I am often asked for advice from Youth Pastors who are fairly new to the ministry.  If you and I were to have coffee (I love coffee) and you were to ask me what ONE piece of advice I would give you what would I say?

I really do not have to think long to come up with the answer.  It is without a doubt the single most effective thing I have seen in my or any other ministry.  It is the difference maker between having a ministry of lasting influence or just another Youth Ministry.

It is however the hardest thing I have ever done in my ministry, and will likely be the hardest thing you will do as well…if you do it.

This one thing will help you be more effective with engaging parents.  It allow you to be more effective in your community.  It will give you more respect and more influence in the church you serve in.  It will help your relationship with your pastor.  And it will give you greater joy in your ministry.

Sound to good to be true?  Feel like I am exaggerating?  I can promise you I am not.

So, if I could say one thing to a Youth Pastor what would I say?

Simply stated I would say, “Stay put,” and here is why:

You are overestimating what you can accomplish in the short-term.

You have a vision, dreams, goals, ambitions for the Youth Ministry you are in, and you should.  Too often though we overestimate how much we can do in the short-term.

We come in, guns blazing, tearing down and changing everything we can in hopes of accomplishing this great vision.  In the end, we can make everyone mad, find ourselves frustrated, and accomplish very little.

If you want to really bring about change, you must lead people there.  Leading takes time.

The hard truth is, you probably cannot accomplish as much as you think you can, as fast as you think you can.

You are underestimating what you can accomplish over the longer haul.

It’s not that you cannot accomplish all that you want to…it just takes time.  If God has called to you there, and given you a vision, He will be faithful to that end.

It means though that you will have to be patient, and lead with a discerning pace.  You will most certainly have to endure difficult times (most likely around the 2-3 year mark).  Through that however, you will grow in your leadership and in your own faith personally.

In the end, if I could tell a Youth Pastor one thing it would be to stay put.  Honestly though, I would not just tell them…I would beg them to stay put.

For their own joy and the those they have been called to serve, I would plead with them to stay and endure.

The fact is, if you want a reason to leave, you will always be able to find a reason to leave.  Looks for reasons to stay.

If YOU could share some of your wisdom and give one piece of advice to a Youth Pastor, what would you say?

Well, you can.  Leave YOUR one piece of advice in the comment section below.

Photo credit: DeaPeaJay / Foter / CC BY-SA