Discerning a Call to a Youth Ministry Position

In June, my wife, daughter, and I moved to Utah where we had accepted a call for me to serve as a high school pastor at Washington Heights Baptist Church in Ogden. For us, it was the culmination of a five-month long process that began when denominational issues had come to a head at our former church and it was clear that most in our church would be leaving our church and denomination (but that’s another post).

A recent post over at Tim Schmoyer’s Life in Student Ministry discusses some warning signs when interviewing for a youth ministry position. It got me thinking about some of my experiences looking for youth ministry positions, and some great advice I’ve received when it comes to the search, interview, and candidating process. I wanted to pass some of that advice on, as well as a few things I’ve learned along the way.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that the process should be a process of discernment.
When it became clear that my church’s situation meant that it was time to search for a new position, my wife, Jennifer, and I had one daughter and had just found out that we were expecting our second child. It was no longer simply a question of trying to discover what God had in store for the next period of our lives. In a matter of months, I would need new employment to provide for my family. When I began looking for positions, I committed to sending in a résumé to at least one open position a day. By the time we accepted a call to Washington Heights, I had applied to more than seventy open positions. It was hard at times not to feel like I was just applying for a job instead of trying to discern what God had planned for our family next. Thankfully, I have a wonderful wife to pray with, and we prayed almost every morning that God would simply make clear where he wanted us to go. Of course, that’s how we ended up in Utah, so know that it’s a dangerous prayer to pray. Fine tuning that résumé, visiting Youth Specialties’ Job Bank three times a day to search for new jobs in your area, and following up with senior pastors and search committees to confirm that your application did indeed make it through and hear that their next meeting is in four weeks and that they’ll be able to let you know within three weeks after that doesn’t always seem like a spiritual process. However, even in the details, commit the process to God, spend plenty of time in prayer, and ask others to pray with and for you as well. Do your best to simply follow God where he leads.

Don’t be afraid to ask professors and fellow youth pastors if they know anywhere that might be a good fit.
I have a hard time with this one, because I like to do things myself and without help. However, it’s a good idea to consider positions suggested by people you trust. They not only might know of positions that aren’t on job sites or denominational websites, but they also will have some insight into ministry positions that might be a good match for you.

You are allowed to check a church’s references.
Any church you interview with (if it is doing what it’s supposed to) will check your references that you provide. Feel free to talk to people who are familiar with the church to get some more information. And there’s no reason to feel like you need to do this undercover. Most healthy search teams and senior pastors will probably be pleased that you are serious about doing your homework as part of your discernment.

Write down questions to ask during any interviews.
One of the benefits to a search process being a process of discernment is that both you and the church are determining whether you are a good fit for one another is that you are interviewing each other. What are your “non-negotiables” when it comes to serving in a church setting? In my last search process, churches that seemed like such a good possibility quickly were crossed off my list, not because of any red flags or huge issues, but because my questions revealed that we weren’t a good fit for one another.

Find out why there is a vacancy in the youth ministry position.
There are several reasons why a church might need a new youth pastor. Is it a newly created position? Did the former youth pastor leave on good terms? If it was clear that the former youth pastor and the church leadership had some differences, what was the conflict? Any kind of conflict with a former youth pastor should not automatically kill the deal, but if you learn of any previous conflict, you have every right to ask pointed questions in a loving way.

At its best, searching for a youth ministry position can be a great journey of following God where he leads. However, there are often many bumps along the way, so allow me to point you back to my first bit of advice: commit the process to God and remember: you’re not just looking for a job, you’re discerning carefully where God is leading.

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