I've recently taken on the role of ordination chaplain for two of the Youthworks College graduates who are preparing to be ordained as Deacons in the Diocese next February. 

Talking with Luke last week I realised that one of the dangers in ordaining youth ministers is that they may now be given all the work of an assistant minister on top of their work as a youth minister so that they end up not having time to do the youth ministry that they were originally set aside to do! 

Yet, at the same time it can be quite helpful for the youth minister to be able to do some of the things an assistant minister does with the same 'qualification' of ordination that an assistant minister has. Preaching to an adult congregation for example can be an effective way for a youth minister to establish some credibility with church parents - as long as they do a decent job of it!

Is the answer to have a suitable balance between a 'primary responsibility' of youth ministry and a 'secondary responsibility' of congregational preaching? 

I suggest that a better way forward is for us to have 'preaching youth ministers' who will continue to serve (i.e. minister to) teenagers at the same time as serving the adult congregation in their preaching.  Youth ministers are both advocates and guides for young people - and preaching to adults is a great context in which to do both those things.

As I've argued elsewhere in this blog, the task of guiding young people in the faith belongs primarily to the family, and secondarily to the church. One thing a preaching youth minister can do is to apply the text of Scripture to families in their role of being primary faith-trainers of their children.  In that way they are continuing to help guide young people in their faith.  As someone who is convinced of the importance of families in raising children and young people as missional disciples of Jesus I want to be helping congregations understand how God's word is energising, equipping and encouraging them in that task. A preaching youth minister can helpfully include a few thoughts in each sermon on 'how this applies to parents and carers as you raise your children in the faith'.  Even the repetition of the question will be educative in itself.

As well as being guides, youth ministers are also advocates for the young.  Youth ministers know that God is at work in the lives of children and teenagers.  This is something that adults in the church either don't realise this, or can too easily forget. A preaching youth minister can helpfully point out what God has been doing among the youth and children to the other members of the church family. The illustrations from music and culture and stories about poo that work a treat on Friday night might not go down so well at the 8am service. But stories about what God is doing in the lives of the young people in the church can inform and encourage and help build a church family where young people are valued and appreciated.

Congregational preaching isn't just an additional ministry to be balanced alongside the responsibilities of youth ministry, but can be an important aspect of a youth ministers' service of the young in the name of Christ.

And come to think of it, it's not just preaching youth ministers who could do these things, but all preachers. at least, all preachers who believe that children and young people have a real place in the life of the family of God.