[Bryan]

Originally Posted by Nomes

That's quite sad isn't it, that there's not a more perminent role model for young people. I think it would have been much harder for me to feel a part of the youth group when I was younger if Lisa (our youth pastor) hadn't stayed, and we'd gone through lots of pastors. I was at youth for... 6 years through my teens, that would have been 12 pastors...

Why is that? (Short life-span of youth pastors?)

because youth pastor is often viewed as the bottom of the chain with the goal of becoming senior pastor the most common goal of all seminary grads. they want promotions is the bottom line.

[jael>rock<]

Originally Posted by Dice

In my experience age has nothing to do with it, some people are just good at it and others aren't.

i agre with that. but i think the age group that is most likely to work best would be 25-30. either that or a little bit older. i agree that the younger they are the more of a chance that they have to connecting with the kids, but also the older they are (sometimes) the more they know and the more mature they are. and then they really have good stuff to teach the kids. so i have to agree with dice. age doesn't really have too much to do with it. it has to do with if they can relate with the kids and if they have the maturity.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Nomes

Why is that? (Short life-span of youth pastors?)

Expanding on what Bryan said, because youth ministry is considered the bottom of the barrell, they are often treated as such. The youth pastor has to try to please the pastor, the parents and the students, but they aren't given the resources to really please anyone. The expectations are unreasonable. And who is in this role? A highly optomistic recent seminary/Bible college graduate. They rarely have the skills and experience to deal with the pressure. Further, they don't know how to avoid burn-out. So within 6 months they're completely burned out and run dry by the experience. So they leave the church and look for something better.

Another few problems...churches will hire a young newly wed to be a youth pastor. Newly weds can be highly prone to change. Lastly, churches will hire Bible college and seminar students to be the youth pastor. When they graduate, they leave.

[bread man]

The first youth pastor at my church was over 30, I believe. By first, I mean first that I remember. He was not very good, though he did manage to build up the youth group. Our current youth pastor is far younger, about 25, I think. He is far better and also very mature for his age. He also involves parents in the ministry, some of them who were previously youth pastors themselves.

I think that some people are just good at it and some aren't.

[macfreak]

Me and my wife are both youth pastors and I think that we are connecting very well. The point with age is not really the exact age but more how "old" you feel.

Personally I think 30-ish is the best age for working with youth. It's still pretty young and on the other hand you've been true a lot of the stuff the youth is facing in life.

Besides that, when you hit the 30's you tend to settle down a bit!

[Bryan]

i'm moving this because it isn't really discussing the theology behind a youth minister

[ibanez_dude]

It depends on the person. Someone young will oftentimes (not always) relate to the kids better, but someone older has more experience. Someone young may be able to keep the kids in line better because they can relate better, and because of that are more respected by the kids. Someone older however, has more experience keeping kids in line if they do get way out of line. Some people are just way better at it though. Some people are made for youth ministry, and some people I would not give that position to if they offered me a million dollars. We have had 2 sets of YP's in the last 4-5 years. In the beginning (and now too) we have a husband/wife couple in their late 20's, and we love them to death. They are awesome. For a year and a half in the middle though, she had a baby, so they stepped down, and we had someone else fill in. He was probably in his early-mid forties. He was awesome too. He was kinda different, but we still loved him. He might still be doing it, but he moved to AZ.

[DKelly]

I personally believe that a youth leader should be a younger person(30 or younger) so that they would be mature enough as a Christian to be able to relate Scripture to them on their level as well as being able to relate to the culture the youth are in and be able to discuss things in that culture with them.

For instance, I visited a youth group in Arizona for a while, and there were several kids that liked the band Green Day and bands like that. When I mentioned something about the band to their youth pastor(granted, he was very good at presenting Scripture to the youth group), he had absolutely no idea who the band was! I know that if I were to be called to be a youth pastor, I would at least make an attempt to understand the stuff the kids I'd be teaching would be into, so I could relate to them better when it comes to that, instead of being absolutely clueless about what the kids are dealing with.

That's just me and my two cents, however

[thesteve]

Originally Posted by DKelly

I personally believe that a youth leader should be a younger person(30 or younger) so that they would be mature enough as a Christian to be able to relate Scripture to them on their level as well as being able to relate to the culture the youth are in and be able to discuss things in that culture with them.

I've seen this go both ways as well. One of the youth pastors I've had was in his 20's and could relate to the athletic kids through sports but couldn't culturally connect with the kids through music (such as the Green Day example you provided). On the other hand I know a guy in his 40s (maybe early 50s...but I think 40s) that knows alot of the same music that I listen to like Anberlin and Stairwell because he listens to his daughters' (his daughters were 15 and 19 I think).

I agree fully that a youth pastor should stay relevant and connect to the kids, and it's usually easier for a younger youth pastor to do it, but so much of it is dependent on the person. The head pastor of my church is 37, I think, and he'd make a great youth pastor because he really has a heart for the kids and isn't afraid of asking questions about their culture.

Just out of curiousity DKelly, would you mind telling me where you go to church at? I'm just wondering if I've ever gone there and didn't know it. You can PM or UC it if you want.

[thomaspg70]

I would say 25 to 40. So those don't fit the category. I rather someone that i work with be older than me.

[DKelly]

Originally Posted by thesteve

I've seen this go both ways as well. One of the youth pastors I've had was in his 20's and could relate to the athletic kids through sports but couldn't culturally connect with the kids through music (such as the Green Day example you provided). On the other hand I know a guy in his 40s (maybe early 50s...but I think 40s) that knows alot of the same music that I listen to like Anberlin and Stairwell because he listens to his daughters' (his daughters were 15 and 19 I think).

I agree fully that a youth pastor should stay relevant and connect to the kids, and it's usually easier for a younger youth pastor to do it, but so much of it is dependent on the person. The head pastor of my church is 37, I think, and he'd make a great youth pastor because he really has a heart for the kids and isn't afraid of asking questions about their culture.

Just out of curiousity DKelly, would you mind telling me where you go to church at? I'm just wondering if I've ever gone there and didn't know it. You can PM or UC it if you want.

I hadn't thought of that, but yeah, no matter what age the youth pastor is, if he can relay Scripture to the kids he's teaching on a level they can understand and also be in tune with their culture(not just with music, but with movies and that kind of stuff) and being able to relate to the kids in that sense, then I'd consider him a good youth leader.