It has been a long time since I started out in youth ministry. With a tenure of more than twenty years, I have noticed a lot of trends and changes in urban youth ministry. To a large degree, I am noticing churches—particularly in urban, inner-city areas—struggling with youth ministry.
In 2015 I left a youth pastor position at a middle-class megachurch on the south side of Chicago to plant a church in an urban, low-income community. The very same context in which I came to faith as a teenager struggling to be freed from the grips of the Chicago streets. Youth ministry changed my life, and it also changed our community, because when youth ministry thrives, youth flourish both in the church and the community.
I missed doing ministry in the dark places and was longing to serve among the poor. I always believed that light should go to the darkest places, so I returned to my hometown area of Roseland and planted Kingdom Covenant Church Chicago. We launched on Sunday, September 11, 2016. That’s right, on 9/11, because we were responding to the emergency crisis happening in our community. I know all too well that urban communities desperately need faithful youth ministries.
An Urban Emergency
Urban, inner-city youth ministry seems to be in decline. This has been the reality for many of my colleagues in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York. Our youth face some of the greatest challenges in the inner city. Broken homes, gang violence, the prevalence of extreme traumas, incarcerated parents, drug addiction, and a poor educational system, to name a few.
When we began our church on 9/11, the first sermon I preached came from Amos 9; it was entitled “Emergency Responders.” The text declares…
“On that day I will raise up
the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;”
Amos 9:11 NKJV
In this passage, Amos uses the term “tabernacle of David” as a metaphor referring to the royal lineage of King David, whose descendants experienced exile from their land and their city greatly damaged and ruined. But God promised to raise it up again, to repair and rebuild what had been destroyed. Which God in fact did by sending his people back to the land to organize, plan, and serve together to restore Jerusalem and its people. Like Judah, and the city of Jerusalem, our inner cities are greatly in need of repair. I truly believe that urban youth can contribute greatly to the power and strength not only of our churches, but our cities as well.
I know this because my life was changed as a violent teenager in the inner-city because of the power of urban youth ministry. But now I am noticing a sad decline in urban youth ministry in our city. Prominent congregations that once had robust youth ministries are providing less for their youth. Many churches no longer have formal youth ministries, regular youth church services, or even youth pastors. I believe this is due to the high turnover rate of youth pastors. It seems that every year or two churches have to find a new youth pastor. Many of the urban youth pastors are not sticking around for the long haul.
My presupposition is that many contemporary youth pastors do not understand the critical need and the importance of their longevity in service to the youth. Many are looking at youth ministry not as a serious call to serve the succeeding generation but as an opportunity to take another role down the road.
Emergency Responders
The Response of Urban Youth Ministers
We need urban youth ministers who have a passion for youth, not just a passion for ministry. We need youth ministers in our inner city that understand their role as a calling and see in their youth the potential to bring about spiritual transformation in their congregations and communities. Being a youth pastor should be seen as an honor and a privilege. The season of youth is a critical period of life; it has a strong bearing on who people will become in life. The opportunity to help shape the lives and faith of teenagers is a tremendous blessing, and a precious responsibility.
As a former youth pastor, I know that youth ministers are not always acknowledged for their work and are at times undervalued in our congregations. Therefore, youth ministry is not for the faint of heart; it requires tough skin. Youth ministers must understand that they are not working for people, but for God. Our service is for the God who called us and for the good of the sheep we shepherd.
So urban youth minister friends, remember what it was like when you were youth, especially if you grew up in an under-resourced community. If not, just imagine growing up with parents who were hooked on drugs, incarcerated, or in single-parent homes with multiple children. These are the children Jesus says not to forbid to come to him (Matt. 19:14). These children need spiritual leaders who are not seeking promotion to something else but seeking faithfulness to God’s call to disciple youth.
For any youth pastor struggling with the seemingly overwhelming weight of your work, please know that God sees you and will reward you in his time (Mark 10:29-30). Because of the finished work of Christ, your labor is not in vain. It is important to develop a support system to support your work as you support the youth. Building relationships with other youth pastors or former youth pastors who have been there is a great start. Having a mentor and/or counselor to process with is also helpful but more important than them all is to have a faithful prayer life. This is work that will require the grace of God to persevere.
To be a youth pastor is a sacred, high calling. The destiny of many of our urban youth is tied to the faithfulness of our urban youth ministers. God doesn’t promote those seeking promotion; he promotes those who are faithful. If you are currently serving in urban youth ministry, I encourage you to remain faithful to the call and watch the difference it will make. However, as in all ministry, youth ministers can’t bear the burden alone. We need our parents and our congregations to become the village that raises up our youth through evangelism and discipleship.
The Response of the Broader Church
One of the most profound statements Jesus made from the cross was in John 19:26-27, “Woman, behold your son!” and “He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’” Here Jesus is recognizing the limits of his ability to be there physically for his earthly mother, so he implies that John will have to step in and take care of her. Every young person has different circumstances that require more than they can do on their own, more than their parent(s) can do for them, and more than the youth minister can do alone. We need the entire church to work with parents for the good of their children.
When we say it takes a village to raise a child, we don’t mean the child is raised by a village outside of the home, but that it takes a village to support the home. Many of our youth may have incapable, sick, addicted, incarcerated, or unemployed parents, etc. The church that serves youth needs to respond to these and other unique situations to support urban youth and consequently the youth minister in their work.
We must not disconnect the home of the youth from the house of God. Our youth pastors need parents and guardians to participate and cooperate with the ministry they provide for the youth. Youth ministers with a strong support system and an ample volunteer base will be more motivated to continue. The entire congregation can help. Even churches that are not in the urban context can partner with and serve alongside youth ministries in the inner city as an outreach ministry that would benefit teens who have fewer resources.
We need our lead pastors not to give up on youth ministry. I know just how difficult it is to find good leaders to serve our youth. I know what it is like to have a meager budget and invest significantly in the work only to see it struggle to little or no avail. But the truth is youth ministry is not optional. Our call is to make disciples of all people. Our call is to train up our youth in the way that they should go. The Lord calls us to shepherd every member and every generation of the church. Unless we ourselves are going to give the youth the time and attention they need, we must find and support a remnant of the church that will.
Often, youth ministers feel overwhelmed, under-appreciated, overworked, and in some cases underpaid. It is important for the rest of the church to regularly express our gratitude for their work and to show our appreciation for their commitment to our children. The urban youth need strong, healthy, committed urban youth ministers, and our churches need to support and care for these ministers because their call is critical to the development of our youth.
Stay tuned for an upcoming Rooted Webinar in February 2026!
