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Cultivating the Youth Ministry you would rather be at

April 27, 2012 / by Ben Read

Numbers game in Youth Ministry

If you will allow it, I would like to be extremely transparent here for a minute.

I don’t like the Student Ministry I lead.

The last few days at Orange Conference put me , for the majority of my time, in close company with some of the best Youth Pastors in our Country, guys who run some of the largest and best Youth Ministries, and who lead teams of people who love teenagers so much they volunteer to do it. It’s easy for me, and (from what I have seen) it’s easy for a lot of Youth Pastors to come to a conference like Orange, or see another Youth Ministry that is killing it and think “I want that. I want to lead a Youth Ministry like that!”

Heck, before I accepted my current role in Boston, I was fully prepared to take a job not doing Youth Ministry in a place that would enable me to Volunteer at a place like that. Because from the outside looking in, its such a compelling idea, being a part of a Ministry that rocks.

I see videos like this one below and think “What I wouldn’t give to be a part of something like that!”

But here’s the deal.

I think for too long the mindset in America has been “I’ll work at proving my worth where I am, and if I do a good enough job where I am, then maybe some day I will get to go to a place like that!”

And I said earlier, I don’t like the ministry I lead. For my volunteers, and students, and parents (and Pastor) who may see this, please let me finish.

I don’t like the student ministry I lead where it currently is at. But I love the Student Ministry I have been called to and want to Cultivate the kind of Ministry that other Youth Pastors look at and say “I want that!”

So I don’t know where you are, what your ministry looks like. I can’t even say I understand your unique calling in this season.

But as I hope to be writing about a lot more over the next several months, I think that we need to switch our frame of mind as Youth Pastors from “building a name for ourselves so we can go to a better ministry” to “Lets build a Ministry ourselves that brings in other names.”

Sorry, I felt I had to end it with some corny one liner.

 

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Ben Read

18 Comments

  3. Youth Pastor would you rather + Free Youth Ministry design Resource | YouthMin.org | Youth Ministry Resources, Encouragement, and How To's - April 28, 2012 at 12:49 pm
    [...] Cultivating the Youth Ministry you would rather be at(youthmin.org) [...]
    Reply
  4. Youth Pastor would you rather + Free Youth Ministry design Resource | YouthMin.org | Youth Ministry Resources, Encouragement, and How To's - April 28, 2012 at 12:49 pm
    [...] Cultivating the Youth Ministry you would rather be at(youthmin.org) [...]
    Reply
  5. Marcus Byrd - April 28, 2012 at 6:34 pm
    Your right! It happens all the time. Our "service to God" is way too often self-serving. How many times do the performers get the the praise rather than the performance, or the speaker get the praise rather than the speech? Something is wrong when the people or in this case the youth ministry that rocks gets more glory than God.  Great post!
    Reply
  6. Marcus Byrd - April 28, 2012 at 2:34 pm
    Your right! It happens all the time. Our "service to God" is way too often self-serving. How many times do the performers get the the praise rather than the performance, or the speaker get the praise rather than the speech? Something is wrong when the people or in this case the youth ministry that rocks gets more glory than God.  Great post!
    Reply
  7. Jennifer Rowsell - April 29, 2012 at 3:01 am
    I think knowing your culture is so important too, and what the purpose of your ministry is. Every place is so different on so many levels. That video looks fun and stuff, but I am kind of over flashy youth ministries. According to the stats they clearly aren't preparing students for a life of faith after High School. For me, my ministry is successful if I can have them all in the church as 30 year olds engaged and involved.
    Reply
    • Ben Read - May 1, 2012 at 1:54 am
      Agreed. The point of ministry shouldn't be to just have a big group. But the problem Im writing to more so is this stepping stone within Youth Ministry, of trying to get to that bigger church that gives us more of a platform to launch off of. 
      Reply
  8. Jennifer Rowsell - April 28, 2012 at 11:01 pm
    I think knowing your culture is so important too, and what the purpose of your ministry is. Every place is so different on so many levels. That video looks fun and stuff, but I am kind of over flashy youth ministries. According to the stats they clearly aren't preparing students for a life of faith after High School. For me, my ministry is successful if I can have them all in the church as 30 year olds engaged and involved.
    Reply
    • Ben Read - April 30, 2012 at 9:54 pm
      Agreed. The point of ministry shouldn't be to just have a big group. But the problem Im writing to more so is this stepping stone within Youth Ministry, of trying to get to that bigger church that gives us more of a platform to launch off of. 
      Reply
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  10. 3 lessons I learned for Youth Ministry at the 2012 Orange Conference | YouthMin.org | Youth Ministry Resources, Encouragement, and How To's - April 30, 2012 at 9:10 pm
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