When Should You Higher a Youth Worker?

So your church is thinking about hiring a youth worker? Except you’re wondering when the best time would be to do this.

Here are some helpful hiring tips that just might make this job search go a little easier.

1)“Sustainable Youth Ministry” by Mark DeVries recommends 1 full time staff person for every 50 youth who are active somewhere in the life of the church. 25 youth means a 20-hr person and so 12-13 youth would mean hiring someone for about 10 hours a week.

2)What to pay? Go to the January 2012 issue of Group Magazine and check out their latest salary survey. They provide loads of stats and variables to consider.

3)Where to post your church’s position? Simply Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry Architects and Youth Specialties have the best job boards. Of course, your denominational office is good. Colleges and seminaries are a must. Plus? There’s always Craig’s List.

4)Pick 3 non-negotiables and 1-2 “these would be great IF” qualities in a staff hire. Head towards that.

5)Don’t set the hire up for failure by holding off everything till “the new person gets here.” The youth ministry belongs to the church and so does the Youth Minister's vision and values. The person you hire should be able to match up with similar skills and purpose.

I hope that is helpful and Good luck!

How to Lose Support of Parents

If you don’t get anything else out of this post, get this: 

Young People’s Ministry is about caring for

 the students AND their parents.

In Young People’s Ministry we have been entrusted for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of not only the student but their family and parents as well. We don’t always get it right. Below are 3 common places where Young People’s Ministry staff and volunteers miss the mark when it comes to the ministering of parents.

We Don’t Let Them Know What Is Happening in the Ministry-Young People’s Ministry can be one of the best-kept secrets in the church! How cool would it be if parents knew the lessons ahead of time and could have the opportunity to discuss it before they left for group? Or at least have some tools on the back burner to help them discuss at home what they learned at church. Too often we move from lesson to lesson and program to program without even the most basic communication to parents.

We Don’t Return Phone Calls-It doesn’t matter what type of communication you prefer. For many parents-hearing a voice over the phone is far and away the best message. When you don’t return a phone call it subtracts equity from your ministry. It doesn’t take long before you are overdrawn. If you aren’t a phone person… Who cares? You need to become one because a phone call is the love language of most parents these days.

We Keep the Spiritual Growth of Their Child a Mystery-As we care for their children, we need to keep parents in the loop of what is going on with their child emotionally and spiritually. A lot of youth and young adult workers want to gain the trust of the students they work with and so they make promises that they want discuss issues with parents. While I can understand the want to be “liked“ by the students, your first responsibility is for the care of your students. You only see your students for a fraction of the time… The parents spend far more time with them. Keeping them in the loop of how and what is going on with their child will en-dear you to them and will let them know that you truly care about their child.

There are many other ways to alienate parents. What are some of the ways you might add?

Leaders Are Learners

There is a famous quote that I really like:

“Leaders are learners-when you stop learning you stop leading.”

It’s a great quote, but it begs the question what makes someone a good learner? Here are a few possibilities to consider.

Someone Who Asks Thoughtful Questions - Someone who is curious and asks lots of good questions is hungry to learn. They are processing the information that has been provided, and now they are seeking clarification for an even deeper understanding. They know they need to learn and use the answers to those questions to propel themselves forward. If you want to show someone you’re listening, learning and leading, ask great questions.

Humility is Key - It isn’t easy, but a truly teachable person allows others to speak into their life through exhortation, encouragement, correction and coaching. Even when they aren’t asking for this. To be open to correction you didn’t know you needed. To be coached in areas you thought you had already mastered. To be pushed in directions you didn’t think you want (or need) to go. To learn from people who don’t know as much as you do.

Chances are the older, more experienced, more educated and more “successful” you are, the less teachable you are, too. While this is natural, it doesn’t make sense. In the fast-paced, ever-changing world of ministry, leaders simply can’t afford to quit learning.

Dealing with Disappointed Parents

One of the more common challenges in ministry is dealing with disappointed parents. You don’t have to be in Young People’s Ministry very long to have this experience. If you haven’t had this joyful experience…Is you will. And in some ways, it is exciting and encouraging when parents engage in their teenagers spiritual lives, even when that means they have taken an issue with your ministry.

Don’t sweep it under the rug or ignore it! Here are a few helpful steps to deal with parents quickly and  in a (hopefully) healthy manner.

Take a Deep Breath-This isn’t the first time that a youth or young adult worker has had to deal with conflict or disappointment. All of the greats in God’s kingdom have had to deal with disappointment -  you, too! God will use you and grow you through this experience.

Pray-Once you regain your breath, start here. Ask God to free you of anxiety, arrogance, or defensiveness. Ask God for the right heart, and commit to responding wisely and slowly.

Seek Counsel-If you’re unsure how to handle the situation, ask for help! Too often youth and young adult workers rushed this conversation or dismiss a serious issue in their attempt to get it over with. Take time to process the issue so you have some responses ready and some possible resolutions in hand.

Just Do It-You need to do this face-to-face. Own what part of it you need to. Learn from all of it. Have the conversation, set the appointment. Find a neutral place, and try to have a non-defensive posture. Make sure 100% of the issue is raised and addressed-the worst thing is holding back 10% on either side and having to do this all over again in 2 weeks after it blows up behind the scenes again.

Master the Art of “FEEL, FELT, FOUND.”-While it won’t work every time, this simple strategy is often quite effective.

“Mr. Smith, I can understand why you FEEL this way…”

“In fact, Mr. Smith, other parents have FELT the same way…”

“Here’s what we’ve (the other ministry leaders in the church including yourself) FOUND…”

Follow Up-When the meeting is over it isn’t necessarily over. Take the time afterward to process and then fix or address the problem. Do what you promised the parent. And follow-up. The worst thing you can do is not following up and might be more damaging than the original disappointment.

Key Elements to Youth Ministry

Key Elements to Reaching Young People from Warren Bevacqua