by Chase | Leadership, Ministry
Before I came on staff to be the full-time family pastor at our church I served here as a bi-vocational youth pastor.
For several years I worked in 2 different ministries (a camp and a church) and my family has experienced first-hand the challenges of serving bi-vocationally. Working two jobs is difficult enough, but when one of those is a ministry it seems nearly impossible to lead your job, ministry, family, and community well.
Bi-vocational youth pastors, I am encouraged by your drive for ministry and students! Your meetings happen during the evenings when you should be home with your families, your weekends are covered with events, your vacation time is used for mission trips and camps, and you are not paid nearly enough to do what you do.
In our area of the city the majority of youth pastors are bi-vocational or simply volunteers. They are men and women who love students and have stepped up in their churches to make sure that students are growing up with a knowledge and relationship with Jesus.
I know the highs and lows you are experiencing in ministry. While I was serving in two ministries I had to remind myself that my current role was completely different from someone who was serving full-time as a student pastor. Your role may look different but part-time pastors can fully impact their communities.Â
It is out of my deep respect for you all I would love to voice a few encouragements that I had to be reminded of as I served bi-vocationally. Â
4 Encouragements For Bi-Vocational Youth Pastors
Student Ministry Is About Depth, Not Size
It is easy to get caught up in hoping for someone elseâs ministry, budget, number of volunteers, facilities, and worship band. But we must remember (even for us full-time guys) that ministry is about depth, not drawing crowds. For our area the bi-vocational leaders excel at relational ministry. They have been in the community for years and they are not leaving! Keep serving Jesus faithfully and developing disciples who are growing deep spiritual roots!
Part-Time Pastors Are Real Pastors
The students don’t notice that you are part-time. You know how I know? Because they never preface talking about you by saying “Hey, there is my âpart-timeâ youth pastor.” They see you as their pastor, because that is exactly what you are. Whether part or full-time, we are equipping and encouraging students for the glory of Jesus. You are just as much a pastor as the guy across the street with the full-time student ministry.
Being Full-Time Will Not Make Your More Qualified
Remember, God calls you into ministry. If your sense of qualification and success rests on your job status then your ministry will be shaky at best. Our joy, calling, power, and direction all come from Jesus. If you are dealing with those insecurities now, they wonât disappear if you become a full-time student pastor.
You Need To Set Boundaries
Don’t be afraid to set boundaries that protect your time, family, and other place of employment. If the church wants you go serve 40 hours a week then they need to make you full-time. Until that happens, do what needs to be done, serve how you know you should serve, and keep an open line of communication between you and your elders.
Now What?
Bi-vocational ministry is tough but God is doing incredible work in your churches because you are being faithful and obedient to Jesus.
Keep serving him faithful!
by Chase | Leadership, Ministry
One of the most difficult areas of family ministry is volunteer management.
Sermon preparation is awesome. Events are exciting and energizing. But there is just something draining about volunteer management.
That âsomethingâ can simply be identified as human nature. We are all imperfect people serving a perfect God which means that we will come up short more times than not.Â
This is an important truth to remember as you lead your teams. You cannot expect your volunteers to be perfect â only Jesus is. How frustrating is that! That means that people will miss important appointments, fail to fully invest in a student’s life, and cling to half-baked ideas that go against the mission and vision of the church.Â
There will always be tension when you work with people. But out of our frustrations we can begin to sabotage our own ministries if we are harsh with our words.
With your words you have the power to encourage your volunteers or crush their passion for serving Jesus.
Here are three statements that you should avoid saying to those who are giving their free-time to help you do ministry.Â
3 Things You Should Never Say To A Volunteer
âIâm Busier But Some How I Can Do Thisâ
Humble much? Demotivating comments never motivate people. Obviously this is a redundant statement, but we can occasionally forget that hurtful words hurt people. Your volunteer may not have the best time management skills, but putting yourself (or another volunteer) on a platform will kill their passion for serving others.Â
âYou Are Too Old To Serveâ
There should be a spot in your ministry for every volunteer, regardless of their age. You need a diverse team of doers and managers. Some leaders canât attend a lock-in, but they can mentor other leaders. There is nothing more devastating than hearing that you are irrelevant. Trust me, your older leaders are struggling with this statement. Don’t encourage the lie and cause them to think that there isn’t room for them in the body of Christ.Â
âWe Donât Need Any Volunteers Right Nowâ
Believe it or not, I have been told this when I was attending a church. Most of us would love to live this existence! I’m sure you are thinking “Too many leaders?!? Who are those lucky people!” Well, apparently they exist out there. Never turn away a willing worker even if you have all of your small groups covered and a good amount of people in your ministry. If not your ministry, perhaps another team needs some help in the greater context of your church.
