Another thing.

Slow down.

Too many young minstry professionals want to reinvent the wheel in their first year and therefore take up and keep up an unhealthy pace of ministry life.

Slow down, pray more, work less, let your people do the work of ministry and equip them and then stand back and watch.

And churches and church boards… PLEASE… stop chewing these people up and spitting them out. It’s happening too much.

Leaving paid professional pastoring is not the same as quitting.  If most of these people are involved in ministry in local churches, then they are fulfilling their calling in a different way.  As a full time paid pastor, I appreciate those folks because they have passion, are dependable, are supportive and effective.

I belive the most underrated calling of God is to be a helper (servant) and isn’t servant leadership what it’s all about?

Good article, but I think it spends too much effort trying to make those who left full-time ministry seem like they quit, lost faith, or are not fulfilling their calling.

“Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.”

--Homer Simpson

Dr. Rahn.  You simply need to check sources such as Group Magazines annual surveys, Youth Specialties websites - or follow most Bible Schools graduates of Youth ministry programs.  While not scientific in nature - these sources have all shown me this is the case! 

In the case of my Bible school and the nomber of graduate3s from the youth leadership program that go into church ministry.  Of the ones I see Alumni updates on, known personally over my 12 years it took to work myself through my degree.  I know of MANY who didn’t make it 8 months - I know of MANY more that made it 14 months.  My first ministry was a glorious 22 months - and that was longer than most I’d graduated with and many who graduated before me.

As I said - it’s not a scientific study - but long-term enough to raise serious doubts and lend some credence to the phrase being bndied about.

Now add to that two denominations I know of and two regions of a denomination I have been personally connected with where:  in on denomination of approximately 22 churches - a youth minister is advertised for almost EVERY month with a new advertisement every 2 for sure.  three of these churches who go through youth pastors in record fashion with a tenure of around 7 months.  While the article was not about those types of churches - it IS true.  Similar can be said of the other denomination and regions within a denomination I mentioned. 

The fact is - there are a lot of long-term serving youth pastors.  I know of two - one who has beenin the same church for ove 15 years and another for over 25.  But I can also tell of many more who were two-years or less and one year or less.

To be honest, I’m far more concerned that our colleges and seminaries spend SO much time focusing on the details fo theological “majoring on the minors” and not enough on what REAL ministry is like, the challenges associated and the building up of the students in the faith, than I am in footnoting a web article I do every week to every second with scholarly accuracy.  I do not have the time to dig out my back issues of Group and Youthworker Journal etc - especially when the trend plays out before my very eyes, within my friends I went to school with and in so many denominations I have seen.

My heart breaks at seeing how much they have gone through (myself as well) and how precious little our expensive pieces of paper actually prepared us for the work we are doing - and I believe I went to a GOOD school with a great youth professor who did help us in how to meet real needs and focus on real ministry.  Maybe that’s the issue in itself - perhaps not enough time was spent in how to deal with the church issues and politics that arise that can so deeply cause pain - or in how to functionally not take things personally when you pour heart and soul into ministry - and have one or two powerful naysayers kill things.  I think I’m still in ministry because I’ve only ever met one of those powerful naysayers in my ministry life - and they did make me swear off ministry forever after 22 months - until God called me back with His unending fire in my bones.

Hello Mr. Canadian Youth Guy! ( and all others reading this )

I come to this little blog-posting thing for some prayer and advice from perfect strangers who might understand where I’m at.  I have made it a personal goal not to become a statistic like what has been debated about in previous comments.  I’ve heard the statistics....seen articles of studies....heard Dr. Rainer and Mr. Barna discuss the issues, and quite frankly, don’t care. 

I just need help day after day....getting out of bed, putting on my armor and going back to a place where I feel crushed, persecuted and struck-down.  And, by the grace of God, each day (or night) I go home, not Abandoned and Not Destroyed, as the song says, there is joy in each and every morning, because I am truly blessed, just to be found worthy of fighting for the Lord in His battle against evil in our world.

So to my brothers and sisters out there who might be on the verge of jumping ship, ending it all, or just “taking a break,” let me encourage you to keep on goin!  I have served at a church now for just about 4 years.  In that time we’ve had a pastor dismissed for years embezzlement and marital “unfaithfulness”, about 20 interim pastors, 3 music ministers, 1 intermim music minister, 4 secretaries, a split resulting in 100 (almost 1/2) members starting a new church, and now a new pastor who has already been asked to resign and finally went before the church.  He has stayed with nearly 1/2 wanting him to leave.  Our sunday school teachers, deacons, personnell people,etc are dropping off like flies.  Our attnedance now is only less than half of what it was when I started at this church, and it appears the numbers will be dropping weekly.

