The State of Youth Ministry

This may not be a popular blog post, just warning you. But unlike each President who addresses the condition of the USA or most Pastors who do the same for their churches in early January, my opinion won't be done while wearing rose-colored glasses.

I've been involved in youth ministry in some capacity for about 25 years as a youth, a volunteer, a paid staff, a teacher, coach and counselor. This has been experienced in urban and rural settings and in two different countries. So I'd like to think my credibility is solid. So with that I begin my State of Youth Ministry address.

Yesterday I spoke of dinosaurs which is an apt liaison to today's discussion on youth ministry (YM). YM has become old-school, like Tone Loc, Bell bottoms, mullets and CD's. It was invented in the 20th century largely because the church didn't know how to handle the fast changing youth culture. I'm not sure it was ever figured out. Churches threw money at the problem by hiring Youth Ministers to "work with" the teens, and then 25 years later introduced degree programs for them to be trained. The problem was Youth Minister's were always low-paid, fresh out of high school or college kids who had never held a real job before, unless you counted working full time in the summer as a camp counselor, fast food worker or lawn-mower. So we expected these young adults to help us raise our kids because they were "more connected" to the teen culture. Kind of similar to a teen age mother raising a child if you ask me.

So not surprisingly, YM became about the big event. Pizza, games, laser tag and socializing. Oh yeah and mix in a devotional for good measure. Kids need to know faith is active, alive and that there are cool young adults that believe in the Bible and its principals, don't get me wrong. But the problem becomes if this is ALL we offer the teens. The secondary problem is WHO is offering to lead the studies, a 22 year old. Time for honesty here, much of the events were planned how they were planned because a mid 20 year old was planning them for teenagers with little to no guidance from his or her boss the Pastor in the next office. That Pastor was probably busy with more important issues right? After all that's why they hired the Youth Leader, to lead the youth. So what happens when the young person gets burned out from lack of results or depth or they get married or get a better paying job offer? They roll, just like any of us would. In comes the next person and the cycle starts again. This is the process at 75% of churches with a paid youth leader. The problem? It takes about 5 years to really and truly get a youth program where it needs to be in terms of buy in and trust from parents and students. The average lifespan of a youth minister is about 2 years, some surveys have it as low as 18 months. There is one solution...

That solution is that dinosaur, the veteran youth minister. The person who doesn't see YM as a stepping stone or something fun to do while they are young. Someone who is committed to stay for at least 5 years. Those are a dying breed. They are dying for two reasons. First, relevance. Not the type you are thinking about, I mean they aren't relevant in the lives of the youth and families they minister too. If given the choice of going to group or doing something else, youth will choose something else most of the time...and nowadays parents let the youth choose. That is the big difference, parents allow their teens to choose whether they go to church or YM or not. The only thing that has changed in the teenage mind over the years in this equation is the fact that they get to answer the question. Second, money. Experienced youth ministers deserve full time pay at a competitive level, which usually means goodbye in most churches. Churches give lip service to the value of YM until it means giving more to support a youth minister who is experienced.Instead they encourage that youth minister to "become a real Pastor now, you'd be a great one".

I told you that you wouldn't like this, but at least you made it this far. But maybe not much further. Hang in at least for another paragraph.... Youth ministry will soon be extinct. Have you noticed that mainline Protestant churches are shrinking numerically? Why is that? Partly because of the reason's outlined above, we have failed to reach a generation of people, most of whom grew up their entire life with the ability to have a Youth and sometimes even a Children's minister, but yet we have lost most of them. It isn't the youth or children's minister's fault. The system is broken. I've met a lot of teens and young adults in recent years and what is remarkable in chatting with them is, you can't tell which ones go to church and which ones do not. That is an epic fail by the Church. Also not much of a statement on parents, although they need help. So I propose something new, well its very old school, like stone tablets and square wheels old...say good bye to youth ministry.

I know what you are saying, "Paul you said you gave 25 years to YM, now your saying scrap it?" Yes, yes I am. Better to scrap it than to keep pretending it isn't broken. Like when the "Service Engine" light comes on and the first few times you say, "I'll just keep driving and it will go off". Then one day you break down on the interstate at rush hour and you say "I didn't see that coming, if only I had a warning I would have done something". We've had a generation of warnings, its time to act. Or not only will YM be extinct, so will the church. Youth Ministers are great people, I have dozens of lifelong friends who have been in youth ministry, many of whom are now "out of the ministry" but still great people who have plenty to offer the youth of America. Here is what I propose; a community approach to youth ministry. I told you it was old school. WHAT IF we went back to helping each other raise all of kids in our churches instead of just worrying about ours and letting an ill-equipped 20 something be in charge of our child's spiritual development? The phrase used to be "it takes a village", but apparently that has changed. At the risk of sounding like the village idiot (hope it is not too late!) here is a peak at what I mean.

