© 2009, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.

What are the qualifications of a youth pastor?

Qualifications of a REYouthPastor: courageous, rigorous discipline, unwavering devotion to Jesus, psychologically strong, brains, and expertise in all that they do.

NIV Deuteronomy 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.

I will attempt to argue what it means to be a qualified youth pastor.

Entering the youth pastorate is not easy.  It sucks getting paid nickels and quarters, meeting the demands of parents, elders, and students.

Youth pastors aren’t lazy.  Youth ministry is not only fun and games.  Being a youth pastor is not a “cute” job.  Youth pastors are not only “THE YOUTH PASTOR.”

One of my mentors once told me if the youth pastor has the ability to set up, maintain, and sustain a kick butt youth ministry, he/she will be able to anything they set their mind to.

Youth pastors need to be OXs!   We have to realize everything hangs on the youth pastors leadership.

Traits of a OX like Youth Pastor:

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Character

Character is everything.  Character includes such things as self-discipline, modesty, teamwork, integrity, purity, virtuous, hard work ethic, loyal, honest, , fearless, tenacious, and determined.  Character and responsibility are everything.  The youth pastor must be transforming, not conforming.  Every OX leader must grow in Christ like character (Matt 25.14-30, Luke 8.4-15, 2 Cor 5.17-21, Ephesians 4.17-5.2, Genesis 2.7, Isaiah 64.8, and 2 Cor 4.7-11)

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Teacher

It is essential the youth pastor teaches with power, authority, and with excellency.  Teach from the Bible and connect points with clear application steps.  Great books for youth ministry teaching:  Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry by Barry Shafer, Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages by Doug Fields and Duffy Robbin, and Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones.

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Rebuker

Confronting problems and conflict is a huge part of youth ministry.  If not prepared on how to handle conflict, problems will destroy you.   Youth pastors need to know how to discipline.  If they don’t know how to discipline, their students will run all of them!  I guarantee it.  Youth pastors need to know how to spot out a wolf and rebuke a wolf.  You will not know if your are a Shepard until a wolf shows up.  It is difficult rebuking your students, but they need it and your youth ministry needs it.  Youth ministry is one big-difficult conversation.

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Great Family/Relational Person

Great daddy/husband/wife/mother:  The youth pastor must have his/her family life in order.  If you cannot effectively manage the family, there is no way you will be able to manage a youth ministry.

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NT Office–Shepard, King, Priest

Detect if you are a Prophet, Priest, and King.

A prophet is a youth pastor who has high vision, passion, discipline for the things to come. A prophet is not scared to rebuke people of their sins and doctrine.  I would consider some of the reforming guys prophets.

A Priest is the ultimate Shepard.  A Priest uses the “love” card a lot and really cares, nurtures, and has a big heart for their students.  I would consider some of the emerging guys Priests.

A King is the youth pastor who dominates everything.  The King is highly skilled in management, organizational structure, and is a great communicator.  I would consider some of the mega youth pastor’s Kings.

It is important you know what type of New Testament office you hold.  Whatever office you are, will determine what type of youth ministry you will build.

The youth pastors has to realize leadership is everything!

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Education

Knowing how to study the scriptures and study secular culture is imperative in order to be successful in youth ministry. The youth ministry world needs more youth pastors that are street smart.  Notice I didn’t say church smart, but street smart.  The future youth pastor will need to know how to integrate culture, theology, and youth ministry.  It will be huge if youth pastors are seminary trained and have a great public school education.  Churches will need youth pastor to be very comfortable explaining why the other faiths are wrong and be able to clearly articulate a logical response without looking like a Christian idiot.

“….every youth pastor should never stop training and never stop learning.”

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© 2009, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.

NIV 2 Timothy 2:3: Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

The ministry veteran Paul is writing to the young buck, Timothy.  Paul is blunt with Timothy that no matter what ministry setting and/or position, there will be hardship and difficulties.  Paul reminds Timothy that he must be wise, strong, and embrace perseverance in order to make it.

It is my goal to be a youth ministry lifer.  I have been doing youth ministry for seven years and I hope I have many more successful years of youth ministry.

