After your faith one of the most important reasons you became a Minister was to work with the youth in your community.  It is valuable work and you have a passion for it.  You want to help young people discover their faith and grow spiritually and have a long lasting impact on their lives.  Young people can be hard to reach, after all no one said this wouldn’t be challenging.  How do you build a long lasting and impactful youth ministry?

Development of the Youth Programs

There is no magic button that will create a strong Youth Ministry, you will need to put in the time and effort.  Take the time to consider what your ministry needs, often the job description for youth pastor is vague or there are unrealistic expectations.  Instead of looking for the perfect candidate, build one.  Allow your youth minister to have the tools they need to thrive in their role.

Focus on your staff and volunteers, make sure they have clear cut roles and that they understand what you expect.  Write job descriptions that outline their responsibilities and list measurable goals and the time frame to complete them.  If the culture of your youth ministry is not what it needs to be then you need to take the initiative to change things.  Leadership starts from the top and it must begin with the pastor setting the right tone.

This should be self evident but hire someone who actually enjoys working with children.  Finding someone with the right combination is difficult enough in any project but it is doubly so when searching for a youth minister.   A candidate must have deep faith but who can also look outside himself and set up a ministry that will continue long after his job takes him elsewhere.  Encourage his or her emotional health and encourage activities outside the ministry as well.

Breakdown by Age Groups

You will need to work with your Youth Pastor setting up programs for children according to age.  The youth pastor and the volunteers should each have an age group that they work with on a regular basis to build consistency and relationships with the youth in your congregation.  Shift the focus from “programs” to friendships, children are more inclined to work with and trust friends.  Programs become impersonal and just another thing to do instead of an activity you enjoy.  Finding the right Youth Minister will be a difficult task but remember God has faith in your abilities.  For further inspiration this video can help you build your Youth Ministry into a long lasting and meaningful part of your church.