Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

The new youth minister is finally arriving!

I know it can feel like such a relief when the new person is starting after your church has spent months, and in some cases more than a year, searching for the perfect youth director. But before you hand everything over to the new guy or gal, there are a few things you should consider before throwing them to the wolves. And yes, that’s what it’s comparable to if you don’t heed some good advice.

First, the newbie needs support, and a lot of it.

It can be hard being the group of volunteers that kept the ball rolling after the last youth director left. It’s easy to assume that if you don’t have a large volunteer base, the people who ran the program may very well be approaching burn-out.

It’s easy for volunteers to embrace the new youth director and say, “Welcome. I’m sooooo glad you are here. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. I’d really like to stick around and help out, but I’ve been doing this for so long, I really need to take a step back and have some time off. Good luck, and remember, I’m here for you!”

Hello?! Can you say mixed signals? Here’s how the conversation should go:

“Oh my goodness, I’m so glad to finally meet you! I’m really looking forward to working with you. Though I helped to keep the ball rolling in the absence of a youth director, I knew that one of my most important jobs would be to help support you in your transition. Please, let me know how I can help. I’m looking forward to our meeting with you and the other volunteers to see what you need from us to help ease you into things.”

Next, you need to practice forgiveness.

Your new youth director, as stellar as he or she may appear, is not Christ. The best youth ministers make mistakes. And yes, they may even make a mistake with your youth (or gasp! your very own teenager). Shocking as it may be, grace and mercy are the key. Youth workers are people, human, and they make mistakes the same as everyone else. But mistakes need not be pushed under the rug. Though they need to be addressed ( in a constructive, Matthew 18-ish sort of way), mistakes shouldn’t be held against the youth minister. Rather, mistakes are an opportunity to learn and grow.

You also need to have realistic expectations.

If your church has relatively remained the same size for the last 20 years, don’t expect your new youth director to double the size of your youth group within a certain time period. That’s ridiculous, especially if growth isn’t a core value or reality of your adult ministry.

Finally, don’t be nostalgic or reminiscent of “the good old days” regarding the last few youth directors. Chances are, the same techniques used 20 years ago won’t work today, so the worst thing you can say is, “Well, so and so did it this way, so I don’t understand why we can’t do it that way now.” Trust that your youth director knows what they’re doing, since you supposedly hired an expert youth worker.

These are just some ways that you can get off on the right foot with the newest member of your staff and church family.