Two months ago, the person who oversaw our Youth Ministry transitioned off of our team. And, as you can expect, this created a challenge for us as we approached the Summer. For most Youth Ministries, Summer is the busiest time of the year, and now we had no one on our team to oversee and lead this important ministry. Immediately, we were asking important questions like… Who was going to lead our Youth Summer Camp? Who was going to lead our Youth Mission Trip? Who was going to teach the youth on Wednesday nights? And, how fast can we hire a new Youth Pastor?
Thankfully, I serve on a great team full of wonderful people. As soon as the transition began, I called a meeting with all of our pastors and we discussed this situation. We all knew how important it was that we stepped up and helped out. Even though none of us had “Youth Ministry” in our job description, we all found meaningful ways to contribute. And after our meeting was over, we had a plan in place that would keep our youth a priority until a new Youth Pastor joined our team.
I was so proud of our pastoral team in that moment. No one ever said, “that’s not my job.” Rather, they asked, “what can I do to help?” This was confirmation to me that we had the right people on our team. The last two months have been very busy. And, if I am honest with you, several of us are exhausted, including myself. In fact, as I write this, we just got home 2 hours ago from our Youth Summer Camp where we had 82 people at the beach for a week. So, needless to say, I am sleep deprived. But, it was worth it, because it was an excellent week for our Youth Ministry.
Five of our six pastors were on this trip. How does that happen? If I am being honest with you, I don’t have the answer. It’s probably a combination of hiring the right people, building a strong culture of teamwork and collaboration, and the Lord blessing us during this transition. But, here is what I want to encourage you with… When your church faces a similar situation, be willing to help, even if it’s not your job. And don’t expect anything in return. Just help out because it’s the right thing to do. As the Executive Pastor of your church, be willing to help your church however they need you.
And, good news… We hired a new Youth Pastor. He joins our team in two weeks! |
