Found this draft of a blog I wrote back last summer, but I never posted. From July 2011:
I just need to get this off my mind and what better way than on my blog that very few people read. Anyways, I love youth ministry and I love to network, encourage, and help other youth pastors. Lately many of my friends in youth ministry seem to be getting beat up. By who? The leadership of their churches (i.e. Senior Pastors, Executive Pastors, Elders, Deacons, Parents, etc.).
I hate it that many of my friends in youth ministry are treated so badly by the leadership of the churches they work for. Honestly, it breaks my heart. I believe this poor treatment of youth pastors is the reason for the high turnover rate of youth pastors at most churches. This is an epidemic in churches today.
Many youth pastors are treated like second rate, junior varsity pastors. They are often overworked, underpaid, under resourced, and under appreciated. Yet they persevere, because they love letting God use them to change the lives of middle and high school kids forever.
I know several youth pastors who have quit from a church, are very close to that point, or have been let go. The sad part is that most of the time this has nothing do with their youth ministry itself. Most of them are doing a great job, they are seeing numerical and spiritual growth. However, they have quit or are close to quitting, because they are being treated poorly by the leadership of the church. Too often there are unwritten and unspoken expectations of youth pastors that they get hassled about. Many times people in leadership don't have their youth pastor's back.
I can tell you from experience, that their job is stressful enough with out that kind of crap. It's truly heart breaking how many of my friends in youth ministry have struggles with their church leadership.
If you are reading this and have a youth pastor at your church (especially if you are a parent with kids in the youth ministry) please treat them well. If you can help them please do, they need it! Support them, care for them, and pray for them, encourage your church leadership to do the same.
If you are a pastor/ elder/ church leader and happen to read this, remember that your youth pastor also needs to be pastored, mentored, loved, and cared for, just like anyone else in your church. Remember that God calls us to be faithful to Him first, our families second, and everything else (including our job/ ministry/ role on church staff) after that.
We really need to treat youth pastors better in the church, and then more of them would stick around long term which is better for them, your church, and the Kingdom! Think about it...
Thanks for reading. May God bless you as you seek to do His will!
Showing posts with label Student. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Trusting God Into Unemployment...
On December 1st 2010, my wife & I made a decision that would forever change our future. I resigned my position at Sunnyside Christian Church where I have been the Student Pastor for the past 5 years.
I was not fired, I was not asked to resign, and I did not do anything immoral. I am leaving with my integrity intact and on good terms with the leadership of the church.
The part that forever changed our future, is that we made this decision without a job for me to go to, or an idea of what I will do next.
So why would I do this?
Well, it was a decision that I have been thinking about and wrestling with for awhile. I found myself in a place where my heart & passion were not one-hundred percent in my ministry. Because of that, I did not feel it was fair to the church, my adult leaders that I work with, and especially to the students, that I continue as their Student Pastor if my whole heart was not in it.
Another big part of this was church business and politics. I just got tired of the non-sense of the corporate world sliding into this church and the changes in the way it is run/ overseen.
As you can imagine, this was a very hard decision to make, but one that my wife Sarah & I believe God was leading us to. So, I am trusting God to provide as I enter the world of the unemployed on Monday, January 3, 2011.
Sometimes for our faith to grow we have to put ourselves in an uncomfortable place. This decision will force us to trust God to provide and rely on Him to get us through it. Ultimately, we believe this decision will cause much spiritual growth in our lives. God is stirring something in my heart and in His time he will reveal what's next for me.
Sarah & I want to first and foremost be obedient to God, to do His will, and bring Him glory! I hope that you want that too. I pray that God would bless you greatly, and that you would be obedient to Him.
I was not fired, I was not asked to resign, and I did not do anything immoral. I am leaving with my integrity intact and on good terms with the leadership of the church.
The part that forever changed our future, is that we made this decision without a job for me to go to, or an idea of what I will do next.
So why would I do this?
Well, it was a decision that I have been thinking about and wrestling with for awhile. I found myself in a place where my heart & passion were not one-hundred percent in my ministry. Because of that, I did not feel it was fair to the church, my adult leaders that I work with, and especially to the students, that I continue as their Student Pastor if my whole heart was not in it.
Another big part of this was church business and politics. I just got tired of the non-sense of the corporate world sliding into this church and the changes in the way it is run/ overseen.
As you can imagine, this was a very hard decision to make, but one that my wife Sarah & I believe God was leading us to. So, I am trusting God to provide as I enter the world of the unemployed on Monday, January 3, 2011.
Sometimes for our faith to grow we have to put ourselves in an uncomfortable place. This decision will force us to trust God to provide and rely on Him to get us through it. Ultimately, we believe this decision will cause much spiritual growth in our lives. God is stirring something in my heart and in His time he will reveal what's next for me.
Sarah & I want to first and foremost be obedient to God, to do His will, and bring Him glory! I hope that you want that too. I pray that God would bless you greatly, and that you would be obedient to Him.
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