Dear Pastor: How to resource your youth worker in 2020

My wife and I recently acquired a cat – and said cat is a pain.

Cat needs food – she eats more than I do. Cat needs space to poo – she poo’s twice her body weight. Cat needs places to sleep – usually that’s on my face. Cat needs exercise – she likes to ninja dive bomb off my bookcase in the vain hope that I’ll catch her. Cat needs medicine – she keeps eating stuff she shouldn’t which makes her sick. Cat needs affection – cuddles, treats, and being covered in waste paper shows her that she’s loved.

Cat needs a lot! When we strike this balance, cat is also lovely. She’s a fun companion and brings a lot of light to our lives.

Youth workers need stuff too. Keeping your youth worker healthy, happy, and properly motivated is essential for a healthy church ministry. It’s also really not that hard to give value regularly to your youth worker through small, specific, careful gestures. That said, youth workers are not always the best people to ask what precisely it is that they need, so here’s a few ideas:

Reading

Subscriptions

Youth workers need to keep thinking and connecting with new ideas that are on the table today. Two that I’d suggest (in the UK) are Grove Youth Series and Premier Youth and Children’s Work. If you wanted them to go a bit deeper (and you had a bit more money to throw around), then grab the Journal of Youth and Theology too.

Books

Give your youth worker a book budget – or buy them a book every month! Here’s 11 essentials I think every youth leader needs, a list of great books not designed for youth work, and a one year theology reading plan too. Something else you can do is get them a library membership, so they can order these books in rather than having to buy them.

Intentional Space away

Conferences

A lot of UK conferences are location specific – there’a a couple in London that are worthwhile if you’re close enough to go just for a day, and lots of Bible Colleges have day sessions too. More nationally though, check out Growing Young Disciples, the National Youth Ministry Weekend, and the Youth Evangelism Conference.

Planning days

One of the big struggles of the youth worker diary, is intentionally working out days to plan strategies and schedules. These are phone-off days with nothing else on the table. Find time for this to work each term – and maybe send them away for a couple of days to do it.

Breaks

Holidays

You know that little holiday cottage your uncle has? Maybe gift it to your youth worker for a weekend! Look for little ways to give extra mini-breaks for your youth worker to unwind and know they’re loved.

Day’s off

Make sure, make sure, make sure that they are taking their days off – even if you have to buy them a race track day and stick them on a bus to get there!

Babysitting

Sorry, but just regularly inviting your youth worker around for dinner is probably not the answer. You’re their boss, and – even dressed as a social occasion – it’s just going to feel like work. Instead, have their kids round and give your youth worker the night off.

Skill Investment

Training

Invest in your youth worker’s skill set. This could include first aid, advanced safeguarding, conflict resolution, event management, mediation, even a part time PGCE. Think about ways you can deepen their board range of skills. If you’re not sure what might be the most beneficial, talk to a local teacher about what they like to go to (and what to avoid).

Professional Support

One of the things I offer youth workers is Skype coaching. Consider getting your youth worker an outside coach who can help them develop their ministry objectively.

Feedback

Visits

Show up to their projects! Not randomly or aggressively, like an inspection, but with a servant heart and playful demeanour. Get to know the kids and try to be present in that space.

Line management

Every youth worker needs pastoring, mentoring, and line-managing. This is to make sure they’re using their time well, taking their holidays, and are fulfilling their job description. Done well this will give your youth worker much greater confidence in what they’re doing.

Spiritual support

Retreats

Send them away for a few days – either on their own to just be with God, or on a formal retreat where they can be led constructively to connect with Jesus. These don’t need to be youth worker specific – in fact, check out L’abri!

Prayer

Don’t just pray for them randomly, make prayer intentional. Ask them regularly for prayer requests, and visit their office to pray for them in person. Don’t just add it into a meeting, make it special and stand-alone.

Random Acts of Value

Food & movies

A night out with Pizza Hutt and Odeon vouchers is fabulous! Don’t forget to organise the baby sitter.

Just say ‘thanks’

Remember to say thank you formally and publicly when occasions arrive (Membership Meetings etc.), and at specific times of year (Christmas, Easter etc.). Say it randomly and spontaneously – and mean it. Cultivate gratitude for what they do.

Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash