Don’t you wish you could use your superhero (aka supernatural) powers to get the youth ministry job done with high efficiency and productivity?

Kicking butt in youth ministry is difficult.

Budgets, performance reviews, parents, elders, deacons, students, local community, and God are closely watching our every move.  Every youth ministry move will be inherently judged, weather we like it or not.

And…  a youth pastors do not receive much appreciation for doing a good job in their youth ministry.  Low pay, no bonuses, bottom of the church ladder, get stuck doing all the labor work, parents always disappointed with us, some students hate us, blamed for everything, and only a few students show up to the event we planned so hard for.

How can a youth pastor get the super-hero edge in their youth ministry?

If the youth pastor is INTERESTED in having patience, humility, courage,  persistently praying, clear communication, self directed focus, intense passion, solid study habits in the Word, and generating genuine excitement, then their youth ministry will suddenly become INTERESTING.

Your church, parents, and students are demanding the youth pastor perform the impossible.  We can say it isn’t about performance and numbers all day long, but it is.  Am I wrong to assume this?

So it is here.  I am offering up a guide on “How To Be A Superhero Youth Pastor/Youth Worker”:

1.  Do Not Let Civilian Life Get In Your Way

Keep focused.  It is so easy to let pointless meetings and emails take our days away from us.  Define what is important to your youth ministry every day.  Never take your eye of the ball— getting students to deeply trust, obey, and love Jesus.

2.  Listen….Observe…Read….Assess…Implement…ACTION

Be slow to speak.  Never react.  The best way to learn is through studying the history of successes and failures in your youth ministry.  Go with your gut.  Nobody truly knows what the future will bring.  Establish your basic youth pastor instinct when creating the future of your youth ministry.

3.  Break Rules, Traditions, Patterns, and Schedules

People need to expect the unexpected from you.  In order to be view as unique, you need to go against the grain.  Do the exact opposite of what other youth ministries are doing in your city.  Students can handle change better than adults.  So reinvent the rules.  Don’t be a slave to somebody’s expectations other than God’s. 

4.  Genuinely and Authentically Fall Back In Love with the True Superheros:Jesus and His Word

Read the Bible and pray to God for yourself, not for your youth ministry.  What is happening in our youth ministry is directly connected with our spiritual health.  If you are stoked for God, then your students will be stoked for God.  If your jaded and critical, your students will become bent and jaded.  Revisit why you entered youth ministry.  Normally youth pastors read the Bible for their next talk, and not for themselves.  This is dangerous.  Try reading and praying for your own faith walk for a week and don’t prepare your next teaching and see what happens.

5.  Absorb and Go After Criticism

Don’t be afraid of your biggest critics.  Your critics are there to get you in balance and to motivate you.   It is always a blast if you keep making your critics more upset at you.  Keep doing what you are doing.  If you want to avoid conflict go hide and/or sleep all day.  In the end it is your critic’s problem and not your problem for not liking what you are doing.  Don’t compromise your identity and your youth ministry autonomy to please the people who don’t like you.

Its good to know who hates you and to be hated by the right people.
–Johnny  Cash

6.  Become The Expert

Pick other youth expert’s brains.  Stay current with the majority of youth ministry literature.  Have the ability to self correct when you mess up.  Believe in yourself that you can (through God’s super natural power) do the impossible.

7.  Get Excited.

Passion is contagious.  Passion beats intellect, polls, surveys, and books.  If your blood is pumping about a particular Jesus topic, more than likely other people’s blood will start pumping too. Without passion, your youth ministry will lack life. Get amped when communicating about how Jesus is the ultimate rescuer, saver, healer, redeemer, and His Spirit gives us power to proclaim the good news.

Bottom line:  Don’t let the bad guys get you down.  Be proactive, go get them, and save the day. ALWAYS Remember where you get your YOUTH PASTOR superpowers from ; )

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