Necessity for Youth Pastor Recovery

I have been in youth ministry for nearly 20 years. I have served in 9 different churches in those years. Each one great in its own way! I am so blessed to have to worked in these diverse and unique congregations. I have in those ears also experienced youth ministry from my own perspective and other colleagues perspectives. Youth ministers are a rare breed. They are usually a little bit rebellious lets just be honest guys. And also we are honestly fighting for the good of our students and the advancement of our ministries in the eyes of our congregations. I am sure that most youth pastors are seeking to help their congregations make youth a priority in their churches. In those many years of listening to my colleagues, coupled with my own experiences in ministry I have noticed some troubling trends.

First youth ministers, in my experience and in fact are underpaid which makes them feel undervalued (2012 Youth Ministry Salary Survey).

This is a difficult thing because most churches are working with not very large budgets. As a result most youth pastors do not feel like their work is seen as valuable in the eyes of the congregation, staff, elder board, council, deacons, or other governing bodies of churches. I have come across so many youth pastors struggling to stay in youth ministry because they cannot afford to. Their time is stretched so thin from the demands of attending events for their students, event planning, midweek flagship program preparations, Sunday school preparations, campus ministry, not to mention leader training, discipleship, and many church related ministry requirements just because they are on a church staff. I bring the salary issue up for three reasons. First I write to you youth pastor to let you know you are not crazy or diluted in thinking that you do not make enough money.  You are right, you don't make enough money. If you managed a business the same size and programming as your youth ministry you would make two times what you make. You are not alone, other youth pastors are facing the same thing with poor compensation packages. Secondly, I also write this to challenge churches to see this imbalance and to act accordingly. Please seek to adjust your compensation packages fairly. Look at the High School teachers in your area and pay youth pastors according to that standard, not according to the national youth pastor standard which is woefully inadequate. Please be fair according to the work your youth pastor is doing, and his level of education and experience. Lastly, I write this for youth pastors to take an honest look at your salary package, and seek to renegotiate if necessary. A colleague of mine wrote on this topic recently and I found it very helpful, maybe you will too (How Much Money Are You Worth By: Benjamin Kerns). Church, please consider and reconsider 1 Timothy 5:18 which says, "For Scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." Are you 'muzzling' your youth pastor by paying him too little for him to survive?

Second, Youth pastors are many times disillusioned, burnt out, overworked, struggling, and jaded from their experiences in Youth Ministry.

I often talk to colleagues that are very hurt from their church experiences. I know a youth pastor who every time he met with his pastor, the pastor would talk about numbers. How many students were attending, and the youth pastor was actually growing the student ministry. They had moved the student ministry and kids ministry from 300 regularly attending to over 500 in weekly meetings of a church with 3000 in regular attendance which is great! usually a church with 10% of its regular attendance being student ministry is considered successful. But there was a constant pressure on this guy to succeed by having bigger attendance numbers. It was too much for him, and so he resigned. Unfortunately, I wish this was an isolated incident, but sadly over the 20 years that I have been involved in youth ministry that has been pretty common; guys feeling that pressure to have higher and higher attendance. Again I write this so that youth pastors know and feel that they are not alone. Most youth pastors have that pressure to "attract" more students. So they seek to do a bigger and better outreach program, or add a much slicker attractional aspect to their regular program. This is a slippery slope away from the core of discipling students. I am not saying I have many answers. I just first of all want you to know that you are not alone in your frustrations. Admitting that there is a problem is the first step toward recovery.

I am however so encouraged at the resiliency of so many of my colleagues in ministry. My greatest hope in this blog/ministry is that Youth Pastors and Youth Ministry professionals are encouraged, strengthened and given hope to move forward. My prayer for you is that whatever you have been through, you will lean on the grace and healing comfort of the Lord Jesus, and that wherever you are, you will move forward in faith that the Lord will sustain you in whatever he is calling you to, and my hope is that it will still be youth ministry.