WANTED: Youth Minister
Growing Church is looking for you to join our congregation to take care of our youth ministry for us.
The successful applicant will be a 22 year old extraverted male who enjoys all styles of contemporary music and can dress to fit in with the full range of youth sub-cultures. An ability to play computer games, skate board or surf is required. Active use of the latest tools of electronic communication is essential.
Are you looking to take a few years off before getting stuck into a career? Are you looking for a place to try out your calling to future church ministry? Are you able to work three days a week, provide your own accommodation and build a vibrant youth ministry from scratch in two years? If you can perform miracles with absolutely no support… then we need You!
Apply Now!
In many churches the story is the same: where can we find someone to look after the youth ministry!
But are churches looking in the right places for people to work with youth? Are church leaders overlooking people who have all the gifts for serving Jesus among teenagers but who don't fit the accepted stereotype?
For many Christians youth ministry is a stage you move through between leaving school and settling down with a family. For those who are still young enough to have the energy to relate to teenagers, with enough time to hang out with teenagers and without enough experience to be let loose on ministry with adults, Youth Ministry is the perfect option!
Over time though most youth leaders will leave their youth ministry behind. Mostly in their mid to late 20's, as the time pressures of work or family take over, many a youth leader has woken up to discover that they don't really like the same music as teenagers any more, they don't really dress the same as teenagers any more, and, if they're honest, don't really like teenagers much any more. In the larger churches, another batch of school leavers steps in to fill the gap. In the small churches the group dwindles again until another young person comes along to take up the reins for another couple of years.
But none of this is much help in building a vibrant Kingdom community of young people ready to turn their world upside down for Jesus. One of the biggest hindrances to growing youth ministry is a lack of continuous, well trained leadership.
What teenagers need from the church are people who will love them because they themselves love the Lord Jesus. Teenagers don't need someone to be just like them; they want someone to just be interested in what it's like to be them. They don't need to be entertained " they have enough options for that already; what they're looking for is someone to be authentic with them about what living for Jesus really looks like. They don't want pat answers; they want to see a real faith that is able to survive the complexity and ambiguity of life. They won't be worried aobut whether you watch the latest TV shows or listen to the latest music or wear the latest clothes as long as you take the time to listen to them. Though everything has changed from when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in the first century, nothing has changed: service offered in the name of the Lord Jesus has always delighted in sharing not just the gospel of God but our own lives as well.
If we are to see young people established and nurtured in the faith we need to recruit people who love the Lord Jesus and who love teenagers and who are willing to spend time helping them live for Him. And we need to recruit broadly. A 45 year old mother who loves Jesus and loves teenagers will be a great youth leader. A 19 year old university student who loves Jesus and loves teenagers will be a great youth leader. A 65 year old retired policeman who loves Jesus and loves teenagers will be a great youth leader. A 27 year old research student who loves Jesus and loves teenages will be a great youth leader. Do you love Jesus and love teenagers? Then we need you! Apply now!
