Respect?

“So, it’s more than just playing games?” I was stunned in my phone conversation with my sister when she made this comment. I had just told her about the release of “Gospel Centered Youth Ministry” and how I had written a chapter for it. I thought back to the days in our diocese when the perception was that I was advocating for a no games approach to ministry. Then she laughed and said she was just joking. My sister is a Children’s Ministry Director at a Presbyterian Church outside Chicago.  She then commented on how the pastor at her previous church had to push the youth leaders to do more than just play games. She also mentioned that at the new church she just started working for, the youth group actually has content… something she was impressed with. I affirmed that the book was about youth ministry centered around the gospel and not games.

We work in a field that is laughed off as the place where people play games.  I recall a conversation with a rector who on hiring a new youth minister, said the guy had the closest thing to a youth ministry degree. I asked what the degree was in… recreation was the answer.  Ugh! And yet I am married to a physical education teacher who faces the same professional disregard.  The stereotype of a PE teacher in our area is someone who throws out some basketballs and reads the newspaper or plans the strategy for the next game they are coaching. Few people expect PE teachers to be actually teaching, at least where we currently live. My wife is constantly bucking that perception.

How do we deal with the perception that Youth Ministry is all fun and games?  Well, we can start by de-emphasizing games. Our publicity and communications in the church should emphasize life change taking place and the power of the gospel through the study of God’s word. I know that does not sound as exciting but if we attract kids with games we will only keep them if the games are fun. It might mean attracting a few less students but the ones who only come for fun are not disciples to begin with.  We also need to communicate to church leaders about the transformation of lives taking place in our ministries. Reports to vestry, boards, and any other church leaders should always include stories of lives changed by the gospel. All that is not say we should not have fun, but that our fun should not be the draw.  There is no other place in the world of a student that seeks to attract kids by fun and then lead them into something else. Parents need to understand that it is spiritual growth we are all about and yes, we have fun doing that. We also need to be able to minister to the parents of students and even just adults in the congregation.  That can happen through the things we communicate, what we might offer to teach, and if your church allows… occasional preaching or teaching of adults.

The only way that people will stop viewing youth ministry as all fun and games is if we let them know that it is about far more than that. Get your church leaders to stop by and visit the youth group periodically.  My wife has found that when administrators visit her classroom (the gym) and see a lesson taught, they are deeply impressed. Same has gone for district leaders visiting. Perhaps this is why her school district leans on her for curriculum direction and leadership. Only we can change the perception that youth ministry is far more than fun and games.