How To Last In Youth Ministry: You Can't Please Everybody, Just Do What's Right
The last church where I was a youth pastor did not support the youth program financially. One time they gave me a raise of $50/month and told me to spend it on the youth. I had to turn in receipts to show how I spent it. I have about 3 more sessions on that and my counselor says I’ll be back to normal.
Poverty has a way of bringing creativity. We were able to do a couple of big fundraisers to support the youth ministry. We had a fireworks booth which we won in a town lottery. I also found a florist in the church who gave us roses at cost which we packaged and sold at the high school graduation. Both brought in a healthy youth budget… which I then had to ask for permission to spend… and was usually denied. That will take a few more counseling sessions.
The point of this post is the reaction I got from our rose fundraiser. For the next few days, I was feeling great because people were stopping me on the street saying, “Thank you for selling roses at the graduation!” They were in a rush to get to graduation with no time to stop for cards or flowers. There we were when they arrived. $5 for a rose and they were all set. It was a great feeling to raise money for the ministry while also meeting a need in the community. It was a win-win, feel-good moment for everybody.
A few days later, a woman complained to me about how bad it made the church look that we were out hustling the crowd trying to make a buck off the graduation. I was dumbfounded and hurt in the moment. All of the good will and great feelings were temporarily sucked out of the event. Of course I didn’t let it last, but it sure threw me for a loop.
I learned a sad ministry lesson that day: People will criticize and some may praise me no matter what I do. I have to evaluate the criticism, adjust to fix what’s true about it, but leave behind what’s not. I can offer a defense, but their reaction to it cannot dictate my actions. The same is true for praise. I need to evaluate what’s genuine, learn from it and apply it without getting prideful.
My responsibility, as Doug Fields says, is to love God and like students. If I’m seeking after God’s best in my life and ministry and I’m moving in the right direction, I’ll be okay and the ministry will move forward. Staying true to what I know is right is not always easy, but it is rewarding in the long-run.
This event happened over 10 years ago. By posting it on my blog today, I’m hoping to lend some encouragement to fellow youth workers who are currently feeling beaten up in ministry. Leaders loving God and learning to last leave long legacies.
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