March 18, 2012

Questions Churches need to ask potential youth pastors

             
Last week I wrote a blog about tough questions that youth pastors should be asking potential churches in an interview, I have been thinking about the opposite end of the table and decided to write about what churches need to be asking potential youth pastors.
                
Before I get to a list of questions I would like to get out front that churches should avoid questions such as the following…

1.  What would you do if?  The candidate hasn’t been to your church, does not know your people, and does not know that background the lies beneath the reason for this question…the answer is “I have no idea because of lack of information”.

2.  What type of salary are you looking for?  The answer is “6 figures, a parsonage with a 3 car garage, 4 weeks vacation, 10% of my salary as a Christmas bonus, plus the use of a new corvette for church business.”  You are hiring someone and you know what you can afford, if money is the reason to hire or not hire the church needs to examine its priorities and if the candidate is truly called to the church and money is the reason to go or not go the candidate should examine his priorities as well.

3.  Do you play any instruments?  If you are hiring a youth pastor AND a worship leader, then say that in the ministry description, otherwise what does it matter? 
                
There are just a few of the questions to try and avoid…so what should be asked of a potential youth pastor candidate?

1.  What are your beliefs about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Salvation, etc…?  You are hiring someone to lead and shape the minds of kids and teenagers for eternity…you better know what they will be teaching.

2.  How do you go about recruiting a team of volunteers?  Understanding the leadership style of a potential youth pastor is essential in the church.  A church needs to understand if they are an ego guy, a lone ranger, disorganized, or someone who works well with others.

3.  What are your long-range goals for ministry?  Never hire a youth pastor that is going to do youth ministry for a little while then “move on to bigger and better things” and try and be a senior pastor.  This person will not be focused on the task at hand…to lead, equip, and teach this generation to impact their world for Christ.  They cannot be focused on that because they will not be there long enough to do it.  You want someone with a long range goal of being in youth ministry.  If they are called to preach then they need to preach, if they are called to youth ministry they need to be in youth ministry.

4.  How do you keep yourself spiritually fit?  In youth ministry, a youth pastor may be gone 4 or 5 nights per week and also put in 40 hours in the office doing ministry.  Sometimes the schedule gets crazy, so it is important to know how the leader of the youth ministry keeps himself spiritually ready.
                
These are just a few questions to ask a potential youth pastor candidate.  The most important information a church needs to know about the person they hire is how they are spiritually and how they are going to lead the most important ministry in the church.  Youth ministry is responsible for leading and shaping the lives of the next generation of preachers, Sunday School teachers, elders, deacons, worship leaders, etc…  This cannot be taken lightly. 

Thanks for reading!

March 14, 2012

Questions Youth Pastors should ask a potential church

If you have ever been interviewed at a church for the position of youth pastor you know how difficult those can be.  Most of the time a church wants to know how you will handle issues in the youth ministry different than the last guy (this is done with “leading” questions like “what would you do if…”, or “what would you do about…”) and how much money you want. 

But, did you know that if you are interviewing at a church that you also need to “interview” them?  They are asking you to pack up and move to their town so you need to have a good idea of what the church dynamics and leadership is like BEFORE you say yes to the call. 

It is vital that the church know your core values, belief statements, and your leadership style before they hire you…it is also vital that you get as much information you can before you accept the invitation to move to a church.  Here are some sample questions to ask a potential church seeking you as a youth pastor:

1) What is the church mission/vision statement? – If they do not have one or if it cannot be defined it may explain a lot about the church.  This is not necessarily a cause to not accept the position, but one that definitely needs investigated.

2) Why do you need me as your youth pastor? – I have always been asked “why do you want to come here” but it is always surprising to here a potential church answer this question of why they want the candidate for their church.  This helps know if they truly prayed about whom to interview, or did they pick one out of the pile, or was your resume the only one received.  It also helps you understand the written and unwritten expectations of the ministry.

3) What are the biggest needs of teenagers in this church?  -- This helps me know how much of a pulse the church leadership has on the young people in their own church.  The answer to this question tells a lot about how much a church values teenagers.

4) What issues has the church gone through in the last 5 years and what were the lessons learned?  -- This helps you understand church leadership and if there are still unresolved issues that may be carried to your hire.  I learned this one the hard way.

5) What is the WRITTEN ministry description?  -- Get it in writing.  Get it signed.

