“We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (
I am moved at these words of Paul. Sometimes in the long haul of student ministry, the word work sometimes can be misunderstood, written off and looked down upon. Sometimes the word work can be marginalized as if working and ministry shouldn’t go together. After all, we (youth ministry people) build relationships. We don’t pursue numbers. We don’t do things the way other churches do. We don’t work; work is what the corporate world does. We do ministry, and to some that is not the same as work. If I’m honest, I have said the same thing…when my ministry was flat, when it seemed my bag of tricks was gone, when it seemed the senior pastor wanted more from me, when I may have felt the board was looking at me funny, when I was burned out, when I’d had enough of spinning all the plates…I found myself speaking badly about work/ministry.
You see, I have been at this thing called ministry now for almost half my life. I know that when I was a young buck doing student ministry, I was all about ministry. Yes, sometimes I was driven by numbers. Sometimes I was driven by approval. Sometimes I was driven to be liked, to be smart, to be the guy who knew more or was this or that or even better. I didn’t think it was work driving me. Work was what the world did. I was doing ministry. For me, working hard at the wrong things made ministry a lousy endeavor, and the easy way out was to blame working hard on my situation. At some point, I think we all come to the place where we get our issues brought to light, and then if one so chooses can work at getting things in the area of work and motives straightened out. Being driven and working hard, in my estimation, are not the same. Ultimately, new and important adjustments are made. Most likely a new vision, a new work ethic can be established, and the jumping out of the sheets to go to work/ministry becomes a reality.
I left student ministry after a long stint at a church. I thought my time was done. I was ready to go be part of a place where I was the boss, the senior guy. I believed it was my time to preach, to do ministry with adults. So, I went to a 4-year-old church plant. Short story: After three years, I left the church plant. I had preached at least 100 sermons. I had developed a building program. The church wasn’t growing but was standing still; I gave up and went out to find a job. I looked at all the church employment placement places, wrote letters, sent resumes. Not many called for me. God had a plan, and I had no idea what it was. Nevertheless, I landed a job in corporate sales. Landing the job was brutal.
When I met with the CFO/CEO, he looked at my resume and said, “So, you have been in ministry for 15 years? Have you ever worked a G– D— day in your life?” I was stunned. Shocked. How dare he insult my occupation? How dare he talk about the work ethic of ministry? Then he said, “I see you have been doing student ministry. Have you ever touched any little boys?” Now I was disgusted. Then he asked, “Why do you want to sell?” I humbly said, “I need a job.” I needed to work. (There’s that word.) I needed a job.
I was hired, and this CEO was my boss. So what did I do? I worked my tail off. I wanted him to see that we pastors work hard no matter what. Interesting that in this day and age I often hear some youth pastors talking badly about hard work. Ministry and work aren’t the same…or are they?
I believe ministry is the hardest of work. It’s hard because there are students who need to be reached. It’s hard because there are expectations of building a ministry and not just maintaining. It’s hard work because there are fights to fight. There are people to deal with. There is a flow of work to pursue. There are budgets to make. There are strategies to put in place and then work toward. There is much to do. To those who put down corporate church work, the three years I was in the real corporate world, I can say I am glad—thankful—I am a different person for working with people who pursued the task at hand every day. I am a different person because I loved the challenge of prospecting. I loved working to produce. I loved helping my customers. I loved hearing from new customers who switched to my product because I went the extra mile. I pursued, I pushed, I planned, I strategized, and I prayed everyday that I would make a difference in the office and to the people with whom I worked. I made my job my ministry. When my boss said I should be putting in 60 to 75 hours, I did. If I could do it for this guy, I certainly can do it for the Lord. At least that is how I felt about it. I had to learn the hard way once again: Minister as unto the Lord—and it’s a lot of hard work. I wasn’t driven by money or things or the corporate ladder.
This new job was about working hard for the benefit of my family, the benefit of those around me, the benefit of a CEO who didn’t believe people in ministry worked hard and for the benefit of those who have distinguished between ministry and work. I was in the corporate world; my goals, purpose and desires were about things that to me were of high value. I was willing to go the distance.
