Part 8: It's not about you

Ok people can we finally admit that the days of the superhero celebrity youth pastor are finally over.  The way ministry was done in the 70's-90's was great and it worked because those were the times that large rally's and "big" celebrity driven youth events were all the rage.  But, those things don't happen anymore and if they do it's usually a specific denominational or event that has withstood the test of time.

Here's the best way I can explain how culturally this shift has happened.  It used to be when I was growing up that when a particular band came out with an album that everyone I knew would go buy it and that's all we would listen to for weeks.  That was back when our only access to music was via radio or stuff we bought.  So big bands became hugely popular and sold a ton of records.  Now days the music industry has been in decline for a long time.  Music is easy to find online, everyone has many different preferences and it seems to be the smaller bands that have specific genres and targeted audiences are doing the bet. 

I connect these two things together simple by saying that as musical genres have exploded and students listen to a ton of different music they are increasingly pulled into smaller and smaller groups.  The superstar youth pastor just can't connect with all the varied tastes and needs of all the students anymore.

So this post is simply about volunteers.  It's been proven time and time again that successful youth ministries are ministries full of volunteers.  I want to go on record and also say that creating a youth ministry that has many volunteers loving and leading students is tough.  It's not an easy task to find volunteers, it's not easy to train them and it's tough to let them do the things that you as the youth pastor used to do all the time.  But, if you want a successful ministry that's not about you you have to move in that direction.

Part 1: Parents are your best friends or worst enemies.
Part 2: You won't like every kid and every kid won't like you.
Part 3: Perceived vs. Real Needs.
Part 4: Learn to say you are sorry.
Part 5: Better Safe than Sued
Part 6: Find friends outside of youth ministry.

Part 7: Stick to it
Part 8: It's not about you
Part 9: What you feed grows. What you starve Dies.
Part 10: Have a life outside of ministry.  Marriage/family/relationships.
Part 11: Fall in Love with God again.

Comments

[Don]

the funny, or not so funny at all, part of this, is that it's completely true across the board at a church. If you don't diversify leadership, you'll never get beyond the original circle of influence, and never match your potential. Bill Hybels gave a great illustration in Courageous Leadership about him creating his preaching team back a dozen or so years ago. Everyone thought it was crazy, it wasn't.

I actually think this is something the greater church could learn from YM. Youth pastors are hammered over the head with this all the time - volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. But Pastors forget this, or treat volunteers like they're only good for stuffing bulletins & picking up trash. Volunteer LEADERS are what we all need to diversify & intensify our gifts.

[jeremy z]

You are right that those days are over.

However I think there is about 10% of those superhero type of Youth Pastor who are still running youth ministry programs like they are still stuck in the 1990s and they feel driven to always be on the mic.

I think your youth ministry is defined by what type of leaders are involved. Who cares about the youth pastor. It is not about the one person show, we all know where that leads....BURN OUT.

[Edwin]

Thanks for explained this blog. I really enjoyed reading your article!