It can be easy to "over educate" yourself in youth ministry. Over the past several decades, youth ministry has morphed into a bonifide ministry with high value and importance. No longer the stepping stone to the "real pastorate" or a babysitting service, youth ministry has gained speed and continues to be a driving force in the church today.
As I sit in the office and look at rvaym's book shevles that are filled with youth minsitry resources, and think about the boxes of youth ministry books I have (which I'm not sure who's garage they are packed in right now, but nonetheless, I've got a bunch somewhere), it is clear that there is not a shortage of resources.
Then I can search the web, read blogs like Joshs, Terraces, and Brads, and learn from them. There are conferences, seminars, training, DVD's, affinity groups, and networks of people that also can help mold and teach. Training opportunities and resources are abundant in the world of youth minsitry.
But, can we get over stimulated with all this stuff (mostly good) and miss something?
I wonder how many youth pastors spend a bulk of their time gaining knowledge from these sources, studying the techniques and trends in youth ministry, looking at methodology, networking with other youth leaders, reading, blogging, twittering, spending hours in the "classroom". Don't get me wrong, we need to sharpen our education on these things, but let's not miss the battle going on around us and neglect the relationships that need to be built with youth.
Because at its core, the most important thing about youth ministry is the relationships we develop with our youth, leaders, and parents.
Of course, there is stuff that needs to be done behind the scenes. We need to be aware and on top of of trends, strategies, programming, calendars, and organization. But the purpose of these things is to get them done on our firm foundation so that it will pave a way for relationships with people, namely teenagers.
So, as I weed through the tons of resources readily available in preparation for leading a youth ministry seminar on Monday, I find its easy to get over stimulated and miss the point. And as I evaluate my own ministry to youth at my church, I notice several growing edges that I need to sharpen personally in leadership.
After all, the best resources are from the field.
Example: we've had a justice/adventure (community missions) project planned for several weeks that is calendared for tomorrow. My efforts at communicating the specifics, working the plan, and gathering excited youth to participate have run short. I didn't feel comfortable setting something up with a missions organization not knowing how many kids to expect, so of the leads that I had, I cancelled those projects. Of course, there is stuff to do (for those that show up), but not a major effort because I didn't want to overcommit to an outside organization. And at the end of the day, its my responsibility of not communicating well and getting our youth pumped about the opportunity.
Now, I could look on the bookshelf for a resource to help me discover what to do, how to fix it, what to learn from this scenario. I could search blogs for other youth pastors who have found themselves in this predicament. I could call my youth pastor friends and chat about it, learn from them.
Or, I could just check my e-mail for our wonderful youth parents.
Here is the lesson I learned. It didn't come from a YS book or Doug Field's blog. But it is highly profound and has taught me. It's just one line of an e-mail from a youth parent:
It is hard to plan not knowing who will come but also hard to get kids to commit when there’s not a definite plan.
Now, doesn't that sound like a quote in a top shelf youth ministry book? In this particular story, I've found that the best resources are from the field.
Oftentimes in youth minsitry, the best learning moments happen when our noses aren't in books, our fingers not on keyboards, our ears not on the cell phone, but when we are digging in the trenches in the lives of teenagers and their parents.
P.S.
However, we can't ignore the valuable resources in youth ministry to help us. Here are the three top books I've recently read to give some insight in YM:
Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries
Simple Student Ministry by Eric Geiger and Jeff Borton
Youth Ministry 3.0 by Mark Oestreicher
Usually I’m a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to getting ready for Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love the celebration, the meaning, the deeply rich reflection of Christ during this time of the year. But, I’ll often throw a bah-humbug at some of the “pre-Christmas” prep.
