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?