian

*To church leaders, and/or Youth Pastors looking to create a philosophy of youth ministry, don’t hesitate to contact me at brian(at)youthmark(dot)com.