No more separation of ages. We have age graded Sunday School, age graded programs, age graded sermons etc etc. what happened to religious education? Education is growing someone in the areas you are trying to teach. So dumbing down lessons so "the kids can understand" is the approach? Here is my approach, dumb it down so the adults can apply it, and then teach it to the children. No I'm not espousing watering down the gospel. But I am saying that far too often people in the pulpit are more concerned with how great an orator they are rather then how many people understood and will apply what they felt called of God to say and discuss. I have led many children's sermons but gotten plenty of comments from grown ups of all ages that said "I got something out of that kids sermon today, wink wink". I just don't believe that kids can't handle a more intellectual approach and that adults don't need it a little more simple at times. Let's meet in the middle. Also, can we eliminate youth mission trips and adult mission trips? How about family mission trips? We love going to Disneyland together but we can't serve at a food bank together or travel to a foreign or domestic location for the sole purpose of helping someone less fortunate? What better opportunity to teach our children then when we get out of our comfort zone and let God show up.
Now I'm not saying eliminate youth camp or fun events, those are important for the social component of our faith, but let's call them what they are, youth camp and fellowship events. Grab some parents and young adults and take the teens on a youth trip so that once a year the teens get something different, just for them.
Kids and teens also need fun events, but let's not pretend like they are supplying some great spiritual quotient at the next laser tag and pizza event!
 It takes a village to raise spiritual champions, the current system is broken, its time to overhaul and rethink what we are doing.

Basketball and Dinosaurs

At 38 I feel like an aging athlete. Which, if you know me and have seen me lately that should be a very funny statement. But at age 38 I find myself wearing a similar set of Nike's, they just don't have my name on the side of them. You see I am a dinosaur, prone for extinction like the other veteren Youth Ministers out there, watching as the younger kids rain down the jumpers of fun, party atmosphere, high energy pizza and parties style of youth ministry down on my head as I watch their numbers sail high. Kudos to them, I've been there. But the sad thing is, I wished I had not. Like any wily vet, if I knew what I know now, I would have been so much better then.
But the real reason that experienced youth ministers in their thirties are leaving the ministry in droves, which they are by the way, has more to do with what's broken in the Church these days. It's not a new problem, it also is the biggest reason Pastors get run off; numbers. Unfortunately churches get to caught up with the "noses in the seats" mentality and not in the SUBSTANCE of the noses in the seats. We all like quantity, sometimes over quality. Experienced youth ministers know that what makes your ministry successful is what you see in ten years. TEN YEARS!!! Are you kidding? (Sorry that young 22 year old Youth Minister must have over heard,) Yes son, ten years. What will that 12 year old hyperactive, poorly groomed video-game fanatic kid look like ten years after he leaves your program? Think about that. Let's even move the timetable back to five years. When he is 23 what will he be doing? Will he be in church? Will he be serving? Will he be a leader for the Truth? By 28 he will have a career and most likely a wife and a kid or two, how will he lead that family? Will he be a testimony of Christ at his workplace whether it is teaching in a classroom, finding the cure for cancer or pulling trash at the mall, will he be working "as unto the Lord". That is what youth ministry is about. Sadly, the church doesn't usually count how many counseling sessions you have with your students to try and get them through life struggles. They look at how many events, how many kids and how many new tithing families you brought into the fold. Just to be clear I'm not bitter, I'm sad.
Like most of my professional friends I've taken my trade to the "secular" world. I don't see ministry as having to be done inside the walls of a church. My "former" youth minister friends, of which the list is long, have mostly all done the same thing. The church has worn them down. They have retired to become baristas, marketers, teachers, non-profit workers and more, it is a sad day when we are happier doing ministry outside of the church then inside. It appears a career in youth ministry is much like that of an athlete. By 40 you should have something new lined up. But like the best athletes who don't get depressed when they are replaced by that number one draft pick, experienced youth minsters must realize that ministry is lifelong, whether the church recognizes it or not.

Tomorrow I will blog on the State of Youth Ministry, please check back in 24 hours.