Saturday, August 28, 2004

The Power of the Youth Ministry Volunteer

I was miserable as a youth pastor. I hated my job, resented my boss, and feared the board, so I got out. But four years later, I'm still at the same church working with the same kids. I couldn't leave, so I changed my role. Now I'm a volunteer, and I discovered something I wish I'd known from the start. Power in the church is something you give, not something you take.

I was young, and this youth pastor position was my first real job. I had vision. I had ideas. I had energy. I had almost entirely no help—my first mistake. I set out to change the world one kid at a time, unaware of the many problems associated with going it alone.

I visited local schools, spent time hanging out at the BMX park, and called every single kid who had visited the church in the last few years. And the program started popping. We went from 10 kids to 100 in those first three years. Meanwhile, the base of steady volunteers grew from one to three. I was already in trouble, but I didn't know it.

Read the complete article here.

No comments: