Pandemic or Not: Three Things for Youth Workers that are still True

YEP. It’s been Crazy. 2020 that is. And I think it’s safe to say, everybody has been trying their best to hold it together as long as they can.

And whether it is the back and forth that the pandemic has forced, the state of conversations in your group due to the general election, or just the normal things that we have to deal with in ministry, we all are feeling it.

I sent a text to a group of ministry friends and said: “Random Thought: I wonder how youth workers, especially new youth workers, are gauging, whether positive or negative, the impact of COVID on their calling to student ministry, their church, etc. ??”

I’ve been at my church for just over 7 years and over 13 years in student ministry and over that time, I find some perspective to apply to this pandemic. At least, I think that I have been able to. That said, there have been plenty of elements that have challenged me, taken me by surprise, and stretched me. More on that in a few upcoming blog posts.

The text thread with that group got me thinking a bit more. It got me thinking about what I would be thinking if I was starting in ministry or in a new place in a season like this one.

There is a part of me that hopes that I would be able to hold it together and run down the gates of hell all by myself. There is a part of me that wants to believe that I would initiate conversations with students so I could build relationships. But then I start to think about reality.

See there are some things that come to mind that I want to offer as perspective to the youth worker that is just starting out, starting at a new place, or struggling to hold things together in the midst of this season. These aren’t iron clad truths, but observations with accompanying promises that I hope encourage that youth worker:

1. The relationships still take time. – One of the effects of the pandemic is that we lose our equilibrium. If you are new to ministry or new to your position, that equilibrium is only all the more thrown off. This is additionally true of our timing.

If you are starving for more relationships with students, with your leaders, with other teammates and with the church, this is not something that is abnormal. It’s just amplified right now.

It’s amplified because the changes we would typically make in years, we are being forced to make in months and sometimes even weeks. Decisions that would heavily rely on relationships and the impact it would have on those relationships are now being made on shear capacity requirements and distance mandates.

The enemy would love nothing more than to sneak in the lie that you aren’t making a difference this week. The enemy would give anything to let that lie blossom into convincing you that you haven’t made an impact yet. The enemy would consider it a huge win to foster that into the belief that you won’t make a difference where you are. All because time feels super short these days.

One of my favorite verses in all of scriptures is Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Ironic thing is that I have often used that passage to inspire more passion from people.

But the notion of wisdom here is interesting because it refers to a shrewdness or a prudence. It has a fueling and bridling effect to the passion that drives our days and keeps our efforts focused on the Kingdom and not just our kingdom.

So even though this season seems to turn up the temperature and compress our desires to make relational difference, remember that relationships still take time. Deep relationships are forged over time whether they are founded in a pandemic or not.

2. Change has always been a major part of the game. – One of the things that has been so exhausting about this season is the seemingly endless amount of adjustments that we all have had to make to structures and norms.

In our context, we have altered or changed our student ministry efforts something like a dozen times between our high school and middle school ministries. In that time, we have transitioned one middle school pastor out and welcomed a new one. Lucky her! 

And while we have definitely made more than the normal share of changes to our ministry, if there is anything that 13 years of student ministry has taught me it is that change is always part of the game. Whether you are adjusting for changes in the community, adjusting for larger classes graduating into your ministry, or discovering a new opportunity to engage students, when you’re dealing with people you are going to be forced to change, almost constantly.

Sure, for the sake of stability, we push for consistency. And there is no doubt a need for a level of consistency for your sanity and supporting those that you are working to serve. However, the notion that inconsistency means ineffectiveness is one of those small lies that tries to work into the heart of the youth worker.

I am reminded of Isaiah 40 in verse 8 when the prophet says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Structure changes. Mediums change. How we deliver the truth and the hope of Jesus will probably constantly change. The Word will never change.

So, rest in the reality that it isn’t your job to make sure to find the silver bullet program, the perfect structure, and the fix all to gatherings of your students. Be faithful to deliver the Word of God to a generation who needs it more than ever. That’s your scorecard.

3. Your calling still isn’t based on your circumstances or your current qualifications. – It can be so easy to get frustrated with zoom calls, livestream technology, and government mandates forcing all of these things. It can be overwhelming and can cause you to really start to question the calling you have received.

I mean come on, Jesus didn’t call you to be a graphic designer, technical director, and legal analyst set out to figure out what your ministry can or can’t do to gather people together. I was called to be a youth pastor…… I think.

I thought those same things when I was driving a stick shift box truck for my first summer camp with students. I thought the same thing when I was studying to get my CDL to transport students to Florida. I thought the same thing when I was learning streaming platforms, programs, and the best apps for engaging students when I couldn’t be proximate to them. Still haven’t quite got all of that nailed down yet.

Frankly, I thought the same thing the first time I invited students to respond to the gospel. I thought the same thing when my first church took a chance on me. I thought the same thing when I was asked to officiate my first wedding, my first funeral, and my first “big church” sermon.

I thought the same thing when I was in the ER grieving with a family over the loss of their husband, dad and uncle. I thought the same thing the first time a student called me because they couldn’t figure out a situation in their life. I thought the same thing two months ago when two of my leaders needed to take a pause in ministry.

The reality is this – anybody who is in ministry will always have those moments when they question what they are doing in ministry. The question comes down to how we respond. I might suggest the promise or the call from Peter:

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…”

If God has gifted you, appointed you, and called you, then be faithful to do that. No doubt it will look different in different seasons. For sure it will get altered by a pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that it has changed because of a pandemic.

Fellow youth workers – Keep your head up. Keep grinding. Keep fulfilling the calling that God has placed on your life. Pandemic or not, your purpose remains. Go and fulfill it.