ozarkmom Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I'm just really curious and have never had a good answer to this question. Can anyone supply info as to why some churches choose young men/women to be the youth pastor? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 In our case, that was who applied for the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 because they're young, will be more energetic, in general, and don't have kids to tie them down so they will have more time. That's the excuses I've heard. I actually prefer young at heart (I used to work with the youth and they all LOVED me! I'm goofy, and I have a good, sympathetic ear.) but those with wisdom. I'm not saying someone in their early 20's isn't wise, but with more years on a person, there's generally more wisdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmulcahy Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I think a balance of young and older is the way to go. Both are beneficial in so many ways. It would be great to see a variety of age groups showing interest in mentoring the youth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 If you're asking about why a couple versus a single, issues often arise with young singles who are trying to lead other young singles. There are relationship issues, maturity issues, example issues, communication with parents issues, etc. I'm not saying that always happens, but IME things like that crop up fairly quickly when a young single male becomes a youth leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Youth pastorship is often a stepping stone for a beginning pastor to move up to an associate/senior pastor position at some point. Typically, it is young people who are newly graduated from seminary. Also, younger couples are more available for the nights/weekends involved with youth work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I think a balance of young and older is the way to go. Both are beneficial in so many ways. It would be great to see a variety of age groups showing interest in mentoring the youth. :iagree: We have a senior couple that loves youth and always participate. They aren't pastors though, just volunteers. They connect so well with the kids and are a huge blessing to the ministry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Also because the youth pastor position tends to pay very poorly and an older couple with a family can generally not support said family on youth pastor salary. Yet, it doesn't come with a parsonage or anything as head pastor does. It's often expected to be a "bi-vocational" position, meaning "you'll need a 2nd job to actually earn a living while you help us out with this" but still also expecting full time devotion to the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaJo Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Because they are young so many kids are more willing to look up to them. They are a couple so there is someone to lead the girl and the boy activity. Youth is more likely to have the energy to do all the activities most youth groups require. A couple is more likely to be stable and settled. The best youth leaders our church ever had was a young couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Well, I hate to say it, but I think one of the factors is money. Most churches will not pay for a youth pastor position nearly as much as for a senior or associate pastor position. Older pastors, married, established, children, children heading to college, house payment, etc....all that stuff that goes with being married for quite a while and pretty well-established also means a need for a higher salary or benefits. That leaves young, fresh college grads willing to live on mac *& cheese and tuna and many times without any children yet, to fill those posts. Just about every single youth pastor I've ever known began applying for associate pastor positions at other churches as soon as the first baby appeared and his financial responsibility increased dramatically. Our current senior pastor is one that was hired fresh out of college for a children's/youth pastor position - he and his wife were amazing at that job - promoted to a full associate pastor position when his first child was born (he still had some responsibilities in youth but another couple in the church took over some of it), and then from there promoted to senior pastor. It's a common progression because it allows them to grow into the administrative duties gradually as senior pastor have a lot more to do than just preach and teach. Our church also was not interested in a single man for the children's pastor/youth position. They wanted a team...a woman to bring her viewpoint and influence to the issues and a woman for the girls to seek counsel from so that he was protected from any appearance of impropriety if the teen girls asked for advice or personal counseling. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankcassiesmom Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I agree there are lots of reasons like money but I don't agree with the notion of young pastors being in charge of the youth. In fact I think it should be the opposite. But at the same time I disagree 100% with the common youth ministry model that encourages entertainment over discipleship, deep theological study and service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 :iagree: with the reasons listed. Availability - for a job that requires FT hours for PT pay - usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 It is often a stepping stone position towards a senior pastor job for many people. Often it is because there is a philosophy that the younger the youth leader (college age or recently graduated), the better the youth will identify and trust him/her. Plus, they often have less in the way of family and expenses, so they can be paid less. There is usually a higher turnover of youth pastors than senior pastors, so there are often more youth pastor jobs available for singles and couples who have recently graduated from college or seminary. My experience: The very best youth pastors I have known are older couples who are committed to the youth, not younger couples who are working out of philosophy they have been taught only because they don't have life experience. Younger couples don't have children or only have babies/toddlers, so they don't look at youth the way an older couple who has teens or has raised teens do. The older ones have more to offer in the way of life experiences, and the youth tend to respect them more than they respect a young couple. The older youth leaders tend to teach more serious lessons, while the younger ones