Okay, so here’s my hot take: I reckon I could accurately guess when your church has been without a youth pastor (or has had some other major youth ministry leadership issue). How? Simply by looking at your age demographics. If you normally have five year 12s graduating from your youth group each year but you only have two twenty-year-olds in church, that tells me that about two or three years ago you didn’t have a youth pastor or there was some problems in the youth ministry leadership.[1]
My working theory is that whenever there is a problem or transition among the leadership this will most acutely affect your current year 11s and 12s. You will see the fall out on this demographic first because they are at an age where many of them are driving and are often granted more freedom in other ways, so they can decide for themselves to go somewhere else if they wish.
The Impacts of Unstable Youth Leadership on Church
Any significant change in a church has the potential to lose people in the upheaval. People can fall through the cracks if we’re not careful. Because of the transience in youth ministry positions, there is a risk that we might lose some of our older youth on a semi-regular basis. And this instability has a trickle-on effect for the future of the church.
This smaller graduating class will be like a bubble in a straw that will continue to travel through your church as they age. You won’t feel the effects of this straight away but eventually you’ll notice that there will be less young adults serving in children and youth ministries, for example. As that demographic ages there’ll be less newly-marrieds and less young families. And so that bubble will continue on throughout the life of the church.
One way to stop the bubble from forming is by working hard to retain youth pastors, having good succession strategies, and having stable teams.
Retaining Youth Pastors
Dave Chiswell gets it absolutely right when he says that “few things in youth ministry matter more than being there for the long haul.” I want to add my voice to what he has already so well articulated—we need to youth pastors to stay youth pastors.
From what I’ve observed, youth pastors only stay youth pastors for about three years and every time they move on, that moment of transition will hurt your youth ministry. In Western Australia, it’s my observation that it used to be that youth pastors moved onto other positions because they were chasing something bigger and better. Youth ministry was a stepping stone to being a senior pastor. I don’t think we’re falling into that trap quite so much. Rather, I think the issue is with being ‘promoted’.
After three years, the well-meaning senior church leader spots that the youth pastor has now developed skills that would be perfect in another position, and so the youth pastor is generously promoted. But the problem of course is that three years is how long it takes for someone to start being good at their job and their ministry to start to gathering momentum. Moving them out of youth ministry will hurt the ministry.
So I want to urge senior pastors to value the importance of youth ministry by helping youth pastors continue to make a meaningful and valuable contribution in the role that they are currently in. Don’t move them onto something else when they are just starting to get good at their role.
Secondly, I want to urge youth pastors to commit to long term youth ministry. At least try to double the average time. Instead of only staying for three to four years, aim for six to eight years. If we do that then we can walk beside a whole generation of youth as they move from year 7 to graduating year 12s. As Dave says:
I want to watch them become pastors and parents and nurses and missionaries and teachers. I want to be here long enough to see them grow up in the faith. And if any of them should walk away from the faith, I want to be here long enough to see them come back again.
Succession Planning
We don’t need just need youth pastors to stay in the role, we also need to get better at how we pass on the leadership to someone else. It’s inevitable that youth pastors will move on—life happens. But when that moment comes, managing that transition is very important, both for the youth pastor and for the church.
Some overlap between the new and the old youth minister can be the best plan but that isn’t always possible. The next best thing is for the outgoing youth pastor to have clarity around their vision and mission, as well as their processes and policies, so that the new youth pastor can easily pick up from where the other left off. Far too often, someone new takes over a youth ministry with very little handover documentation or training: this is poor stewardship.
A good succession plan starts months before the transition. The longer plan for the transition the smoother it will be.
Building Stable Teams
A youth ministry leadership team that is constantly in flux is another transition that will also hurt the ministry. This instability will in turn amplify the potential negative impacts of a change in youth minister.
It takes time to learn how to be a good youth leader—often the best youth leaders are the ones that have been leaders for three or four years. They add a level of maturity and wisdom that may be lacking in younger or less experienced leaders.
Regular vision-setting, training, spiritual input, team-building, and personal support will all help us retain our youth ministry teams. Providing them with opportunities to grow in the role, test their gifts, and have an influence in decision-making will likely empower youth leaders and incline them to continue serving. Caring for their personal and spiritual wellbeing, as well as ensuring they are not over worked will also help them go the distance.
Such fundamentals of team leadership are not only good in and of themselves, they will also safeguard your youth ministry against some of the impacts of disruption and change. The community life and strategic momentum of the youth ministry should not depend on the youth minister alone.
Leadership transitions are risky seasons, but with proper care we can give our youth ministries the stability which will benefit the current generation of youth as well as the future demographics of the church.
[1] Unless of course there is a larger pattern of young adults moving away for work or study.
