In my readings for a peer learning group, I stumbled across two quotes from Transformation by author/pastor Bob Roberts that gave me pause. For additional context, I am the interim youth minister at Forest Hills in Raleigh. A part of my responsibility here is to set the stage for a future youth minister. I am doing that by helping the ministry determine what its values are, and then marry them to practice. Ideally, this will assist them in finding the right leader for the ministry as it moves forward to make a greater impact in the lives of those in the community. If honest, I wonder how many of our youth ministries are caught in the cycle of what we have always done? I wonder if the questions being asked here are relevant for you as well. I hope so and I hope they provide a venue for productive discussion.
“If the church in a local community were gone, who besides her own adherents would miss it?” Read that again and let it sink in. If (insert your church name) were gone, who besides her own adherents would miss it? Startling, right? Of course we could list a few groups that it would impact, partly because they use the facility or rely on the church for occasional assistance. Turn it to the youth ministry at your church. The answers may be painful to consider. Here are some additional questions to consider.
- Who are we serving based on practice, not on philosophy?
- How do the local community or schools view our student ministry?
- Who are we partnered with that we are making a difference in the community?
- To whom are we the presence of Christ? How?
This however leads to the second quote, and more questions.
“If community transformation became the measure of our success, how would our churches and our communities look different?” How do we measure success in the youth ministry area, much less the church? Let’s focus on the youth ministry area. From my nearly 20 years of experience in youth ministry, two sets of questions are often asked that tell me how we measure success. The first is “how many kids do you have?” or “how many are going on the trip?” The second is “How big is the budget?” or “How are you doing staying in budget?”
Often, we measure success by group size and if we are staying within the means of the program budget. Again, from my experience as a minister I’ve been judged this way. So long as ministers accept these tools for evaluation, then we are culpable in continuing the cycle. Collectively as a vocation and in individual ministries it is important to clarify the following questions:
- How do we measure success in youth ministry?
- How would we like to measure success in youth ministry?
- How would our programs, events and ministry as a whole look different if we lived by the different metrics?
I think as we work towards those answers there will be a growing number of people in the local community that would miss our youth groups if they were gone. Just my thoughts. I’d love to hear yours.
Brian, I hope I’m not the only one reading your post, but I see that I am the first to leave a reply to it. While this may (or may not) be indicative of how much conversation or reflection your questions are generating, I think they are important questions. Although I dislike with the language of the questions (more on that below), the larger question that lies beneath (“How do we know when youth ministry is working?)” is vital and is one that I hear whispered in many different places. I have heard it once said that you can only know if a youth ministry is doing what it needs to after the youth who have inhabited it have graduated and gone on to college, the work force, etc. when you can see what kind of people the youth became. I think there is a lot of wisdom to that statement.
But on to your language of the questions: while interviewing for my last two ministry positions I came across multiple search committee questionnaires asking about my faith story, my philosophy of ministry, etc. Many of these questionnaires included questions using similar language to yours, e.g. What do you believe are the three most important aspects of a successful student ministry? I answered these questions the same way on every occasion–I rejected the language of success and instead wrote about a “healthy” youth ministry. When we use the language of success in church leadership/decision making, the paradigm in which we find ourselves thinking (and responding) is more than likely business oriented, looking at money and numbers (as you note in your article). But if we can ask the question differently (e.g. How do we measure health in youth ministry?), that leaves space for ministers, volunteers, church committees, and congregants to move past numbers and budgets and talk about spiritual transformation and growth and missional ministry. There is still plenty of room to talk about numbers and money within the language of health (i.e. What is a healthy number of youth participating in our youth ministry for our size of church? What is a healthy budget for a church of our size and ministry?), but it tempers the numbers and money talk and allows for a wider range of discussion about them. Rather than talking and thinking in a business paradigm (where you are watching the bottom line, budget speaking), health language allows people to wonder, “Is our budget too small for our size church and for as many youth as we have?”
I like the language of health for another reason–it takes making “success” off of my shoulders. I am a minister, and I have been called to minister to/with/for youth, not be “successful” with them. I think that using the language of success makes youth the means rather than the end (telos or purpose) of youth ministry. Rather than being successful, I am looking for ways to create a healthy youth ministry. Often, I need help from the congregation to help me create it, and this provides opportunity for cooperation.
I could go on (e.g. health language points in the direction of thinking about the “environment” in which we do youth ministry; are we doing youth ministry in a healthy environment–do we have enough help and leadership? do we have enough resources and support from the congregation? are we promoting good modeling of Christian thinking and behavior? is there hospitality for guests? and on and on), but here I will stop and hope that my comments at least open a window for looking at our language about/of youth ministry and how that shapes our thinking and work with youth.
Jason, I love the language of health! Our solo pastor and I work consistently at breaking the corporate dialog of “growth=numbers=$” and, for the most part, folks get it….until we get into smaller, more administrative/leadership meetings when the questions start coming about what we’re doing to “get more kids”…it’s frustrating, to be sure, to be on the receiving end of such questions (and, to some extent, accusations), but it is far more exciting to work with congregations on reframing their dialog than not engaging it at all! I am glad you are out there committed to the same vocabulary, and I will work to continue lifting it up, as well! Thanks for the clarity and reminder! Mandy
I agree with both of u, especially the questions u both raise. I am workin with youths from my neighborhood using sport as a bait to create contact for sharing the gospel. We have challenges such as poverty. We would probably measure the Health of our youth ministry in terms of all the areas u mentioned plus whether they would be able to use biblical principles to lift themselves and others from their present circumstances.
Brian, these are great quotes and, to a greater extent, so are the questions they (you) raise. I am the children’s and youth director in a mid-size city’s mid-size church in a very busy and commercial part of town. We are increasingly committed to our local school (in-school reading buddies, tutoring programs, invitations to activities, etc) and, yet, I wonder about your questions. I believe that many urban churches, as well as rural churches, and other houses of worship are poised for more cooperative ministries. We are seeking to meet the spiritual, economic, emotional, and educational needs of our area by making ourselves available in various and “new” ways, such as gathering in small groups to pray with and for each other, to share a common youth director so that many churches and the few (or one) kids at each have the experience of a broader community of faith. I am prattling on a bit here, but this helping me clarify a broader vision for my local church and the community at large with whom we gather and serve. Thanks so much for your post…You have prompted me to greater action! Amen to that! I’d love to hear other ideas! Mandy
Dear Brian, could you contact me regarding the image you posted? I wonder if you have received permission from the artist to display this?
Kind regards,
Wendy