4. Student culture has changed.
I only graduated from high school 11 years ago, yet student culture is very different from my time in school. Technology, specifically social media and smart phones, have reshaped the way that students interact almost overnight. Many school districts schedule events without care for the schedule of churches, which means that students are busier than ever before. Many of the things that we did (even in the early 2000s) have been rethought. Events that used to be easy wins, like concerts or game nights, aren’t easy wins anymore. In many ways, we’re having to rethink the things that we do to connect with students.
We need your help in continuing to connect and reconnect with students as they live in a culture that is doing everything it can to pull them away from the church and from Christ.
5. We need good accountability.
A ministry without accountability is one that is not going to thrive. We need you to help us with that. Please help us with setting goals, and then help us by enabling us to accomplish these goals. Too often, it’s easy to feel like we’re given a sheet full of expectations, a budget, and then sent off to get it done on our own.
We need your help in not just setting good goals, but in actually getting them done.
6. We want you to take care of yourself.
Sadly, in our church culture, many senior pastors are workaholics. This is not good for you! We need you to set limits, take days off, protect nights off and practice Sabbath. We want you at your best. Working crazy hours is not good for you, and we care about you.
Also, help us take care of ourselves. We want to be in the game for a while and need your help in making sure we manage our time and calendar well!
7. Use us as a change-up.
In baseball, some pitchers throw a change-up; it’s a pitch that’s a different speed to help keep opponents off balance. Just in their nature, youth pastors are often different types of people than their senior pastors. Let’s use that to our mutual advantage. In the church, use our styles, personalities, gifting and energies as a change-up to yours! Together, we can present a more balanced approach to ministry, much like Paul is talking about when he speaks about the gifting of the body in I Corinthians.
