The Long Game
By: Kenny Martin
I almost laughed when I was asked to write about longevity in youth ministry. I didn’t feel like I was qualified to write on such a subject. However, after almost 30 years in youth ministry and 25 at my current church, I believe I am qualified. I can speak from my experiences and hopefully give insight on how I have been able to continue working in one of, if not the most difficult ministry in a church.
When God called me into youth ministry it was just that, a calling from God. With no real desire to work with students, I knew it was from God. I approached youth ministry as I did every other job I have ever taken. Whether I was cutting collards in the winter, hauling watermelons in the summer, landscaping, or cutting grass I worked as though it was my career; like each job might be my last. Never looking to advance, but to achieve the most I could. I understood if I did my job, I would be taken care of. I walked into ministry with the same mentality. I was called to be a youth minister.
Embrace the fact you are a youth pastor. When God called you, it wasn’t a mistake or a place to work until you move on to bigger and better things. If I had a dollar for every time I was told “when you become a real pastor” I would probably have the big log cabin in the middle of nowhere I have dreamed of for so long. It used to upset me to hear those type of statements and finally I either learned to ignore it, or I have grown enough to realize youth ministry is as real as it gets. God might call you to move to a different position, but I will say that youth ministry is not just a stepping stone in ministry. It is a place where you can influence and guide teenagers and in doing that you are helping make sure their future has a foundation built on faith.
Be their pastor, not just the person who leads youth. This is not to take anything away from the role of the Senior Pastor of your church, but to your students, you are the one they turn to, the one they see, the one investing personally in them… you are their youth pastor. Being their pastor doesn’t mean being their friend. Yes, you want to be accepted, you want to be liked or even loved, but at the end of the day, you are called to lead them. As their leader you must set a high standard and call them out when they aren’t meeting the standard. This isn’t always the most fun part of ministry, but it is critical. In a society that hands out participation awards and encourages mediocrity, you need to hold your students to a higher level. This is not so we can boast about who your students are, but so we are confident on who God is in them.
Consistency is crucial. As a youth pastor you will find that many times you are the dumping station for jobs that need to get done or jobs that no one else wants to do. You work with students so obviously you know everything about technology, you need to make sure you’re at 30 different games each week, add in a couple pageants and the occasional band concert, oh and be sure to visit them at their job. In doing that you can find yourself so busy ministering that you run out of time for your ministry. God called you to be a voice of encouragement, but most of all He called you to reach these students with Christ. Consistency in teaching time is a must. Plan, plan, plan, study, study, study, and Give them God on a consistent basis.
Surround yourself with greatness. As listed above your job description will never cover everything you are asked to do, so you must have help. This is a lesson I learned the hard way. I would find myself running as fast as I could to try and do everything myself. From weekly Bible studies, weekly Sunday school, or discipleship (insert your term for teaching times), sometimes planning events and meals, preparing the meals, and the setup and cleanup of these events, or even executing conferences and mission trips… it got to be too much for one person to handle. I look for people with a desire to work with students. It’s not for everyone, but there are some that love to invest in them. In my church we have close to 50 schoolteachers, boom, I have it made. However, it’s not their passion to work with my students. They do that daily and it’s time for them to get fed and not do all the feeding. But, there are those who want to teach, invest and live their lives with students. Seek out those people.
Make sure you have people you can talk to. As a minister, you have very few people you can truly talk to about how the ministry and your life are going. Your job as youth pastor is perhaps the most devastatingly rewarding job ever imagined. It’s rewarding when you see your students come to Christ when you see them spiritually grow when they graduate and continue to grow and take on leadership roles in their church. It is devastating because, with teenagers, their attention changes like the wind. Today they love you and tomorrow they stop talking to you. One day they stop by just to say hi, and the next day they leave and never say why. I have never been concerned with the number of students I have showing up, I tend to look at the ones that don’t. You need to have someone or a group of people you can trust and talk to about ministry and life. I have a group of ministers I meet with on a weekly basis. We spend a great deal of time talking about the struggles we are going through at our churches and with life. Talking doesn’t always fix the issues, but there is a certain amount of peace you get when you get it off your chest. You need someone to “talk you off the ledge”, but also someone to hold you accountable. As a youth pastor you will always have people question what you’re doing, but when you have loving accountability, it can help remind you of what you are doing and what you have been called to do.
Be sure to find time for yourself. “Busy” is a massive understatement when it comes to ministry, you must find a way and time to unplug and rest. Your church loves you, but they have no idea what your ministry takes out of you. You can find yourself so busy simply doing until you are done. You must take time to allow yourself to rest, your spirit to be renewed, and your mind to reset. After I got married, I was determined to make sure I kept a balance of “work and family”. I have failed many times and still find myself trying to juggle the roles of husband, father, and youth minister. You must keep order in your life. God must be in front, then your wife, child, and lastly, your job. In ministry, you must have order as well. God must be first, next your ministry to your family, and then your ministry at church. It is easy to get the order mixed up, so be intentional in keeping the things in their place.
Never forget the “why” of what you do. Ministry has seasons. There are times that everyone celebrates you and what you are doing. Your services will overflow, and you will be the person everyone wants to be around. There are other times when you could not even pay people to get involved with what you are doing. Everywhere you turn there are roadblocks and discouragement, but keep in mind why you are doing what you do. It is easy to equate numbers with success, but what about when the numbers fall? It’s easy to build a big youth group, but difficult to build a youth ministry. Why do you do what you do? You do it because God has chosen you to reach teenagers with the message of Hope that is found in Jesus Christ. When celebrating with the student that just signed a D-1 scholarship, when you are slapping high fives with the student that just got their driver’s license, when you are getting a neck hug from a parent who has seen their child make a turn around in their life, when you are holding the hand of a kid who just had their heart broken, when you are sitting with the child whose family is going through divorce, or when you are crying with a kid who has been diagnosed with a horrible disease… remember why. It’s all because of Jesus.
1 John 1:5 says, “This is the message that we have heard from God and declare to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all”. In all you do… Go Shine!
Kenny serves as the Minister to Students at West End Baptist Church in Thorsby, AL, joining the West End family in 1997. He has a passion for leading students and families to a deeper living relationship with God. As the leader of Crossroads StudentMinistries, he also works with the media of West End Baptist in graphics, video production and web design. He serves as chaplain to the Chilton County High School football team, and shares devotions with all the athletes weekly at CCHS. Kenny is married to Jessica and they have one son named Barrett. 1 John 1:5 is Kenny’s life verse and also the central verse of Crossroads StudentMinistries.