Such a needed take, Mike. Thanks for this. As a youth pastor for 7 years and now lead pastor, I can say with some certainty that youth pastors should probably be some of the highest paid people on a church staff. I like what Marc Cortez says about his journey as a theological anthropologist: it all started for him as a youth pastor. "What does it mean to be human?" = THE question du jour for the teens/20s I know (three of whom live under my roof, and soon to be four!). A theological anthropology degree is really a youth ministry degree.
We recently celebrated the retirement of our youth pastor after 44 years as a youth pastor. The number of kids (and adult workers) that he mentored during that time is large. He led 13 or more summer bike rides of 6-700 miles, one with 100 kids and adults (including the logistics crew), did countless hikes and canoe trips, enlisted adults and college students to lead “D-Groups” to disciple the kids for their entire time in the youth group, and raised funds (with lots of help from kids and adults) to fund all that! Now that he is retiring, he will be taking on a part time job as Pastor to Seniors Adults. He had opportunities to “move up”, and always turned them down.
We know what we have had. We threw a big (for us) party for him when he retired, and made the front page of our local small town paper.
There is almost no one else like him anywhere in our denomination.
I know a youth pastor who left church work and moved to teaching because of this sense that he was somehow supposed to "work his way up" to senior pastor... But he really felt called to work with youth.
Such a needed take, Mike. Thanks for this. As a youth pastor for 7 years and now lead pastor, I can say with some certainty that youth pastors should probably be some of the highest paid people on a church staff. I like what Marc Cortez says about his journey as a theological anthropologist: it all started for him as a youth pastor. "What does it mean to be human?" = THE question du jour for the teens/20s I know (three of whom live under my roof, and soon to be four!). A theological anthropology degree is really a youth ministry degree.
Evan, yes, pay your youth pastors well, get them trained to the max, and more stuff like that. We need top tier youth pastors more than ever.
We recently celebrated the retirement of our youth pastor after 44 years as a youth pastor. The number of kids (and adult workers) that he mentored during that time is large. He led 13 or more summer bike rides of 6-700 miles, one with 100 kids and adults (including the logistics crew), did countless hikes and canoe trips, enlisted adults and college students to lead “D-Groups” to disciple the kids for their entire time in the youth group, and raised funds (with lots of help from kids and adults) to fund all that! Now that he is retiring, he will be taking on a part time job as Pastor to Seniors Adults. He had opportunities to “move up”, and always turned them down.
We know what we have had. We threw a big (for us) party for him when he retired, and made the front page of our local small town paper.
There is almost no one else like him anywhere in our denomination.
I know a youth pastor who left church work and moved to teaching because of this sense that he was somehow supposed to "work his way up" to senior pastor... But he really felt called to work with youth.