Why Many Youth Pastors Cannot Make It For The Long Haul:

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01.  Money

Youth ministry does not pay a lot of money.  How does a youth pastor provide for his/her family when he/she gets paid bread crumbs?  Generally many youth pastors have to “move on” once they start having a family and want to actually buy a house.  I think a few youth pastor will actually admit that they have to move on or up so they were able to actually pay the bills.  It is very difficult for a small church youth pastor to have financial freedom for 20+ years.

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02.  Freshness

To be a youth pastor, you need some type of edge, energy, endurance, and passion in order to make it through the overnighters and jr high madness.  But at some point every youth pastor must ask:  Am I too old to be doing youth ministry?  Have I over stayed my current position?  Do students put up with me?  Or do student genuinely want to be around me?  Every youth pastor must accept the reality that they don’t have what it takes to be a youth pastor any more.  I think only a select few youth pastors can still do youth ministry in their 40s.  I think youth pastor lifers are rare breeds.  Bottom line: if a youth pastor still loves kids, loves God, and the kids love him/her, then they should be good.

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03.  Burnt Out & Jaded

I got a list of these “retired” youth pastors who are mad and angry at the church.  These youth pastors should be only mad at themselves.  Not taking your day off and running around doing “ministry” will literally destroy you, your soul, and your youth ministry.  Church are not necessary concern about their youth pastor’s soul.  Unfortunately youth pastors only become church causalities.

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A Few Ways To Make It For The Long Haul:

> Be proactive<

>Be present with your family<

>Use all your vacation time<

>Take monthly spiritual retreats<

>Read…read a lot<

>Learn to effectively communicate frustrations to senior church leadership<

>Get a pastoral support group<

>Get a therapist<

>Learn to say No to everyone, except for your family<

>Pray to God always asking HIM for discernment for your youth ministry career<

>Don’t let age and hair style determine what type of youth pastor you are<

>Don’t be shy to ask for a raise<

>>Remember do not attach your youth ministry call to a specific church.  It is more about your youth ministry call, than what church you are doing youth ministry in<<

The end is your youth ministry call.  The mean is what church you are doing youth ministry in.  Never let the mean outweigh the end.  Amen?

© 2009, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.

I get this question a lot:  Jeremy how do I become a youth pastor?  Obviously becoming a youth pastor is an unique calling that entails a difficult and different process on how to land a youth pastor job.  In this post, I assume that one’s contemplation in becoming a youth pastor is constantly bathed in prayer.

1.  Start serving in your local youth ministry.

If you have an itch to enter the youth ministry field start volunteering your time and services in a local youth ministry.  Volunteer to clean the bathrooms after youth group, set up before  youth group, and do the odd jobs no one wants to do.  It is essential you serve behind the scenes before you get the microphone.  Make sure to pay close attention to the youth pastor.  Watch his/her every move and ask a lot of questions as you are scrubbing the toilet.

2.  Enter into a small leadership role.

After you have served in the youth ministry for a bit, start leading a small group.  It is imperative you begin to hone your leadership skills and abilities.  Identify what you are good at and what you suck at.  Meet regularly with the current youth pastor.  Be his/her wing man, trying to glean from his/her expertise and method.

3.  Go to a secular public university.

I highly suggest the youth pastor candidate receive their degree from a public university.  It drives me nuts when I run into youth pastors who were home schooled and went to a private Christian college to major in Bible and Youth Ministry.  I strongly argue that youth pastors will need to be well versed in the world’s culture to lead the next generation of teenagers.  It is not helpful if the youth pastor has spent all his/her time in a safe and comfortable Christian bubble attending “Christian Only Colleges”.  The biggest assets to becoming a great youth pastor is getting diverse youth ministry experience in different geographical locations and having a strong ability ministering to kids you are not comfortable ministering to.  Another disadvantage about attending a Christian college and majoring in Christian ministries will have no relevance outside of the church/Christian organizations.  There is a great value in hearing lectures from hard core atheist who hate the Bible.  In the public university, there is a social-psychology that future youth pastors need to be exposed to.  It is one thing to be cool at a Christian college, but it is another thing to be cool in a public university.  I have seen countless times a Christian ministries major get burned by the Church and they are stuff with a Bible degree in the real secular world.  I encourage a lot of my students to attend a public university and major in that can be easily used in the real world, namely Business, psychology, biology, engineering, journalism, and philosophy.  Maybe one day the youth pastor might not be paid by the church and may need a tent making skill.