tend to give the youth what they want, which is usually light, shallow lessons and lots of fun. Just my experience over the years. I am convinced that the older youth pastors (as long as they are still energetic and able to keep up) are better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Our church just hired a new youth pastor. He is probably in his late 40's and has a son in college, a middle schooler, and a K'er. My four youngest, who are all part of the youth program, think he is awesome. I like the fact that he is more mature and has been there/done that as far as raising a teenager goes. This is the first time any of my kids have ever had an older youth pastor. It probably helps that our church has thousands of members and can pay well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I assumed they prefer younger youth pastors because kids feel like they can relate better. I think married pastors/couples are preferred, because it puts more of a block between an energetic, young male pastor and teen aged girls who often romanticize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 For married - to give both perspectives, and to avoid impropriety... and that they usually get the woman for "free!" LOL For young - b/c most churches are cheap and won't pay a full salary, often want a part time position (but for them to work full time), and most churches don't put enough value on the youth to consider looking for someone who will be more stable. Most youth pastors (nat'l avg) stay less than 18 months at a church. What a horrible turn over rate for the youth! I always find this so interesting. For an age group where you would want stability - someone they can "trust", and yet most churches should know that the youth pastor will leave in a short amount of time. When dealing with deeply troubled youth - someone they can "trust" wouldn't leave so soon... ...Can you tell we used to do youth ministry? LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I suspect it's so that there are both men and women available for the teens, both for propriety reasons and comfort and mentorship reasons (someone to discuss topics like s*x with each gender, someone to provide an example of Biblical man/womanhood, etc.). I also suspect it's related to the verses in the Bible that talk about how an elder should be the husband of one wife. Perhaps it's like auto insurance -- married people are seen as more stable and less risky. (Some of the stories about crazy youth group stunts have made me wonder if they would have happened if the youth pastor had had a wife to give her input.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozarkmom Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Sorry, for the confusion...my question was aimed at young *couples*, not young single men/women as YP's..that could spell disaster IMHO...it's bad enough to hear horror stories of the married male YP getting involved with young girls. Thanks for the various perspectives. I hadn't thought about the YP being viewed as an "entry level" (= low pay) hiring position in the ministry. :glare: That's sad. This age is just as important as adults, even more so, as they are still learning to apply truths and learning to use their rhetoric skills. Back in the day, my "youth pastors" were an older couple (same ages as my parents) and volunteered their time--not paid. They were wonderful and a lot of fun as well as encouraged the parents to stay involved with the various activities. Many of the parents had just as much fun as we did. :lol: Our youth leaders helped us reach for a more mature lifestyle (just like my parents, who were steering us in the same direction).....not that we didn't have fun fellowship times, but there were times for serious study and then there were times for fun. It was balanced and not like this constant entertainment I'm seeing in church youth groups of today. I guess my age is showing. :001_smile: Thanks for taking the time to post a response. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I don't know that those are requirements that are ever in the minds of the people looking to hire a youth pastor - more that those are who apply. Youth pastors, on average, don't stay youth pastors for a long time, and most older pastors aren't looking to do youth anymore. That's been our experience anyway. Never would have minded older youth pastors (though I don't think we have particularly young ones anyway - last ones were around 40, current around 35), but, like I said, it has to do with who is available to take the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 For married - to give both perspectives, and to avoid impropriety... and that they usually get the woman for "free!" LOL For young - b/c most churches are cheap and won't pay a full salary, often want a part time position (but for them to work full time), and most churches don't put enough value on the youth to consider looking for someone who will be more stable. Most youth pastors (nat'l avg) stay less than 18 months at a church. What a horrible turn over rate for the youth! I always find this so interesting. For an age group where you would want stability - someone they can "trust", and yet most churches should know that the youth pastor will leave in a short amount of time. When dealing with deeply troubled youth - someone they can "trust" wouldn't leave so soon... ...Can you tell we used to do youth ministry? LOL. :iagree: we did youth ministry too. ugh. it was the most overworked job and under appreciated position ever. my husband has worked full-time in church media, youth, and now for the past 8 years only in worship. of all the positions, youth was by far the most demanding and difficult. i hold youth pastors in the highest regard now. truly, my hat is off to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 All of the youth last ors I know are newly graduated or are between college an seminary and thus tend to be young. It it true that it is the lowest paid role usually. Marriage rates are higher in young Christians than in young people who are not religious so I reckon most of the available candidates are married. It is likely a big bonus that they are, as young unmarried leaders could more easily be the object of some church youth infatuation. There is also a little bit of the two-fer thing going on...pay for one, get a spouse to help out a lot. My friend spent three years as a young married youth pastor and now he is off to get his divinity doctorate on his way to being ordained as a priest in the Episcopal church with a young baby in tow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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