Hey youth pastors, here is an action plan that I put together for myself and my own youth ministry, and I thought it might be helpful to share with the Rooted community. In yesterday’s article, which you can read here, I wrote about how the church in America, and many youth pastors in America, do not understand the role of a youth pastor; as a result, they experience confusion and frustration on many fronts within their youth ministries. Below, you will find a suggested action plan for helping both you and your church begin moving towards greater trust in God’s design for your ministry, and less trust in your own designs for ministry.
Action Plan
The youth pastor, in submission to the plurality of elders, is to do the following:
- Develop and maintain a definition of a youth pastor and make it clearly accessible for the church.
- For example: The youth pastor of [insert church name here] is a man who hopes in Jesus. He is of character, with a desire to shepherd Christ’s church, affirmed by and joined in the elders/church leaders, and therefore called by God, with the gift of teaching the Holy Scriptures with a specific focus on the youth and their families.
- Develop and maintain a clear Youth Ministry Purpose Statement and make it easily accessible for the church body, and align it with the purpose statement of the whole church.
- For example: This youth ministry exists for the worship of God, the self-sacrificial care of one another, and the witness of Christ to the world.
- Develop and maintain a clear statement for the means of ministry used within youth ministry.
- For example: Word, Family, and Mercy. Personal and corporate ministry at [insert church name here] will be driven by the Word of God, relating as the family of God, and enjoying the privilege of extending mercy to our neighbors in word and deed.
- Model all youth ministry efforts and programs using the purpose of youth ministry statement and means of ministry statement.
- Assess youth ministry efforts using the purpose of youth ministry statement and the means of ministry statement.
- Train leaders in the purpose and means of youth ministry.
I hope this is a helpful guide that serves you in your God-given role.
