I have a love-hate relationship with golf. I love being out on the green, open field. I love the glorious moments when my swing feels effortless, and the ball flies exactly where I intended. I love the sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup for that rare birdie.
But I hate how quickly things can unravel. All it takes is one rushed swing, one careless setup, or one brief moment of inattention that takes the ball everywhere else but the place I wanted it to go. Golf is beautiful and maddening all at the same time.
Recently, I’ve learned to go through a simple pre-swing checklist: Loosen my grip. Check my stance. Keep my head down. Slow and steady my tempo. It’s not foolproof—my golf ball still finds its share of sand traps and water. But that small checklist does something important: it ensures alignment. It steadies me. It gives me confidence that the ball is far more likely to stay in bounds. It’s small but significant.
An Alignment Check For Youth Ministries
And perhaps, youth ministry is not all that different. We youth ministers love it—the relationships, the impact, the sacred moments when a student understands grace in a way that changes them. But we also know how quickly things can drift. One rushed season, one overpacked calendar, one subtle shift in emphasis, and before we know it, the ministry is moving somewhere we never intended. Without intentional alignment, drift is inevitable.
In Colossians 1:18, the apostle Paul writes: “And [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Youth ministries can feel alive and still be misaligned. Calendars can be full, rooms can be loud, and attendance can even grow. But if Jesus is not functionally preeminent—not just intellectually assumed but tangibly practiced—we may be swinging hard without being properly aligned.
Over the years, I’ve found that keeping the preeminent things preeminent requires a kind of ministry alignment check. Here are some checkpoints worth examining to guard your ministries against drifting away from the goal.
How is My Ministry’s Alignment With The Church’s Vision and Mission?
Paul does not say Jesus is the head of youth ministry. He says Jesus is the head of the church. That distinction matters. Youth ministry is not its own spiritual ecosystem, nor is it a church within a church. It is part of the wider body. And if Jesus is the head of the body, then youth ministry must remain visibly and intentionally connected to the wider church.
When youth ministry drifts from the church’s vision and mission, subtle shifts occur. We may unintentionally communicate that students need something different from the rest of the congregation. We may cultivate a culture where the youth ministry feels more important and corporate worship feels optional.
Youth minister, ask yourself:
- How is the youth ministry leaning into the overall vision and mission of the church?
- Are my students, leaders, and parents familiar with the church’s vision and mission statements?
- Am I preparing students to love and serve the whole church or simply to love the youth group?
This kind of evaluation requires humility. It may expose places where we’ve unintentionally built something siloed rather than integrated. But there is hope. When youth ministry is tethered to the wider church, students begin to experience that their faith is not just for a brief season. It is participation in the life of Christ’s body, which is the church.
How is My Ministry’s Alignment With Its Core Values?
Again, verse 18 says: that in everything he might be preeminent. This is not an abstract idea. When something is preeminent, it shows up in the decisions we make – what we say yes to and what we say no to. It shows up in our ministry calendar, how we spend our ministry budget, how we train and equip our leaders, and what we communicate to our parents.
Core values function like guardrails that help us protect first things as first. They help us say no to good opportunities and yes to the best ones. For example, a clearly defined core value of partnering with parents stems from the conviction that parents are the primary disciple-makers of their children. Alignment to this core value may mean that we slow down executing an (exciting) new ministry initiative so that we can intentionally plan for parents to come alongside us and participate in a meaningful way. More often than not, without clear core values, urgency will drive our decisions, and the fleeting trends will crowd out the most faithful ones.
Youth minister, ask yourself:
- What are the core values of my ministry? If they aren’t officially defined, who can I sit with to clarify what they are?
- Do our ministry events reflect our core values?
- Do our new ministry initiatives flow out of our ministry priorities?
The goal isn’t simplifying ministry but clarifying it. Measuring ministry decisions by their alignment with core values can help keep Jesus preeminent in our planning, so that ministry becomes less frantic and more faithful. When our core values create gospel-centered priorities, our leaders experience less anxiety and more intentionality, and our students experience more depth and consistency.
Is My Ministry Exulting Jesus As Supreme?
It’s all too easy, and dangerous, for youth ministries to align themselves to a person, a program, or even a vibe (that one memorable retreat, that one charismatic leader, a strong sense of community and acceptance). None of these are inherently wrong. They are precious gifts from God. But gifts can subtly become everything and functionally feel preeminent.
Colossians 1 is a glad and joyful declaration that Jesus alone is the all-sufficient and all-satisfying Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer who is worthy of our love, trust, and obedience. Therefore, youth ministry exists to exult Jesus, to make much of Him, and to find our lasting joy and hope in Him. And yet, if the most enduring, noise-making stories from our youth ministries are about “our community,” “our culture,” or “our impact,” we may have unintentionally shifted the spotlight.
Youth minister, ask yourself:
- If I stepped away from my role tomorrow, would the students’ confidence in Jesus remain steady? Is their faith anchored in Christ or in me?
- Does my teaching clearly proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord, and not merely as an example?
- In what ways is my youth ministry intentionally and actively remembering and celebrating Jesus as the Hero we all need?
This is a necessary reminder: Personalities, giftings, and programs must decrease in their preeminence, so that Jesus might increase (John 3:30). And with that comes much freedom. When Jesus is unmistakably the Hero and preeminent, students anchor their faith in Someone who does not graduate, relocate, or burn out.
How Do Others Perceive What’s Really Preeminent In My Ministry?
I do not doubt that we sincerely desire for Jesus to be preeminent in life and ministry. But sometimes that is not the experienced reality for the people in and around our ministries. Inviting feedback from key youth leaders, parents, and students can be both a humbling and clarifying practice in ministry. Constructive and thoughtful feedback can help expose our functional values and priorities.
Youth minister, ask yourself:
- Have I made it a rhythm to ask students what they believe youth ministry is mainly about? Or to ask leaders where they sense drift in ministry? Or to ask parents what stories their children are sharing at home?
- Do people in and around my ministry have clear access to asking questions and are invited to give feedback?
Our desire for Jesus to be preeminent will ultimately be seen and experienced in practice. And we need to hear from trusted voices around us because we do not see everything clearly, and more often than not, the Spirit works through the community we keep around us.
We Can Be Faithful Because Jesus is Preeminent
Youth ministers, the practices of honestly evaluating our ministries and listening carefully to feedback help us to be intentional about realignment. These can be uncomfortable exercises, but they help to reveal spots that need our attention. Of course, none of this is a foolproof formula for the perfect youth ministry. We will not do everything perfectly. But youth ministry is not about flawless execution; it’s about faithfully aligning ourselves with Jesus.
Colossians 1:18 does not call us to build impressive ministries. It calls us to remember and celebrate the eternal truth: Jesus is the head of the church, so that in everything he might be preeminent. And when Jesus is truly preeminent—not just assumed, but in practice—we can step forward with quiet confidence.
Are you new to youth ministry or looking to change the culture of ministry at your church? Check out our Youth Ministry Training Courses for practical help keeping the first things first.
