Thrive Youth Ministries

Are you a church that is struggling along with its youth work? It’s tough, isn’t it?

‘If only we could have more time, more energy, more volunteers. Then we might have more young people. More young people would bring fresh vitality to us as a church. We have to employ a youth worker. Someone who is young, dynamic and relevant.’

It’s a common train of thought, but is it correct?

Having been in full time youth ministry for almost twenty years, I am a big believer in employing youth workers (although I really think we should call them youth ministers) but I also believe that it is not always the best solution for a church. Or, at least, many churches jump to this solution too soon and then make a bad appointment or struggle to enable the youth worker to bed into the church well.

I surprise a lot of church leaders when I speak with them. They might tell me with delight that they have decided to employ a youth worker and look at me with expected reciprocating joy. “Whatever for?!” is my custom response, which always takes them aback! They think that as I am a youth worker, surely I will always be delighted with another position being offered.

Let’s get one reality out there: there are more youth work jobs than good, qualified youth workers. That’s the reality. So another church offering another job is not news. The question I have is how many of those churches are being realistic in their job offer? Have they really thought this through or are they jumping to a conclusion too soon, without considering it properly?

Don’t get me wrong. I love employed youth workers! I spend a lot of time with them, mentoring, training and encouraging them.  I believe they are the key to seeing our communities changed for good. The impact of one church employing a youth worker effectively has a positive impact on surrounding churches and the local area. I love them!

But I know how many bad news stories there are of churches employing badly, of youth workers feeling they have an impossible task, of loneliness, lack of understanding. We must employ well.

If your church is considering hiring a youth worker, please have a leadership discussion around these 10 questions. If you answer positively to all of them, yes all of them, then go ahead and advertise. If you are uncertain on any of them, it’s probably best to slow down and wrestle with these first. It will save having to wrestle with a youth worker in the future!

1. Do you have young people?

A church with no young people is a very difficult place to start. You do need a few. You don’t need to have as many as the church down the road but you do need to have some. Ask them what they would like to see developed for them in the church. Then consider whether these needs are best met by a youth worker.

2. Do you have willing volunteers?

Employing someone assumes that what we are currently doing with young people will increase. Perhaps we would like to see an after school drop-in start, or an open youth club one night of the week. Perhaps we are thinking of starting some detached work in the local area or helping with a local sports club. Whatever it is we hope to see happen, it will only happen if we have enough members of our church who are committed to making it happen.

The sad reality in too many churches is that they struggle with their youth work so look to employ someone to do it for them on their behalf – they delegate the responsibility to paid staff. This doesn’t sound like how Jesus intended the church to operate.

Ask yourself the question seriously. If we employ someone, how do we expect the ministry to grow and how many of us are willing to get stuck in?

Rather than seeing it as employing a youth worker to do the work on our behalf, it is far better to see it as employing a youth missionary specialist, who understand youth culture and how to relate to them, and who will equip the church to be better at reaching out to this generation and discipling them.

3. Do you have a clear vision?

Do you know what you want a youth worker to do? From time to time I am sent job descriptions to look over for churches. Most of the time, they are appropriate to any church, any town. They are so generic. We want someone who can do anything and everything – even Superman might struggle!

What do you really want a youth worker to do? What are the truthful reasons why you want, why you need, to employ someone? These reasons must make up your vision for the role.

When you’ve listed these reasons, consider each one in turn and ask yourself whether it is realistic or not.

4. Do you have enough money?

We must stop trying to get something for nothing. It is not appropriate to pay poorly because we can’t afford more or because everyone else is paying poorly. Full time youth ministry involves anti-social hours, long hours, a high skill set and a deep connection with God. Make sure you have considered seriously how you will go about paying them.

It is likely that your future youth worker is not living locally so they will need to move into the area. Is the salary you are offering, a realistic amount for them to rent accommodation and to live off? Think it through. I know of one church who wanted to pay a full time youth worker £16,000 per year. It turned out that a one bed flat would could £1,000 per month in that area, which would only leave £4k left to live on, and that’s before paying tax!

Oh and part-time is not the answer. Part-time means we would like full time but we can’t afford it. Most youth workers know this is code for “we expect full time commitment on half the money”.

If the church is fully behind the investment, ensure they commit financially to it. Which leads me to the next question…

5. Is the church behind it?

Is this a serious idea for the church or is it just the church leader’s dream? The whole church needs to be behind it. They need to understand what the vision is, what the costs are and what the expectation is on volunteering. Everyone needs to be committed to seeing it happen, not just a select few.

Communicate that it will take sacrificial giving to raise the funds needed. When I first started out, the church I was in set up a separate fund, where the congregation gave separately to the youth ministry. This wasn’t instead of their regular church contribution, but in addition. It helped each person to commit to the project.

6. Are you being realistic?

Are your hopes and expectations likely to be fulfilled? Is the church ready to employ a youth worker? Have you got a job description that has much chance of being embodied? More questions, I know, but it is vital that we are realistic in what we are hoping for.

7. How will you care for them?

If you are a church of older people, and you employ a young youth worker, how will you care for them and welcome them? What levels of support can you offer? Are there other churches with younger people where you can encourage them to build peer relationships?

If you employ a single person, realise that they will need time to visit family, friends and loved ones. Make sure you allow sufficient weekends free to invest in these relationships.

If you are employing a married person, make sure you have plans to nurture the whole family, and don’t have expectations on the youth worker’s time that will be detrimental to the family unit.

8. What are the fresh opportunities?

Think through what are some of the new opportunities in your community that a youth worker could explore. What links do you have with local schools – are they welcoming of Christians? What about links with uniformed groups or sports clubs? Where is the low-hanging fruit, ready to be picked? If you struggle to come up with anything here, it may be back to the drawing board.

9. How long do you want to employ them for?

The usual answer I get to this is, ‘for as long as we can afford them!’ Hopefully our planning, and our faith levels, can be stronger than that. It’s an important question and is reflected on the lengths of contracts we offer.

Many churches offer very short two or three year contracts. This does not present the new youth worker with much expectation of longevity. It communicates we need a quick fix and we want to see new things immediately! Real change takes time. We need to allow time for a youth worker to settle in, to get to know the church, the community, to seek God for the way ahead. Youth work is built around trust – trust with the young people, the leaders, the church. Trust takes time to build. Short term contracts cause us to rush and to get frustrated.

If money is an issue, offering a short term contract doesn’t help the youth worker. Every job is always financially dependent, however long the contract. Firstly, make sure that there is a serious financial plan in place and secondly have a more long term perspective on how the ministry might grow.

10. What is God saying?

First and foremost, immerse yourself in prayer over it all. As Paul describes in Colossians 4:12, wrestle in prayer over it. Individually and corporately, be seeking God for whether this is His will for you all at this time.

If you would like some help on discerning this process, do get in touch as Thrive would love to help you.