There are probably more to add to this list, but this should help any of my youth pastor friends who are looking for a church to serve in and should help any church leaders who may be looking for a youth pastor in knowing what questions your candidate should know before coming to your church.

For long term ministry partnerships to happen the right person must be the right fit, and the only way that happens is when a church and pastor pray about being in the right place and they have all the information they need from the Holy Spirit to make an informed decision. 

Thanks for reading!

P.S.  Mt. Gilead people, I am not going anywhere and do not ever intend to go anywhere.  This blog was just on my mind the last week or so and needed to write it.

March 2, 2012

Teen Pressure and Youth Ministry

I read an article recently about different reasons young people are leaving the church.  The article in “Leadership Journal” Winter 2012 issue has 6 different reasons young people leave the church.  One of the 6 reasons was because they felt that they were forced to decide between the church and their friends, and that got me to thinking about youth ministry and the pressure put on our teenagers.
     
The average age a young person now begins to drift away from the church is around 15-16 years old…or when they begin to drive, get a job, be more mobile, etc…  How do we balance our holding kids accountable and challenging them to move deeper in their relationship with God and not put added pressure on them that also comes from their employers, coaches, parents, etc…?

First of all, we must hold kids accountable when they sin.  It is our duty as a fellow believer and the shepherd of our youth as adult youth leaders to do this, however we must be careful to not cross the line to judging.  The generation of young people we serve has been saturated with “tolerance and varying absolute truth” and so we must make sure we are very clear that we have the type of relationship with a student to hold them accountable and it be taken in the manner it is given.

Secondly, we must be practical and specific in our challenges.  To tell a student that they have to spend an hour reading their Bible and praying is a great thing…but it’s really not practical.  Instead we should challenge our students to give God SOMETHING…5, 10, 15 minutes, anything. 

Also, with sports and other school events no longer respecting Gods time on Sundays and Wednesdays, we only have our students for so long which means we must take our ministry to students seriously.  Our youth ministries absolutely must be more than having snacks and a great time…they must challenge our youth to grow deeper in their relationship with God, and we must do so because eternity hangs in the balance. 

What are your thoughts?  Anything you would add to this?  Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

February 2, 2012

Getting Older...

Growing older is never something I have embraced.  I like being young.  I guess that is why I am in youth ministry!  This month I turn 39, I have always dreaded turning 40…I am not a fan of it!  I have realized recently that maybe, just maybe it is time I start to re-think things that I am doing in my life and start to take some things more seriously…like my health.
            
On my mom’s side of the family we have high blood pressure and vision issues and on my dad’s side of the family we have diabetes and heart disease.  Sounds fun, right?  I want to try and avoid as many of these as possible, obviously, and I also know what I need to do in order to make that happen…I need to lose weight.  

I am not extremely over weight, just at the high end of over-weight and almost to the obese line.  I need to drop 30 pounds and I want to do this by my 40th birthday.  Here are some things that I am planning on doing to see this happen. 

LESS SODA, MORE WATER – I am a Mt. Dew junkie!  I love soda and always have.  I also know that drinking 2 or 3 sodas a day rots teeth and puts on calories and fat.  It is unrealistic for me to just quit all-together so I am doing it gradually.  I will only have 1 per day and try to not have any in a given day.  I will drink more water, kool-aid, tea, etc…

EAT BREAKFAST – I have never really been a breakfast eater.  I don’t usually wake up hungry, in fact I usually don’t even get hungry until almost lunch time.  I have read a lot of diet plans, however, that claim eating breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, supper, then a evening snack is the way to go.  It all starts with breakfast, so that is what I will do.

HEALTHIER SNACKS – Gone are the days of eating ice cream at 11pm and crackers and cheese at midnight (not on the same night!).  I know that my snack choices are to be healthier so I am going to sit down with my health expert (my amazing wife) and come up with a plan.

EXERCISE – I ran track in Jr. High.  I love to run and walk.  I need to make a priority to get back to doing that and working out to get in shape.  I want to run a marathon in my 40’s and I am in no shape to do that at all. 

These are the 4 areas that I am focusing on to try and lose weight and be in shape to live as long as possible.  Yes, you read correctly…I am trying to give up not only Mt. Dew, but all soda gradually.  As my friends feel free to hold me accountable and encourage me  as I try and train my body to be a better temple for God to use. 


Thanks for reading!