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Thomas (ihajj.net) posted a link to this blog and i REALLY liked it! The post is by Chris Folmsbee and just think he has some really solid things to say.
I shot this link to a bunch of my buddies who are in youth ministry but i left WAY to many people out. So i wanted to post the link and even some of Chris’s list here. ENJOY!
Youth Ministry: If I were to do it again…
(this is a must read if you in youth ministry. here is a little taste!
Act theologically before methodologically
• Be more of a spiritual director than a program director
• Hire a parent to be a part of our youth staff
• Spend more time investing in interns/co-pastors
• Experiment with more learner-centered education models
• Ask less of my volunteers and yet equip them more
• Communicate change to the church leaders, staff and parents more
• Create more opportunities for students to “learn up” instead of me “teaching down”
• Celebrate the successes in the lives of students with greater regularity and intensity
• Worry less about the retreat themes and spend more time with the students on the retreats.
• Take students on way more spiritual retreats
• Work hard to be more collaborative with the youth workers in my city
• Take more time off to be with my wife and kids
• Be more intentional with a confirmation process
• Find time to laugh and play more
• Be more grace-filled with students who were goofing off and causing trouble
• Try to learn more from the staff instead of thinking I have all the answers
• Take the criticism of others more seriously and less defensively
• Meet with my spiritual director more often
• Take personal retreats more often
• Be way more missional and a lot less attractional in my approach or model
• Try and get more pulpit time to advocate for the students in the church and community
• Pray more and develop a team of people to pray with
• Provide inspiring training for the parent of the students
• Call the students to greater levels of holiness
• Spend a lot more time creating opportunities for students to practice justice
• Allow the more artistic students opportunities to express themselves and their love for God.
• Teach much more conversationally
• Try to enter into the joy, pain, loss, doubt, hurt, etc. of the students and their families
June 1st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Here is the comment I left on Scot McKnight’s blog about this very post:
I was a youth minister for eight years, and have now been a priest for ten. I feel like I did a lot of things “right.” But here is what I would say:
You are a youth minister. You have a limited time with these kids. You will run afoul of some people, and eventually you will be fired or forced to quit, no matter what you do. Accept that. So be unafraid. Without fear or apology, know nothing but Christ and him crucified. Do not even attempt to entertain or compete with entertainment culture. Do not be an agent of parental morality or control. Instead, point these kids to Jesus and his Kingdom in everything you do.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Hey guys . . . thanks for the input. I am looking forward to continuing my youth ministry career in a full time position after I graduate seminary next May. These insights are invaluable.
Also, I listened to a sermon the other day from Matt Chandler on a similar subject that he was delivering to a room full of pastors. He kept stressing biblical and theological priority in pastoral leadership. I feel like this is a point that we are hearing more and more often perhaps, signaling a break from corporate, mega models of organizational and ecclesial planning. Not that biblical/theological teaching and high structure/organization cannot co-exist but that line has been blurred for too long. Nonetheless, this is not all that Chandler had to say and you can hear his sermon here http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/MediaPlayer/3571/Audio/.
Thanks a lot for sharing.