Les Christie: Games Guru; Author; Youth Ministry Chair, William Jessup University
40+ years

YWJ: What do young leaders most need to succeed as they start out in youth ministry?

Les Christie: It’s still all about relationships. You must have good relationships with God and students. Have positive relationships with a healthy volunteer team. Develop affirming relationships with parents (your strongest allies if you treat them right). You must not forget a supportive relationship with your supervisor (senior pastor, elders, deacons, etc.). All of these can make or break a youth ministry; for the most part, that depends on the attitude of the youth leader. Beyond relationships, feed your kids the meat of God’s Word as creatively as you’re able. Do your homework and be prepared—no leaving everything until Saturday night. Your youth group also needs to be a safe place where kids can be themselves. Finally, have fun. I hope your family and ministry are places where you laugh a lot.

YWJ: What developments in youth ministry have encouraged/concerned you?

Les: In TV’s “Monk,” the obsessive-compulsive Adrian Monk describes his ability to see details in crime scenes that everyone else misses—a blessing and a curse. The same is true for recent developments in youth ministry. For example, technology enhances ministry presentations (PowerPoint, video segments), but youth workers spend too much time putting together visual presentations at the expense of spending time in the Word or building relationships with students.

Another case in point would be the styles of music today. Today’s music offers enormous diversity in types of music, but that makes it difficult to know what kind to play and sing with our students. It seems music today is more about professionalism. It is a blessing that Christian bands and their sounds are better today with advanced sound systems, visual effects and well-crafted lyrics. If some older readers don’t think so, check out the YouTube video “Jesus Is a Friend of Mine.” The curse is many students are just listening to bands play (Think concert here.) instead of singing and worshiping. You realize this when you take your students to a Third World country and listen to their children sing.

Facebook and similar websites are a blessing because you have a chance to peek into your students’ lives, but also a curse at what you sometimes find. Text messaging can keep us in touch with each other 24/7, but also can be annoying when trying to teach a class of students who are texting other students when they should be participating in what’s going on right in front of them. These also cut down on face-to-face conversations. One student of mine who now is a youth minister was describing a high school student of his who was breaking up with his girlfriend by texting her during a youth group meeting. The girl was sitting five seats away from him at the time.

YWJ: What makes for long-term service and success?

Les: I was at one church for 22 years. It wasn’t that I was so great, but I tried to be friends with everyone I met. I know it doesn’t always work out that way, but for my part I did the best I could with God’s help to treat people with respect and kindness—even the ones who drove me up the wall.

I think flexibility is also an asset. You are not going to get everything you want, and everything will not always go the way you planned. Remember this is God’s ministry, not yours. We need to view our jobs as equipping the saints (i.e., students, volunteers, parents) for ministry, and we should not want to get in their way, or more importantly in God’s way. This meant discovering my brilliant idea was not all that brilliant and that God might be speaking through someone else into my life and ministry.

YWJ: What is one perennial problem that all youth workers face, and how can they address it?

Les: One of the biggest problems deals with time management, including balancing ministry with family. We need to make the best use of the time we have. If you have to err in one direction, I would go with your family.

I hear many youth workers expressing concern regarding the parents of their students. Granted there are some parents who never should have become parents; but for the most part, the majority of parents I have met through the years are doing the best job they can; the last thing they need is someone making things worse for them. Our job is to come alongside parents, not take the place of parents. We are to encourage, affirm and equip parents with the tools they need.

YWJ: How have you adapted your content through the years?

Les: I bring far more media into the classroom than I did when I had my own youth group (also far more exercises/activities along with the lectures), but I try to keep a balance with solid practical information they can use immediately in their ministries.

YWJ: Any other insights you would like to share?

Les: I am thrilled with the students I am seeing who are going into youth ministry today. They are hard working, self-sacrificing young men and women. They are a wonderful example to me and others in their humility and their optimistic spirits. They are like Hallmark cards: They care enough to give the very best.