I have personally been beat down for years by everyone you can imagine, yet still feel the support of about everyone left in my church....except for the pastor.  Rumors and lies have destroyed our relationship.  I now face a daily struggle to move forward until God moves me on.  It is crazy.  But I hang in there because when there are only 130 or so on sundays, that very wednesday, I may have 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 people for the youth gathering.....This church, these youth, need the person God wants there for them.  Right now, I am that person.  Hanging in there, holding onto a prayer, and a promise.

So to all of the readers out there, this is only part of the story, only part of what I’ve been through.  I know some of you are going through much more.  Let me say, I’m praying for you, because I feel what you feel, in my own way.  Please pray for me as well, and if you have any advice or input, please comment, I’ll be reading.  Thanks and God Bless!

I agree!  Our eyes need to be fixed on the author and perfector of our faith.  We run the race with our eyes fixed on the goal.  The distractions of church politics, pastoral personality confilicts, management style inconsistencies, all the earthly things we have to deal with as minstry workers can grind us down to nothing. 

But it is the changed hearts, the trusting relationships, the hurting being healed in our ministry that count.  When Christ is alive in and through us, ministry is never going to fade.  We can’t be bought out, pushed down, burnt out or out of control.  How much criticism did Jesus face?  More than anyone here could bear. 

This article was timely for me to read.  My eyes have been fixed on the wrong thing the last few days.  Thank you for the encouragement.

This Wednesday, I will be giving my resignation. I have been on staff at my church as a bivocational youth pastor.I have been here 5 years. I’m tired! Not of the kids, but of attacks against my wife. Too many problems to list, but at the top of my list was how the board members were shunning my wife. I don’t know why. She has been unable to attend services as often as she would’ve liked due to medical problems( Chronic fatigue, recovering from brain surgery, and many other things). Her name was removed of the roll books for the Sunday School class we were teaching together. I tried several times to speak with the pastor, but he would change the subject whenever I mentioned that I was getting discouraged and thinking about leaving. I mentioned to the church board my concerns and even mentioned that it might be my take on things. They said they would try to do things better. No sorry you feel that way. No phone calls, emails, or letters. Maybe they thought I was tired and needed help.The solution the pastor came up with was to have his son help plan youth events. The son doesn’t model good behavior for leadership. Not sure if he’s a Christian and he’s living with his fiance. I have been told by the pastor that its great for his son to be back in church and he is getting more serious about his faith. He has said to others that whoever chases his son out of church is going straight to hell.I formally informed the pastor, in writing, of my attention to leave and now he is giving me the silent treatment. I’ve been involved with youth ministry for almost 15 years on a part tiem basis as well as holding down a full time secular job and squeezing in classes for ministry. So.. Good ahead. Tell me that I’m a horrible backslider for leaving. I’m tired of the disfunction.

What happens when you don’t want to quit but you have a Senior Pastor who does not have vision for the youth and basically sees your job as giving the kids something to do. Also what happens when your hands are tied, and you know that God has called you to do something? Or your Pastor is determined to stay in the 1970’s style of worship to 21st century kids?

I’ve had a call on my life for a few years and just now got my license. I have been attending at my current church for two years. A couple of weeks ago I had a meeting with my pastor. I felt like he had chewed my heart up and spit it out. He said he would have never spoken to me that way until after I got my license. Some of the stuff he said had truth to it but the majority was no where close. I am now deciding whether or not to even stay at this church because I am hurt so much. How can I serve someone I no longer respect?

hello i believe this statement is about not quiting so i don’t think you all should come down on micheal if you had read it then you would understand what he is saying

I don’t believe Dave was coming down on me and I know precisely how he feels.  In fact, since I wrote this article - I have also left that ministry.  I wrote it about not quitting just because things are hard - not losing the call because one ministry goes bad - not losing faith when minsitry life sucks.  And I have again been tested in all of those areas.  Am I still called to ministry yes - as a full-timer - possibly again some day - as a youth minister - probably not but no guarantees.  What I am is open to God’s leading even though I cannot see it.  That’s what we need to remember.