In Youth Ministry 60% is an A

Being a volunteer in youth ministry is a grindBrian Berry, the high school pastor at our church, explained it like this: “Working with high school students is often like putting in the foundation in a house. Lots of holes get dug, lots of wire gets run, lots of important stuff happens… but you aren’t usually there when the big, visible stuff happens.

As I interact with the volunteers in our ministry I find that we, as a group, vacillate between three defining thoughts about volunteering.

  1. I love it. I can see the impact and I love hanging with the students in my life.
  2. I’m trusting this will be worth it. I don’t see it right now, sometimes I think I’m wasting my time, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this, but I’m committed to it and trusting that this will be worth it. 
  3. I want to quit. I don’t know why I’m here. The people in my small group don’t like me, I want to like them, but they are pissing me off. Please God, I need a sign… 

In truth, these aren’t feeling unique to Encounter. They are the same feelings I hear from all over, these are basically the laments of anyone who works with teenagers.

Reconfigure Your Grading Scale

First, you need to know that everyone feels this way. Working with teenagers feels like a grind because it is a grind. Expect seasons where you want to quit. Why? Because volunteering in youth ministry is about faithfulness, not living from spiritual high to spiritual high.

Most of us grew up with a grading scale that says that 90% is an A. So we expect important things to be great 90% of the time to feel good about it.

I want to encourage you to adjust your grading scale. Add categories 1 & 2 together and…

  • 60% and up = A (excellent)
  • 50% – 59% = B (above average)
  • 40% – 49% = C (average)
  • 30% – 39% = D (below average)
  • 29 and below % = F (yeah, this blows)

In other words, if you walk away from an evening of volunteering in youth ministry and more than half the time you’re thinking I love it or I’m trusting this is worth it than you are doing great. 

If more than half the time you find yourself crying in the car after youth group, searching on your phone for a dentist who stays open late so you can get your teeth cleaned instead of showing up, are contemplating joining CrossFit, or are starting to think about volunteering at Awana…  wait a couple months. If those feelings don’t change you might want to grab a coffee with the youth worker in charge.

But don’t expect it to be awesome 90% of the time. That’s not going to happen. 

Remember

Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

See, 60% is an A.


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7 responses to “In Youth Ministry 60% is an A”

  1. Ben Read Avatar

    Love this post, definitely bookmarking to share at a next training meeting.

  2. Jay Phillippi Avatar
    Jay Phillippi

    As always, outstanding work Matthew!

    1. adam mclane Avatar

      Any time, Raymond. 🙂

      1. Jay Phillippi Avatar
        Jay Phillippi

        Jeez. Flipping back and forth between e-mail and the blog is my only excuse. I will spend the day in full mortification mode. Adam. A-D-A-M. :X

        1. adam mclane Avatar

          No worries, I enjoyed the laugh. 🙂

  3. kolby Avatar

    Awesome post adam. I am sharing this with my leaders. Some weeks or months I would take % 40-50. I am constantly seeking and trusting God that this is his ministry, and I will usually not see results, but I am trusting him to work. Also, love the quote for Brian Berry, so true!

    1. adam mclane Avatar

      I’m fortunate to be volunteering under Brian. He’s a wise dude!

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