Month: March 2025

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Why I Still Believe in Youth Ministry

I first published this article at The Focused Pastor, a ministry of Focus on the Family.

I first met Matt* when he was 15. I was the new Youth Pastor and his single mom brought him to church. She was excited that we were beginning a youth ministry, and to my surprise, Matt was too. He was quirky and a bit of an outsider among the teens in the church, but I loved his honest questions about God and how he was not afraid to be different. Matt came every Wednesday evening when our youth ministry met, and I saw him grow by leaps and bounds.

At one point, I started to pick up Matt and another teen from school a few times a month for a snack and Bible study. We would get some Subway, read the Gospel of John together, talk about Jesus and life, and I would pray for them. After about a year, Matt shared with me that he knew he believed in Jesus. When I asked him how he knew he was saved, he said that it was affecting his life. He didn’t want to sin. He loved Jesus and wanted to follow him. A few months later, Matt was baptized. The last I heard about Matt, he was a video game developer serving in his local church, still following Jesus.

I’ve pastored full-time for almost two decades, and during my first eight years of vocational ministry I was a youth pastor. I am in my mid-40s now and pastoring in a rural church in New England, but I still believe in youth ministry. Matt is one reason. Now my own kids are new reasons I still believe in youth ministry.

I have noticed a change from when I first began leading youth ministry. Decades ago, it was often the parents who wanted their teens to attend more than the teens necessarily did. I knew parents who brought their teens to youth ministry events and told them they needed to be a part of it—that it was good for them. Now I have noticed that it is more often the teens who take the initiative to get themselves there. The same parents who will drive them anywhere six days a week for sports don’t always see the value in driving them to church one night a week for Bible study and fellowship with other believers their age. Should churches still value youth ministry? Here are three reasons I still believe in youth ministry.

Christian Friendship & Fellowship

It has been well-documented that today’s teens are struggling with loneliness and anxiety.1 The Surgeon General has even discussed this and some studies show that the number of youth who face loneliness regularly is about double the number that seniors report.2 Offering gospel- centered opportunities for youth to develop friendships with others their age is one way the church can help with this crisis.

One teenage girl told me she looks forward to attending our youth ministry every week because she has no Christian friends at her public school. She needs the encouragement of Christian friends to help her grow in her personal walk with Jesus and to continue to be a strong light for Christ in her school. Her closest friends are believers partly because of opportunities for fellowship in our youth ministry. Homeschoolers have often told me that they look forward to youth group every week because it is a safe place for them to grow without always having their parents with them. No matter what their schooling or home situation is like, youth ministry can be a place for teens to know that they are not alone in the world, either as a person or as a Jesus-follower.

Evangelism

Matt might have believed in Jesus and been baptized simply by attending our church. Since he attended both, our church and our youth ministry complemented each other in his spiritual journey and his eventual belief in Christ. But he was not comfortable meeting with our pastor like he was discussing faith or reading the Gospel of John with me. The fact that our church had a youth ministry and that it supported me in leading the youth ministry gave Matt an opportunity for one-on-one evangelism and later discipleship that he would not have had otherwise.

An unbelieving friend might be willing to come to youth group or a youth ministry event when they might not be ready to come to church yet. In time, as they learn more about Jesus through the youth ministry, I have seen teens eventually come to church regularly.

I still believe in youth ministry because so many teens in our culture only know the name of Jesus as a swear word. Just the other day, a public-school history teacher was telling me that in the last few decades he has seen a difference in the background knowledge that youth now have about the Bible. When he first started teaching, they had a basic knowledge of Christianity and Judaism. Now they hardly ever have any Bible background. Youth ministry is a place for teens to begin to understand the storyline of the Bible so they can begin to understand the gospel.

Teens in the Church Need to Know They Matter

Many teens over the years have told me they appreciate our youth ministry because it shows them that the church cares about them. They have shared that Bible study with other teens has helped prepare them for church involvement as adults. While they have attended some adult Bible studies—which is good and healthy—they have told me they are usually too intimidated to share much. They know that the problems and questions they face are different than other generations in the church, and they appreciate having a place to discuss them. With the foundation of the entire church worshiping and learning together on Sunday morning, I have been happy to be able to provide that safe place for teens to grow and learn.

Sometimes people ask me why we have a youth ministry, since Scripture doesn’t require it. But the same could be said for why many churches have a seniors ministry. Just as older believers enjoy the fellowship they share with other people in their age range who are experiencing many of the same problems and joys, so do youth. I am not an advocate of separating generations for every church event. For example, I have seen great benefits in having even middle schoolers come to our Men’s Bible Study (Men’s and Women’s Ministries are another choice the Bible allows but does not require). Yet, that doesn’t mean there is no benefit in also giving opportunities for youth or others to fellowship and learn by age.

Today’s teens and families have a lot on their plates. There are lots of opportunities. But since I want my teens and the teens in my church to be life-long followers of Jesus, I want to put them in front of God’s Word and provide Christian fellowship as much as I can. I still believe in youth ministry.

* For privacy, his name has been changed.

