26.2 Reasons to Stay in Youth Ministry

 

Today's post is mostly written to young youth leaders.  If you've been in youth ministry for longer than five years, then give yourself a pat on the back!  When you're young, you feel like you can take on the world.  You want to do it all.  You want to help everyone you can and right now.  And you do...for a time.  That's one reason youth ministry is one of the most short-lived professions.  Eventually that energy and passion expended catches up with you.  And then you're left with what?  If you're married and have a family then that compounds the issue.  You may have zero energy left to give your ministry and you've neglected your family to cultivate your calling. They may be used to you not being around - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  And that's not good.  If you're at this point, what can you do?

Youth ministry is a marathon, not a sprint.  A sprinter gives all they can in a short amount of time.  They can do this because the sprint only lasts a short time.  Marathon runners preserve their energy so it will last over a long period of time.  That's what youth workers must do if they want to make it a career.  Here a few pointers if you are just starting out in youth ministry  (o.k. so it's not exactly 26.2 reasons but you see why I chose that title):

1.  Know that you are limited.

Athletes have strengths and weaknesses in their performance.  They learn to play to their strengths.  You can't be everywhere all the time.  Only God can do that.  I know you know this already, but you may not live like it. There will always be someone that needs help or a question answered or a task that must be completed right now or their life will seemingly end if you don't get it done right away.  Try some of these ideas to work to your strengths.  Pick two or, at the most, three goals you want to accomplish in a given time (by the end of the week, next month, year, etc.).  Pick one area you are going to excel in.  Delegate the rest.  You can read more about delegating here.  Pray.  Like I said, God is the only one who can be everywhere all the time.  Ask Him to help take care of the people you can't get to.

2.  Calendar regular time with your spouse and your family.

Runners can't run all the time.  If they did they would ruin their bodies.  They need time to rest, recharge, and allow their muscles to rebuild.  If you are married and if you have kids, then they need your time too.  We may calendar our ministry events, but if we fail to calendar our family time and date nights then ministry will just run over your personal time.  If you don't have time with your family scheduled, then if you see a blank spot in your calendar, it's too easy to say "yes" to ministry.  Every time you say "yes" to ministry you say "no" to your spouse and family without realizing it.  If this seems like it's not spontaneous to you, you're right, it's not.  Be spontaneous when you can, but all I am saying is if you don't plan, it may not happen.

3.  Eat right.

Marathon runners have to fuel their fine-tuned body in order for it to perform for them in their time of need.  Protein and carbohydrates help to rebuild muscle and give the energy needed to burn while pushing their body to make the 26.2 miles needed.  You need to fuel your body for ministry, too, to make the long haul.  Yes this includes eating right and drinking right.  Mountain Dew for every meal just won't cut it.  But this also means to fuel your body spiritually.  If you went to seminary or Bible college, like I did, the temptation was to use your Bible as a textbook.  This can be the case in ministry as well.  When you are planning a message, there is a temptation to say that time spent in the word is good enough.  It's not.  That is good enough to feed the sheep, but you need to pour into you as well.  Spend some time daily in the living word of God.  There have been seasons in my life when it was tough to read - when I just didn't want to - and I didn't.  Try reading just a little when you don't feel like it anyway.  God can do a lot even with a little.  Remember the fish and loaves He used to feed a huge crowd?

4.  Fight through the pain

Runners have aches and pains in their bodies.  If everyone gave up when they felt pain, no one would ever finish a marathon.  There are aches and pains in ministry too.  I don't know what your pain has been, or is, or will be, but I do know that when there are people, there can be pain.  Work through it if possible.  There is a time and a place to leave.  There is a beautiful thing that happens, though, when people can forgive and choose to move forward together the way God intended.

I am sure there is way more to say on the subject of longevity in ministry, but that is all the running analogies I can think of for right now.  Can you think of any others?  I'd love to hear from you!  Thanks for reading.