Dear Youth Pastor:
It's been a depressing week for me. Last week, I took my youth group to a concert at another church in our area. The concert went well, the kids seemed to have a good time, so when the last song was over, I thought it had been a great event. Boy, was I ever wrong. As we were leaving the church, I overheard some of our students talking about the guy who gave a short evangelistic sermon midway through the show. The speaker was the new youth pastor at the church that hosted the event. Apparently, everyone in our group really loved what this guy had to say, and one of our kids even said it opened his eyes to who Jesus really is! Now, they want to do MORE events with that church and have been asking when we'll hang out with them again.
As you can imagine, I was devastated. I'm supposed to be the one who changes my students' lives--not Jesus or other youth pastors! Have I lost my mojo? Where have I gone wrong? I'm really in need of some help.
Sincerely,
Pushed Aside in Pocatello
Pushed Aside:
I understand your pain, and you should know that you're not the only youth pastor to experience such pain at the hands of another youth pastor. Thankfully, it doesn't have to be that way. The key to bouncing back is to make sure everyone knows that youth ministry is all about you. Here are a couple of tips to help you along:
First, communicate to your students as clearly as you can that you are their primary spiritual guide. Discourage them to seek spiritual help from other sources, such as their friends, other churches, or their parents. And if you do encourage them to read the Bible, make sure they know that you're the one with all the answers to questions they might have.
Second, make fun of other churches, youth ministries, and youth pastors in your area as much as possible. Make sure your students know that your youth ministry is the only one that can help them grow in their faith, and that they won't have as close of a relationship with Jesus if they ever go to another youth group.
Third,--and I'm guessing you already know this after your experience at the concert--never EVER do a youth ministry event with another church--especially one that has a youth pastor remotely as cool as you. If you do events with other churches, your students might start to get the idea that you're not the only one that can help them in their walk with Jesus.
With any luck, you'll be right back on top in the minds and hearts of your students in no time at all.
Sincerely,
Youth Pastor
Dear Youth Pastor is a public service to the good people who read this blog, and letters are published every Thursday. To ask Youth Pastor a question, just email him at DearYouthPastor@hotmail.com.