Then the church I left in 2001 to pursue the church plant called me back in 2009. The senior pastor asked me to come back and oversee the student ministry. Can you believe this? I left because I thought I was at the end, and a decade later, they call me back. With all I had been through in the corporate world, was I ready? Was I prepared? After all, this church was considered a megachurch—more than 2,000 people. In a church this size, the youth ministry was considerably unhealthy it terms of size. What I had built 10 years ago was gone. I had moved a youth group to youth ministry, but now it was a youth group again. I had a ton of work to do. I believed the ministry should grow.
I believe parents and students should be practicing a relationship with Christ that is more than church attendance or doing activities. I believe I must hemorrhage in order for students to bleed (lead by example). I believe in doing things with purpose. I believe in building relationships with students. I believe I need to spend time with my team. I believe there aren’t enough hours in a day to accomplish all the things I am called to do. So herein lies the rub. I believe pursuing godly things in ministry is right. I believe reaching students is a high value that student ministry should be about. Some would call it numbers. I don’t. The easiest thing in student ministry to do is maintain a happy youth group. Really? Really.
So here I am at 52 with people who may think: What is he doing in student ministry again? Well, I am still rearing two boys before they go to college. I look at high school parents much differently now that I have been in the trenches. How I deal with parents now is different from the way I dealt with parents back in the day. I was a parent during some tough times for my guys; some parents need some tough words given to them about the things going on with their students. Tough words are hard work. Tough times for students, parents and youth pastors can produce many great things. Pain is a great teacher. I don’t feel I have arrived. I believe that all that has transpired is to benefit all the people around me—my wife, sons, church, ministry, team, the parents—all will benefit because I went through tough learning times so I could be the person God desires me to be. It was more painful than easy. In fact, it was hard work.
During my time away from student ministry, I was raising two boys. They were playing hockey. I was around many parents each week, attending a church and helping out; I was chaplain of a junior hockey team, working, doing some school work to finish some classes…I didn’t stop. I saw firsthand how it was to be on the sidelines as other youth pastors influenced my sons. I have been around youth people for a long time. So, I know many younger, bright-eyed, ready-to-go youth workers who struggle with churches that look outward, that work hard at putting a great Sunday morning or Saturday night together, who struggle with big buildings and many things going on out there and in there. Some are finding ways to get out of working with goals, strategies and other worldly, corporate things. I say embrace the things that are helps for time management, building fruitful ministry or that help you to become better at doing what you love to do—student ministry.
Students, parents and churches need you to be completely in for them. If not, maybe it’s time to get completely out and let someone else take the wheel. Students and parents are in need of leaders who lead by being committed. Speaking against the politically correct world, showing students and families the local church is loved by Jesus Christ, that the local church with all its blemishes is the place where you work not because you get a pay check but because you believe in it and love it, that the local church as corporate as it may be is where you get paid to give your all. I look back at more than 20 years of student ministry and I can say I work harder today for two reasons:
1. There is not much effort placed in just maintaining a youth ministry. The world today is absolutely crazier than it was 20 years ago. I believe the power for transforming lives is found in the gospel. Making ministry outward focused is about believing the gospel is still the vehicle in which God transforms all people. So keep the mission clear.
2. I believe hard work is the essence for ministry. Ministry is work, and work is ministry. Just as spirituality does not happen by sticking students in a Bible study or Sunday School class. Students today need a ministry working hard to reach them, to guide them, to help them, to be honest with them, to be what parents are not. That is hard work. What they don’t need is a glorified YMCA. Spinning plates to appease people is work for sure, but is it the right work you want to spend your time doing? Stop spinning plates and get back to working lean. Don’t be afraid of hard work.
After all, the people of Thessalonica were remembered for “your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Things to do:
• Build a team around you that wants to work hard at its giftedness for you and your vision. (Its members believe in you and the ministry.)
• Don’t bring warm bodies on anymore. You need go-getters.
• Ask for vision, seek God for vision and then go and get it.
• Chase it, live it, breathe it, and don’t give up.
• Take your days off—and take them off.
• Get your faith on, trust God with His vision, and go.
• When you face a difficult time, don’t blame people, the church or your boss. Take some time to get re-energized so you can get back to work.
• Break down the stuff you do, and don’t do it anymore. Simplify to get the maximum out of your hard work.
Just some words of wisdom from an old youth guy who is still going for it! I believe working hard as unto the Lord is a great endeavor.
Fine Don at DonSolin.com or on Twitter.com@DSolin.