4.  Intern

Find an internship preferably in a geographic location you are unfamiliar with.  Being a youth intern will give you the exposure and experience in order to land your first youth pastor job.  Remember experience is everything.  Do everything, even if you suck at it.  In your internship face your fears.  Make sure to leave a lot of room to contemplate, reflect, and to pray about your internship experience.  Ask these questions:

*  What type of church do I want to youth pastor?  Consider denomination, size, personality, theology, values.

*  What is the hardest thing for me to do in youth ministry?

*  What type of students do I attract?

*  What theological questions do I still have about being a follower of Christ?

*  Do Church politics bug me?  Do I tend to get heavily involved in them?  Or do I hate them?

*  Am I administratively strong?

*  Do I feel comfortable preparing a youth talk?

5.  Study, Read, Learn, and Retreat

Before entering your first youth ministry job, it would be wise to start constructing your theological values.  Where do you land theologically?  What camps do you find yourself resonating with more?  It may be helpful to start looking at seminaries and attending part time.  Simply get a great theological foundation under you before you fully enter the youth ministry trenches.  Remember our theology always shapes our methodology.

6.  Get Amped and Apply!

Interested in looking for youth ministry jobs click here.  Make sure to write a great resume and cover letter.  Also, ask 2 or 3 people to write you a great recommendation.  Start gathering past youth talks, youth studies you developed, and write your youth ministry philosophy.  Trust me looking for a youth ministry or youth pastor job takes a long time.   Be patient and make sure to utilize your friends and networks.  It is not what you know, but who you know!

Be looking for my next post on interviewing for a youth pastor job.  It will be titled:  Mastering the Youth Pastor Interview

© 2009 – 2010, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.

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Who are you? Who are you becoming?

The problem is YPs tend to see our vocation and identity as one, and not separate.  For some odd reason, we find our worth and value in our career and achievements.  What is in our wallet defines who we are.  There are countless number of symbols of belongings all around us.  We join clubs, teams, sororities, fraternities, unions, churches, synagogues, organizations, and political parties.  We mark our tribe through labels, tattoos, piercings, language, color, symbols, music, and style and this is just the surface of an array of ways we find to belong, to fit in, and to be insiders.

We are all searching for ourselves, trying to understand who we are, hoping that we might discover our unique place in this world.  Some of us think that our youth pastor position is really a big deal and people need us.

As youth pastors we think we need to sell our souls to the church and say yes to about 80% of the stuff that comes our way to prove to our parents, students, staff, and others we are DOING THE WORK OF THE LORD.  Right?  How many times have we said:  I have to do this?

You and I don’t have to do anything.  I know some youth pastor who literally work 7 days a week.  Not healthy.

Being a youth pastor is tough-demanding work.  We shouldn’t adopt the idea that being the youth pastor is our only identity.  Being the youth pastor is what we do (and we do it pretty darn well), but it is not who we are.  There is a big difference.

So who are we?  Who are you?

We are the beloved child of God.  That is it.  We are loved by God.  This is such a basic principle, but why do we run around week in and week out stressed out and busy planning and preparing for youth group?  We justify it by saying…..  it is for the “ministry.”  But is it?  Or is it really about you and I wanting to impress everyone with our slick programs?

We seek approval from God, and not people in our churches.

We forget this verse:

NIV Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

We will only stand before God on judgment day, not our congregation.

We should say NO to about 80% of the stuff that comes our way.  There is nothing worst than disappointing someone, especially a devoted church member who thinks really highly of us.   In order to keep our sanity and longevity in ministry, we have to say NO to a lot of stuff.

Try it out.  Say no and watch people get mad at you.  Beware of the people who like to play their spiritual guilt card.  Because you said no, you suddenly become NOT spiritual.  Your health matters and if you want to make it in ministry, you have to be healthy and make time for yourself or else people will  walk all over your.

If you want I have about 15 stories about youth pastors who aren’t youth pastors any more because they thought they were superman/woman and they are deeply paying the cost.

So say no!  Let your no be NO and let your yes be YES.

NAU Matthew 5:37 “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes ‘ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

© 2009, Jeremy Zach. All rights reserved.