When I first started in youth ministry I was green, youthful, and enthusiastic.  I attended Diocesan meetings excited, only to encounter tenured youth ministers who appeared burned out.

The longer I stayed in youth ministry, the more I understood how people get burned out. On the outside I was as enthusiastic as ever, but in all honesty, I wanted to quit everyday. Not because of the teens–I loved them–but because of “other ministry stuff.”

Let’s talk about that other stuff. I wish I knew about parish politics and how quickly I needed to turn in my Confirmation date request to the diocese in order to avoid getting a Wednesday night Confirmation (along with the infinite fuming parent calls surrounding the date we had been given). I wish someone had walked me through budgeting 101 or how to deal with teens in crises. I needed someone to help me plan the 8 components of youth ministry, evaluating what we were currently doing and attempting to recognize the gaping holes in our structure. I needed help!

I know now that my experience is not unique. As the Parish Start-up Coordinator for Life Teen, I see that Youth Ministers everywhere face similar challenges and questions.  That is why we created a new event called  Life Teen Spring Training, to give youth ministers the tools they need to navigate the murky waters of planning, budgeting, and working within the parish setting.  The week at Camp Covecrest (March 15-19, 2010) will help you organize your ministry but to spiritually feed you while you are doing it.

Here is a sample of what we will cover during Life Teen Spring Training. We don’t just discuss the issues you face, but offer solutions and ideas from ministry veterans!

Problem 1: Not Enough Money.

In this economy the Wal-Mart smiley face is not the only thing rolling back prices.  More than likely your budget has been rolled back and slashed making you more of a fundraiser than youth minister.

Solution: Prayer + Fundraising Board

Two things come to mind as a solution to budget stress.

1. Pray about a vision for your ministry and create a calendar to support that vision.  After planning your calendar, create a budget to support it.  Then, sit down with your pastor or pastoral associate and share your vision, allowing them to discern with you what the parish can afford and what needs to be removed due to budget constraints or what needs to be fundraised.
2. Create a fundraising board of parents, teens and parishioners who will coordinate all fundraisers for the youth group.  Seek to find professional fundraisers to head this ministry.  You might be able to host one large fundraising dinner or casino night a year that will cover your mission trip or Life Teen and Edge budget for the entire year with the support of this team.

Problem 2: Calendaring and Facility Space issues

Planning a youth ministry calendar that will steer clear of school dances, major sporting events and holidays is never an easy task.  Add to that the fact that your parish has only one room that can hold 100 people or more and everyone wants it on the same day.  Securing facility space can feel more like gang members tagging their territory than adults providing a safe environment that brings teens into a relationship with Christ.

Solution: Host a Parish Calendaring Day

Host a parish calendaring day with other ministry leaders ONLY to calendar sacramental, school and parish wide events before you open it to registered parishioners and independent ministries. Then after the staff has reserved all their dates, open the reservation period to independent ministries.  There will need to be some flexibility on everyone’s part, but this will open up dialogue regarding the events being planned and allow for stronger communication.

Problem 3: Major Drama with Teens

This is the part of ministry that is reminiscent of an episode of MTV’s Teen Mom leaving you feeling more like an unprepared Dr. Drew than a youth minister.  Teens come into your office weekly, sometimes daily, seeking your help and advice.  Since most youth ministers have a “savior” complex, we don’t want teens to leave the office without fixing their problem.  This is the fastest way to burnout and an unhealthy approach for accurately supporting our teens.  They come to us because they trust us and God is using that relationship for them to receive the support they need.  We must be humble enough to refer them to someone who has been educated to help them in a way we just cannot.

Solution: Pastoral Care Plan

Create a pastoral care plan that will provide names of psychologists, counselors, support groups, hotlines and family resources to teen and their parents.  Catholic Charities has amazing counseling services available at a fraction of the cost to support teens and their families through crisis situations.  When it comes to psychologists and counselors, you want to actually call them and discuss their specialty: family, addiction, physical or sexual abuse, etc.  You never want to refer a teen or their family to someone you have no relationship with or have never spoken with before.

Problem 4: Parish Politics

Policies and practices within church leadership can be godly or ungodly. I believe Proverbs 29:18 says it best, “Where there is no vision, the people will perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.”  Most of the time, parish politics is a result of poor communication of the parish vision or just poor communication between staff.  You also see politics rear its ugly head when church leadership departs from the guidance of the Holy Spirit and scripture.

Solution: Pray!

One way to bring clear vision that is guided by the Holy Spirit to a staff is to have a staff holy hour.  When everyone is invited to pray together for the Holy Spirit to guide the parish, true discernment happens and protected hearts unlock to God’s will.  It may seem too simple, but it is the first step toward collaboration.

Summary: Get to Life Teen Spring Training

So much of this “stuff” might have you ready to throw in the towel.  Don’t do it!  Instead, give yourself the gift of a week at Life Teen Spring Training. This is the training I wish I had when I started youth ministry.  With it, the ministry God entrusted to me would have been more in line with His will.  I would have completed the behind the scenes work that stole my time away from doing relational ministry with my teens.

There is so much more to youth ministry than Life Nights, so much more to teens than text messages and so much more to Core than just having them show up.  Let us help you make your ministry focus on what you are really called to do (lead teens closer to Christ) and break down the stuff that no one warned you about.  In the end you will be a better youth minister with a solid vision created by God.

Learn More about Life Teen Spring Training