Now What?
Church ministry is never US (pastors/staff) versus THEM (volunteers/congregation). Ministry is always WE serving JESUS. Your words will either build unity or bring division.
We must lead with a tender heart and soft words. That doesn’t mean that we overlook sin or avoid correction. It simply means that we speak the truth in love.Â
by Chase | Kid Min, Leadership, Student Min
The practice of adding intentional prayer to your day is nothing new — plenty of ministry leaders will tell you to pray throughout your day whenever you can. Praying while driving is a really popular suggestion, and it’s a great one because most of us drive several times a day and can use that time to connect with God and refocus ourselves on His purposes.
If you often pray while driving, or you want to start, school zones are a great place to pray through, for, and about! Your ministry, whether it’s family ministry, youth ministry, or children’s ministry, is deeply connected to local schools.
Here are five ways I am striving to pray as school is starting and have committed to continue praying as the school year continues.
5 Prayers To Pray As You Drive Through A School Zone
Pray That Students Experience The Unconditional Love And Acceptance Of Jesus
Students are looking to fit in and experience community. This can often lead to bad decisions and regrets, but it doesnât have to. We should pray that students in our community experience first-time salvations and recommitments.Â
Pray For The Teachers And Administrators To Draw Near To Jesus
Administrators and faculty need to lead with the Fruit of the Godâs Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). They can only lead with these when they are humbly depending on King Jesus.Â
Pray For Protection
As you drive by, pray for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental protection of the students, staff, and faculty. Schools are community hubs. Within the classrooms are the most vulnerable people in our society — children. We must pray for their protection.Â
Pray For Jesus Followers To Be Bold
Schools need believers to stand in the hallways and extend the love and truth of Jesus. Pray that students are bold enough to set an example and stand up for their beliefs. Pray also that they would become emboldened to share the Gospel.Â
Pray For The Parents
Between school and extracurricular activities, parents can end up feeling like glorified taxi drivers. But we know that they are much more than that! We need to pray for them to be energized, encouraged, and equipped to lead their children to become followers of Jesus.
Now What?
What times and places are you setting aside to pray specifically for your students and local schools?
by Chase | Leadership, Ministry
Donât worry about getting bigger; strive to get better.
Andy Stanley tells a story about Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A, during an intense leadership team meeting. At a time when Boston Market started to move into Chick-Fil-Aâs territory, everyone was concerned about how they could get bigger and out-size the competition.
In the middle of the discussion, Andy Stanley says that Cathy started banding his fists onto the table and said these words,
âIf we get better our customers will demand we get bigger!â
Leading a student ministry isnât the same as leading a fast-food joint, but the truth here holds up: You need to focus on getting better, not getting bigger.
If we are all honest we would admit that the glamor of being a bigger ministry has intoxicated us at some point. We chalk it up as having a greater reach for Jesus, but we know that we selfishly driven by our own definition of success.
As student leaders, why should we be concerned with getting better? Simple: That means that more students are becoming Christians, being discipled, and developing other disciples. Yup, you read that correctly. The more deeply we are rooted in Jesus the more fruit the student ministry will produce.
Below are 5 areas that you should strive to get better at student ministry.
5 Ways You Can Get Better At Student Ministry
Become Better At Equipping Your Team
Ministry happens with teams. To become better at student ministry you need to be spiritually investing and pastorally leading your leadership team. These adult leaders will be an extension of your ministry. If they are spiritually dry your students will be dry. If they lack excitement, your students will lack excitement.
Become Better At Helping Students Own Their Faith
Your students have been gifted by God to do good works and further the Kingdom of God. How are you leading students to own their faith? Personally I believe that this is done through service and leading and not inside of a bible study. Students need a space to learn how God has gifted them and to start using those gifts. Getting students to serve in the kidâs ministry is a perfect fit.
Become Better At Pastoral Ministry
The key here is getting leaders to help share the load of ministry. How well are you ministering to families in the ups and downs of life? Are you equipping your leaders to make this an emphasis in their role in your ministry?
