Enablers Youth Ministry Coaching

We are all marketing to the wrong person

Jul 02

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For the past five years I have been observing the business of coaching, consulting, resource providing, and trying to help make successful and productive youth ministers. I submit that we are all going at it wrong.

 With all our resources and all our efforts, the tenure of youth ministers, youth workers, ministers to students, is still very short. I know many of you disagree with the Barna study that claims the average youth minister only last 18 months, but it is still painfully short no matter what the real number is.  

 Stay with the logic of this and comment. I have had many great discussions with people involved on the cutting edge of enabling youth ministers to succeed before writing this, so this is an effort to stimulate conversation and if possible a different strategy.

1. You don’t know what you don’t know. We market all these great ideas to the youth minister and get a loud silence. They have no idea what they need until it is too late. I have had many conversations with 40 plus year old heads of their denominations about their experiences as youth ministers. One man in particular was the head of youth ministers. His experience was repeated again and again. He lasted (you guessed it) 18 months and then years later looked back and thought “gosh I could have done that better”. Of course! You don’t know what you don’t know, so how do you know to get help.
2. We are all marketing to the wrong person. I did a survey that was eye opening. I asked youth ministers and pastors if they had a boss/employee or co-laborer relationship. Obviously there are exceptions to all this, but the vast majority of youth ministers don’t see themselves as employees. Most senior pastors don’t see themselves as bosses. Can you imagine taking a job in the private sector without being trained? I submit that the world of senior pastors needs to see their role as boss. When a person joins as youth minister they need to be trained, inspired, enabled, and held accountable. They need to learn time management, business management, various ministry models, and supported. They can avail themselves of incredible resources from all of us. Youth worker consultants need to market to the senior pastors. Senior pastors wake up and take charge.
3. If you are a part of a denomination, fund the youth minister training. These departments are underfunded across the board. Why? Because senior pastors don’t see their role as boss. Most don’t want to see their role as boss. Most of the denominations have awesome people struggling to train and mentor new youth ministers but are overwhelmed and underfunded.
4. Young youth ministers will respond to strong leadership. Senior pastors, if you bring on a youth minister and have a multi-year training program with measurable goals, and books to be read, and classes for them to attend, the young youth minister will love it. Everyone should have a mentor or coach or whatever you want to call it and the church should pay for it. Otherwise don’t be surprised when your unspoken expectations are not met. That is really unfair to not spell it out.
5. Now for the controversial point. What the youth ministers are attending are the big events with the big name speakers and the big name music. Take away the fun and they will stay away in droves. They need this fellowship because the business of youth ministry is emotionally hard. But that is why they come. It is youth camp for them. I submit that the training aspect of these events is not much. I will throw out that reality without conclusion.

 If this is true, what can you do differently? How can we all pull together? Are there some paradigm shifts? What do you think?