  1. https://www.rootedministry.com/loneliness-and-gen-z-hungering-for-true-community/
  2. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/01/loneliness-poor-health-reported-far-more-among-young-people-than-even-those-over-72/559961002/
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Brothers, Take (and Enjoy) Your Vacation Time

I originally published this article at The Focused Pastor, a ministry of Focus on the Family.

I remember the first time I took a few weeks off as a Lead Pastor. I almost felt guilty. We were a small church. I had been there about a year, and with no other staff, I struggled to cover everything that needed to happen every week. But I also remember the joy and refreshment from having special time as a family and stepping away from the burdens of ministry and the grind of sermon prep. My sermons were sharper when I returned. I felt ready to tackle ministry again. My family and I were closer.

I no longer feel guilty taking vacation time. Now, I can hardly wait, knowing that rest and investment in family relationships are good gifts from God. Brothers, take your vacation time. Enjoy your vacation time. You need it. Your family and friends need it. Your church needs it. Let’s look at four reasons pastors should take and enjoy their vacation time.

1. Because You Are Not God

Why did God take a day of rest after creating the world? Of course, there are many theological reasons, but one that is no less theological than others is that he created a pattern of rest for humans to show us that we need rest and refreshment. In enjoying the good gifts that God has given, such as family, friends, recreation, and even sleep, during intentional times of rest, we are reminded that we are not God.

When we leave ministry behind for a day off or for weeks during vacation time, we remind ourselves and others that we are not God. Pastors are important and gifts to the church, but they are not Jesus. When we try to always be there at all times for all of our members, and we don’t think they can continue in their walk with God without us for a few weeks, we are functionally telling them and ourselves that we are God. If taking your vacation time reminds you and your church that you are not Jesus, then it is time well spent no matter what you do during your time away!

2. You Need to Take Your Vacation Time Because of Your Family and Friends

Pastoral ministry can be all-consuming. There is always more to do because there are always people who need to be discipled and evangelized. While the flexible nature of our schedule can be a blessing, it can sometimes also mean that you are often “on” when most people are “off.” We count it a privilege to walk through life’s difficulties with church members, but the heaviness of a broken world starts to weigh on us after a while.

I have heard from others and experienced that the first week of vacation time for a pastor is often the week when our bodies and minds are with our family, but our minds also keep wandering back to what we didn’t get done and the ministry and challenges that lie ahead. This is why I strongly recommend the “two-week vacation principle.” If possible, pastors should try to take at least two or three weeks of vacation time at once so they have this unwinding time plus additional time to be fully present.

Maybe you could keep going in ministry mentally and emotionally without a two or three-week break, but your family and friends need you to be fully present sometimes. Your kids need memories of you focused entirely on them and not distracted by what is happening at church. Your wife needs to have regular time during the year when she gets you, not “you, the pastor.”

3. You Need to Take Your Vacation Time Because of Your Church

When I had been in my current role as Lead Pastor for about a year and a half, my wife and I went on a pastor’s and wives regional retreat. While not a vacation, it was time away from home and church responsibilities in a beautiful place that we had never been to—Cape Cod. When we returned that Sunday, I was exhausted. I had been unable to complete my sermon early in the week when I was in the office due to other ministry, so I was up late each night of the retreat, plus the night we returned. One of our deacons approached me after I preached and exhorted me, “I appreciate your hard work, but I can tell you’re tired after the retreat. Next time, get someone else to preach the Sunday after the retreat, and just rest and enjoy your time away. It will be better for everyone.” He was right. I’ve done that every year since, and my wife and I look forward to that special time of fellowship, rest, and fun together.

Your church needs you in the pulpit at least some of the time without the brain fog that slogging through sermon preparation and ministry week after week can bring. It also needs you to be rested sometimes and able to put things in the proper perspective, which happens when you’ve had time away for physical, emotional, and spiritual refreshment.

I have had pastor friends who struggle with the sense that they don’t have enough vacation time or time out of the pulpit to feel they have been able to receive the refreshment they need each year. I would encourage you to discuss with your church leadership why you could use an additional annual week or so of vacation time if this is your situation. You may need to use more annual vacation time than your leaders or church members who are not in pastoral ministry because of the strain that ministry puts on you.

4. You Need to Take Your Vacation Time Because of Your Joy & Endurance in Ministry

Our lives are more integrated than ever before. My grandpa was a pastor for over four decades, and I know that he enjoyed ministry but that it could be draining like it is for all of us. But my grandpa never made a phone call to a church member while he was driving. My grandpa never had his vacation time interrupted by a text from a church member. This is not all bad. Some of our technology and way of life today make us more efficient. But it is good to remember that the realities of pastoral ministry today mean we need our vacation time more than ever to be joyful and endure in ministry.

It’s not that we get our joy and endurance in ministry from a good vacation. Some of our family’s most restful vacation time has been when we couldn’t afford to go anywhere but enjoyed a good “staycation.” But sometimes, intentional time away from pastoral ministry gives us the perspective that we need to see God and enjoy his gifts. Brothers, take—and enjoy—your vacation time!

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