Thursday, December 13, 2007

Advice To Senior Pastors From A Former Youth Pastor

Since I have been there and done that (8 years as a youth pastor) and are now transitioning into a Lead Pastor role, I thought it would be prudent to give a little advice to all the Sr. Pastors out there. I could elaborate on these but I think they pretty much speak for themselves.

Here are 40 points for you Senior Pastors out there.
  1. Stop The Fundraising
  2. Treat Them As A Professional
  3. Give 'Em Some Face Time On Sunday's
  4. Turn Them Loose
  5. Value Their Input
  6. Pour Into Their Lives
  7. Set Them Up For Success
  8. Don't Overwork Them
  9. Get Them Some Help
  10. Don't Make Them Do Everything Else
  11. They Are Not Your Slave
  12. You Hired Them For What They Do....Turn 'em LOOSE
  13. Tell Them You Appreciate Them
  14. Tell Them They Are Doing A Great Job
  15. Tell Them They Are Valuable To The Organization
  16. They Are Not Your Janitor's
  17. You Don't Have To Treat Them The Same Way You Were Treated As A Youth Pastor
  18. Did I Already Say NO FUNDRAISING?
  19. They Can Do More Than Announcements On Sunday Morning
  20. Invite Them To Your House
  21. Have Some Fun With Them
  22. Take Them Out To Dinner Sometime
  23. Give Them A Budget "With Money"
  24. Free Up Their Schedule With More Flex Time
  25. Let Them Be With Their Youth
  26. Send Them To Conferences
  27. Never, Never, Never Make Them Pay Their Own Way
  28. Did I Already Say TELL THEM YOU APPRECIATE THEM?
  29. When They Have Done Great Tell Them
  30. When They Haven't Done Great Help Them
  31. Let Them Have A Family Life
  32. They Don't Have To Be Busy With Activity's
  33. They Are Not The Church Baby-Sitters
  34. ONE LAST TIME FOR THE HARD OF HEARING - NO FUNDRAISING
  35. Buy Them Resources To Help Them Be Better
  36. Send Them To Conferences That Will Actually Help Them
  37. Give Them A Year End Bonus
  38. They Are Not You...Don't Make Them Be You
  39. Let Them Change It Up If Necessary
  40. Make Sure Their Ministry Vision Is The Same As The Churches
Bonus: They really are MORE THAN youth pastors.

What it comes down to is most youth pastors move on mainly because they feel under-appreciated and over-worked. They aren't your slaves they are "PASTORS' called by God to make a difference in the next generation. Set them up for success and turn them loose to become who God wants them to be. Don't make them be "youth pastors" and then have them do all the other things in the church. They are already pastoring a "church". Just like you don't do it all by yourself, they can't do it all and then do all the work of the church for you. Most youth pastors I know care more about kids and do this for less pay than most of you give out. Don't make them struggle financially. Treat them like GOLD. This may be a reiteration of that whole list up there but maybe it needs to be said. AND MAYBE JUST MAYBE MORE YOUTH PASTORS WOULD BE LONG TERM AND MORE SUCCESSFUL IF YOU WOULD JUST STOP AND PAY ATTENTION.

Did I Miss Anything?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good list, I had to laugh at the fundraising ones. hated doing car washes! will never do that again!! And why can't a youth pastor be one of the pastors. I will never understand the system of hierarchy in the church. Even the apostles taught together, i think.

Anonymous said...

Word Jason.

As a former YP, I whole-heartedly agree. Good stuff.

Jason Curlee said...

I have always hated the "I'm going to make you go through everything I had to go through as a youth pastor" thinking.

It is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why not just go ahead and set them up for success not make their life a living hell for the sake of "submission".

It's wack.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the list! I really wish I could be listened to as someone who had something to add as oppossed to just the "youth guy" that doesn't know anything.

Digital Marketing Review said...

Interesting reading, I will share it with my church leadership!
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Jason Curlee said...

Thanks Paul...I hope it can be useful.