What 2021 Taught Me About Youth Ministry
One of the aspects of youth ministry that I love the most is the constant opportunity to keep learning. Sometimes, those “opportunities” are genuinely exciting. Sometimes they seem like a threat or challenge to overcome. Either way, you need to keep learning and adapting (while keeping your core the same) or throw in the towel and give up.
This past year has brought quite a few of those opportunities. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned that could also benefit others - some from my own youth ministry and others from my efforts getting YPT off the ground.
COVID has Changed Leadership Development
In the 16 years I’ve served as a youth pastor, I’ve always met with my youth leaders monthly for prayer, leadership-development, and to plan the ministry together. I treat my team of youth leaders as my own type of elder board for the youth ministry. In my previous church where the team was usually 6-8 leaders, this was much easier. Now that my team has double that number, and with the changes COVID has brought, it’s become nearly impossible to get the team together in-person each month without missing half our members. Finally, I’ve had to accept that meeting over Zoom for these meetings is the best option.
Regular readers of YPT may remember that I wrote Lead Them to Jesus as a handbook for my own youth leadership team, for us to read and discuss together. Throughout the book’s development we would read and discuss various chapters, and my plan was to continue doing this each month throughout the year. But honestly, we’ve only met twice for this type of meeting so far this school-year. Adults are (rightly!) thrifier with their time commitments than ever before, and it seems like the virtual-meeting is here to stay for volunteer leadership teams.
I’m still trying to discover the best way to provide leadership training opportunities for my volunteers in a way that is personal (not just watching a video on their own) and convenient (so they’ll actually do it). My leaders are incredible men and women who are deeply committed, and the least I can do is to move our training meetings virtually in order to respect their time while ensuring we prioritize regular time together to pray and discuss ministry to our students. My gut tells me there’s something to learn from remote-education platforms to leverage in this regard, where students have videos to watch and online forums to discuss the content together. There’s still a lot of learning left to do!
Teenagers’ Mental Health is Not Okay
This isn’t news to anyone, but perhaps some readers may think reports are blown out of proportion. They aren’t. Students who experience suicidal ideation are waiting in hospital emergency rooms for weeks before they’re able to get placed in a facility to help them. And then, once they’re admitted to an inpatient facility they’re discharged before they’re truly ready because the waiting list has become so long. Hospital and mental health workers are doing their best to keep up with demand, but the system simply isn’t functioning. And finding a counselor for non-hospitalization cases is nearly impossible - especially if you’re hoping to find a Christian counselor.
Students are struggling. Depression and anxiety are through the roof. Loneliness is on the rise. In some cases, students are actually choosing to be more isolated because social interactions are hard. School counselors and medical professionals have confirmed with me personally that the cases of physical and sexual abuse significantly increased during the past two years, and much of that is just starting to come to light (hence, the overwhelmed mental health system mentioned above).
These are the students we are pastoring. On a site like this, it would be easy to write eloquently about theology for teenagers without sincerely grappling with the reality that our students face every day. What difference does the gospel make for students who feel a dark cloud of hopelessness and loneliness every day? Why should a student who is borderline-suicidal care about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit? This site is not driven by a desire to write about theology, but with pastoral compassion for students who need Jesus - and that he is both holier and more gracious than they ever realized.
The Are More Youth Pastor Theologians than I Realized
I’ve described myself as a “youth pastor theologian” for years and felt alone for a long time. I always hoped there were more of us out there than I knew, but I honestly didn’t know how this site would be received when I launched it in May. A few advisors cautioned me to keep my expectations low. The need for theological reflection in youth ministry is undeniable - but they doubted whether or not youth workers were actually willing to engage in that discussion. Perhaps, they mused, there’s nothing like this for youth workers for a reason…
For sure, youth pastor theologians will always remain a minority-group within the broader youth ministry world - but take comfort in this: you are not alone. YPT remains fairly small, but our readership is steady, and the feedback I receive tells me we’re onto something valuable. I hear from veteran youth workers who always say, “I wish there was something like this when I started.” And I hear from new youth pastors who are reading the blog and are thankful for the other writers who are contributing to the conversation.
If you fall into either of these categories, would you please consider subscribing to the blog, sharing articles on social media that you like (I’ve also learned this is incredibly rare), and join our Facebook Group. I hope the FB group can become a place for us to share ideas, feedback, and offer counsel to one another.
On Global Youth Ministry
One of the more surprising observations I’ve made this year has to do with the state of youth ministry outside of the United States. I’ve had the opportunity to hear from faithful youth workers in England, Ireland, Australia, Cuba, Mexico, and Uganda. These dear brothers and sisters in the faith have continually pointed to the need for more theological resources for youth workers and for teenagers themselves. If you would, please pray for YPT as I continue to prayerfully seek avenues to fundraise in order to expand what we’re able to offer to the youth ministry community.
Outside of the USA, building your ministry to students around fun and games isn’t an option. Either the resources are literally unavailable, or the teenagers are so post-Christian they won’t be impressed enough to care. Instead, these youth workers need to train their students to read and understand the Bible, and to help them consider the truth and power of the gospel in relation to the real-world problems and alternative worldviews they face every day. Meanwhile, many social media groups for youth workers are focused on discussing the best powerpoint games and youth room decorations to keep kids engaged, while important theological conversations turn into arguments that get deleted from administrators.
I can’t help wondering if youth workers in the USA need to give more attention to authors and pastors from the outside - just consider this article from Yoan Pérez de Ordaz about youth ministry in Cuba. One of my goals for YPT is to become such a place - where biblical and theological reflection about youth ministry is shared and discussed by youth workers from around the world.
As 2021 comes to a close, I’m thankful for the students in my ministry, for their parents and my youth leadership team… and for this Youth Pastor Theologian community. I’m encouraged by the engagement and interest we’ve received. My goal for YPT is that it will become a community that lives between the youth room and the academy, to help one another build our ministries on a biblical foundation while translating sound doctrine for the next generation.
