A Goodbye to Youth Ministry

I’ve been doing youth ministry (in some various form) since I was about 19. Since I’m almost 34 this means I’ve been ministering to teens for almost 15 years. When I leave First Baptist Jasper in a couple weeks my days as a youth minister will be over.

I am confident that other youth pastors have been far more successful than I. I’d say others have been more faithful as well. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve preached sermons to teens that I wish had never left my mouth. I’ve said things and done things that were just flat out foolish. Let’s just say I’m glad my justification is settled by Jesus’ finished work and not by my effectiveness as a youth pastor.

Though I’ve made mistakes I’ve also watched God do phenomenal things in the life of teenagers. I’ve always said that the success of a student ministry isn’t determined by what it looks like when the kid graduates—it’s better viewed by how he/she lives out his/her life as a disciple. I’m proud that I have quite a few former students who are now serving in local churches. I’m proud that students who I was allowed to lead to Jesus are still walking happily in the faith. I think, by the grace of God, I have done some things well.

As I’m passing the baton off to a group of guys here at Jasper I laid out for them a simple philosophy of youth ministry. Perhaps it will be beneficial to you as well:

Loving Jesus and loving students covers a multitude of dumb things

My philosophy of ministry has been pretty simple over the years. Love Jesus supremely and love others deeply. If people know that you love them—because you actually do love them—then you’ll find yourself in a better position to minister. Forget this professionalization stuff and how you are supposed to do youth ministry.

Students can get entertainment from the world. They can get lectures at school. But there are few places that they’ll be truly loved. Love will reach more students than any program you can come up with.

But such a love only comes from Jesus’ love for us—and His work in our hearts to supremely love Him. Which a love for Jesus will keep you from doing many stupid things as a youth pastor. Love him more than you love your own popularity and you’ll be doing well.

Teenagers will go to the level you set for them

Do you remember being a teenager? Let’s be honest—few of us were overachievers. But we would find a way to nudge up to the bar that people had set for us. Consider athletics. They usually set the bar pretty high—and teenagers work their tail off to meet those expectations. Then, why in the world do we expect the teens our church to only be fit for passing out lollipops for children’s ministry?

Expect teens to do ministry and to go into ministry and I almost bet you’ll get some who are passionate about it. You’ll get what you expect out of teenagers. So why not raise the bar and be shocked by their capacity to actually grasp the gospel and live it out.

Of course, we must not forget that they are teenagers and will often think like children. Which is why raising the bar doesn’t mean refusing to have a culture of grace. It just means you refuse to accept our culture’s lie that teenagers are children, and you shower them with grace as they grow into being the men and women that they are.

Expository Preaching Works

Students are just like adults. They probably only retain a fraction of what you say—even if you are the best preacher in the world. That’s true in one sense. In another sense I’m convinced they kind of retain everything you say. There is something shaping that happens in preaching. And so I’d rather preach and teach the whole counsel of God.

Here’s my point. There is a way that you can preach and teach that will make your sermons memorable. But when you stand before God on judgment day you’ll find that such preaching was just a big pile of straw because it was mostly your opinion about the Word of God instead of the Word of God itself.

So, I’d rather slowly plod through books of the Bible and be able to say “here is what God’s Word says and here is how to apply it.” And I’d rather do that and have them forget every sermon if it means that somehow they’ve retained God’s Word. That won’t burn up on judgment day.

But I’ve found that expository preaching actually works. You can engage students with solid expository preaching and you can see them grow in their handling of God’s Word. It’s not as if the only option is to bore them with expository preaching or excite them with rubble. You can excite them with expository preaching—but it’s hard work.

So much more could be said in my goodbye to youth ministry, but I believe these three things sum up my thoughts. We make it much harder than it really ought to be. But at the same time it is an impossible work that only God can do—may he see fit to use earthen vessels like myself to shine forth His glory.

14 Comments

  1. Congratulations on staying the course (What’s the average now for youth pastors? Maybe 2.5 years?), and blessings in your new calling.

    • I think it’s less than 2.5 years.

      Thanks! We are excited about what the Lord has in store for us in SW MO.

  2. Hey Mike,
    After 24 years of youth ministry, I can confirm that what you are saying is so true. There are so many gimmicks and trends, and many of them are good clean fun, but the core of youth ministry is loving God and loving kids. I like you last point about raising the bar, I have said that for years as well. We expect too little from teens these days. Youth Ministry often sells a lesser version of holiness, a lesser version of discipleship and therefore a lesser version of grace.
    As I “age out” of Youth Ministry and try to figure out the next step in life (hopefully pastoral counseling in a church somewhere), I fear that few other ministries will ever be as challenging and as satisfying as working with teens.

    • Thanks, Corey. I like your comment about the “lesser version of holiness..etc.” I’ve seen this to be the case as well. Then somehow we are shocked when they aren’t mature just because they got a sheet of paper from a high school (or even college).

  3. Thanks so much for posting this – a great source of encouragement!

  4. Hi Mike. Like some of your previous respondents I found your comments both encouraging and very helpful. The youth ministry I was involved in for 18yrs was among inner city Sydney (Australia), street gangs and associated “families”. You are right when you say “Love Jesus, love youth” and expository preaching does indeed work. But I also know I was a “stepping stone” in the lives of these youth who had no Christian or religious input other than through the “Drop-In” centre the church ran. I trust God will raise up other Christians who I pray will take them further along, towards faith in Jesus Christ.

  5. Great words of wisdom! Enjoy your transition!

  6. Amen Brother! I started working with students when I was 20 (I’m now 48 – you do the math) and have been doing exactly what you just wrote for my entire ministry life. I have seen the fruit of that labor, to the point that my current pastor was once one of my students, who I was able to disciple and pour into, in the youth ministry I shepherded 15 years ago. That “simple” philosophy works!

  7. Hey Mike, came across your post through a friend. I know your pain of leaving what you know and going to where God said GO. We recently moved our family of 8 from Florida to Alaska. God is always faithful and times have come where I wondered why I am here or what is going on – but He has remained faithful to encourage the call and spur on with a fire our heart to HIS works. Be blessed as your reach the lost for HIM and disciple others to be more like Christ.

    • As a point of clarifying – it was from a ministry I knew and trusted, people I knew and trusted, family I knew and trusted – to being a church planter.

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