Adam McLane

Tribes of Youth Workers I Want to Learn From: Teachers

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“Our church can’t get access to that school. It’s closed to the church.”

I’ve heard this phrase my entire career in youth ministry. In a lot of youth worker networks it’s a phrase you say at a network meeting which gets an instant nod of agreement. But it’s never actually been true on two counts.

  1. There’s not a single school on the planet completely closed to volunteers. But there are lots of high schools closed to any outside agenda. The answer to #1, access, is partnership.
  2. I know too many teachers who have made their teaching position their ministry. There are thousands upon thousands of Christian teachers serving in every type of school you can imagine. 

Christians who are teachers, who consider their work “on mission” ministering to the holistic needs of adolescents, are absolutely youth workers in every way.

We, the tribe of youth ministry, just don’t consider teacher as members of the tribe UNLESS they volunteer in our ministry.

Thousands of teachers, dedicating their lives to investing in teenagers, responding to a calling from God… and we aren’t learning from them unless they come be a part of our thing? We aren’t gathering with them? Encouraging them? Sharing ideas, best practices, and opportunities?

Let’s Take a Learning Posture

One of the beautiful things I love about The Summit and Open is that we all come together with a posture that we have more to learn than teach. It’s infectious. I’ve been intentionally trying to meld that posture into my daily life, assuming that I have more to learn than teach in every situation.

An Invitation

If you are a teacher who works with adolescents… I want to learn from you. Our tribe, those who minister to the needs of adolescents in the local church, desperately needs to learn from you, hear your ideas, learn how to better partner on your turf, etc.

Shoot me an email. Let’s do a Google Hangout. Send me a guest post or tip sheet. Submit a proposal to present at an Open event.

We– adults who minister to adolescents– will have better success when we intentionally learn from one another.

Photo credit: Rose City High School by Tony Hoffarth via Flickr (Creative Commons)

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4 responses to “Tribes of Youth Workers I Want to Learn From: Teachers”

  1. Holly Rankin Zaher Avatar
    Holly Rankin Zaher

    amen! i remember as a youth worker inside the church wishing that i could have as much time with students as teachers did. then i became a teacher and missed the social contract one has with adolescents and have to work hard to combat the us/them mentality that traditional schools foster. teaching is youth ministry. it’s different. it’s holistic in way that traditional youth ministry never was on my watch, even tho i worked toward holistic ministry. it’s missional in very concrete and real ways that are much easier and less at times contrived than when i was served in churches. i’ve hung out with students that would never darken the doors of the church in which i’ve worked. and i’ve learned tons from them. i’ve learned about how to live my faith in different ways, ways that feel much more authentic and meaningful. do i miss the church climate and working with youth in that context? yes. but my life as a teacher with young people has been richer than i would have ever imagined – in different ways that i initially imagined.

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  2. Jennifer Strahl Avatar
    Jennifer Strahl

    Everything Holly said. I’m working in higher-ed now, which is my new ministry venue, but it’s nothing compared to when I was on mission in a high school. And none of it was programmed. It was all organic. We “did life” with our students, and we had an even greater presence because we had a boarding population. We had a tribe of teachers all under the same mission. We discipled believers into greater depths of faith and we went out to find the lost. And all the while, our personal journeys with God grew richer. It was awesome, in every true sense of the term. I could go on and on about it so I’m happy to help your partnership efforts however I can.

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    1. Adam McLane Avatar
      Adam McLane

      I’m really intrigued by who responded to and shared this post. Hint: It wasn’t church-based youth workers.

      Reply
  3. Edward Hilton Avatar
    Edward Hilton

    As a public school teacher and pastor of a newer (15 years old) ecumenical (ELCA/PCUSA) church, I wholeheartedly agree with this post. Our church partners with our local school district (my day job employer) on many projects including our combined participation in a non-profit community collaborative. Through the collaborative we are working together on many social issues like poverty, homelessness, hunger, youth depression, and connectedness. Our church actually leases our Sunday worship facility from the school district – providing much needed funds for the district in a time of cutbacks and shortfalls. Our YoungLife area director has also been a critical piece of the start of a wellness center on the high school campuses and has been a blessing through times of trial in our community. My vocation is both as a teacher and a pastor, and while the “job” is different, the ministry is the same – loving and serving people.

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