the migrant youth worker

i have been struggling these last few months in a tension between the administration of my job (which takes a lot of effort and energy for me) and the ministerial relationship (which is my natural and energizing part of my job). i have asked my staff parish liason to get our church thinking of how to staff our church in accordance with our numbers. ie. we are a potential 200 youth group, with their parents that could be a 400-500 person church. that makes for an ill equipped church, staff wise, to have one person trying to organize groups & events then find time to do visitations and message preparations.

so it's no surprise my buddy dixon's parallel of the treatment of migrant workers and the youth minister speaks to me a certain levels. now, i can't complain about my situation, i get paid well and treated well for our current standards, but in order to grow, we have to think differently.

Unfortunately, the parallels to Youth Ministry are all too real. Churches everywhere are waking up to the fact that they need Youth Ministry, but few are willing to make the sacrifice necessary to hire someone who is trained and compensate them appropriately such that Youth Ministry can be a sustainable career. Instead, they rustle up a couple of thousand dollars to pay a college kid, or young adult next to nothing with no benefits to do the job of caring for and spiritually forming a most precious group in our communities. Few are trained, fewer are paid adequately for the job they do and most move one within two years.