Become Better At Small Groups
Small groups, discipleship groups, Sunday school, or whatever you call them needs to be an open group where students can develop friendships and develop their relationship with Jesus. How well are you encouraging leaders, providing spaces for spiritual growth, and resourcing students to learn more about Jesus?
Become Better At Encouraging Parents
Parents are doing the best that they know how to do. You must remember that you work with the specific phase as a calling. Parents are walking into a new phase every few years. How can you encourage your parents to latch onto their role as the primary spiritual leader?
Now What?
In what other ways can you get better at student ministry?Â
by Chase | Leadership
Everyone wants to get a bargain.
Whether you follow money saving blogs or are meticulous about your finances, being cheap isnât easy in our culture. We try to save in creative ways that seem small but can yield large savings over time.
While saving money is a noble cause, at times being cheap can cost you more money in the long run.
When it comes to ministry, there are many areas that you can fine-tune your annual budget, but sometimes being cheap costs you money.
Quality is typically cheaper than quantity.
For instance, buying a quality computer is cheaper in a four-year period than buying a cheap computer that you have to constantly repair. Buying one quality machine (versus two or three cheaper ones) does carry a bigger up-front cost, but will save you money in the coming years by not replacing it 2-3 times (quantity).
All of us can find these ideologies in our ministries. Here are a few questions to see if you are wasting money by being cheap.
Are You Wasting Ministry Money By Being Cheap?
Will it cost more to repair or replace the broken item?
Does the technology need to be updated because of itâs age and lack of usability?
Is it better to buy one quality item or a cheaper option that may need to be replaced 2-3 times?Â
Are you wasting valuable time working around a problem instead of fixing it?
Are you putting bandages on a broken arm?
Are your cost-saving ideas causing problems in the future?
Have you planned on the appropriate upkeep for the new building, ministry, or system?
Now What?
I’m not advocating that you should always buy the most expensive option — we would all be broke if that were the case! But there are some situations where you must weigh what is best for the ministry – quality or quantity.Â
Leading change in this area can be tough. One of your biggest advocates is to budget appropriately on the front end of your fiscal year.
How can you align your leaders into a quality is better than quantity mindset?
by Chase | How To, Leadership
Every leader feels the pressure to complete more.
- Create more products.
- Meet more people.
- Attend more meetings.
- Write more posts.
The pressure for more is a leadership constant. Entrepreneurs and leaders rarely experience contentment. But how could we? We tend to see the broken aspects of the world and are wired to fix, adjust, and change.
So, we end up working longer hours, pushing families, businesses, and ourselves to the limit.
In the name of doing âmoreâ we fine-tune our personal disciplines and meticulously monitor our progress. Our source of guidance and direction come from our:
- Schedules
- Deadlines
- Processes
- To-Do List
Can we be real for a minute? You canât get everything done.
If you are anything like me I bet you know that this is a reality, but it doesnât stop you from being consumed with worry and stress.
There are some items on my list that I am incapable of accomplishing. In fact, there are many items that I have absolutely no power over.
That is why I have started creating to-do lists for God.
Now, before you think this is the most arrogant concept that you have ever heard of (I know that I am a nobody and that God does not take orders from me) my intention is to create a space that is a reminder that God is God and I am not. There are conversations, situations, and projects that I cannot control. I need to hand them over to the One who has control and dominion so I can stop worrying about them and focus on the tasks that God has for me today.
We make lists for our employees to take ownership of, why not acknowledge God’s part in your work life?Â
Why Create a God To-Do List?
1. Admits Your Dependence Upon God
Like I said, we need a daily reminder that our power fails in comparison to Godâs. By Godâs grace you are in a place of authority and influence. Donât forget to depend on His strength and wisdom as you lead.
2. Increases Your Prayer Life
Making a âGod To-Do Listâ is essentially the practice of writing down prayer requests. I would suggest that you pray through any to-do lists that you create, but shifting tasks from your side to Godâs is an easy way to start praying.
3. Shifts Your Focus on What God Has For You To Do Right Now
You need to do what God has given you to do for the day. Stop worrying about the situations you cannot change, instead you are investing in the areas that God has planted you. The deeper the roots you develop now, the stronger your leadership will be tomorrow.
Now What?
What items and task are weighing on your heart that you need to hand over to God?
Your pride will want you to depend on your own strength. Fight the urge to do more and start pursuing a God-honoring philosophy of work.Â
