Adam McLane

The Value of Academic Preparation in Professional Youth Ministry

One of the challenges in youth ministry, as a profession, is that there are a lot of entry points but not a lot of agreed upon credentials.

A short list of how people get into youth ministry as a vocation:

  • They earn an undergraduate or graduate degree in youth ministry.
  • Or a more general ministry degree like Christian ed, masters of divinity, masters in ministry, etc.
  • They have a degree in something else but answer a calling into vocational youth ministry.
  • They grow into the job or are mentored into it via their local church.
  • They intern their way into vocational youth ministry.
  • They fall into it. Literally, they didn’t intend for this to become a career but somewhere along the way someone asked them to consider it.
  • They are born into it. Their parents are vocational church workers and they grew up in and around it.
  • They have no formal education but applied to a church and leveraged their volunteer ministry as experience enough to land a job.
  • They just answered the call. Don’t know how to explain it, but here they are.

Education Matters

I love all of these entry points. I really do. This is one of the fun things about youth ministry. If you can do the job, if you are talented or gifted in some way, if you love teenagers, if you can teach, if you can mentor, if you can disciple– If you love Jesus and you love teenagers you can answer the call.

The body of Christ needs all sorts of youth workers entering the field from all sorts of different entry points.

But.

BUT.

BBBUUUUTTTTT. 

No matter how you entered this vocation you need to understand the value of formal education. It is awesome that our tribe welcomes all kinds of people from all kinds of background. And, unlike many professional vocations, youth ministry isn’t a place that requires $80,000 in students loans as the minimum requirement to applying for a $32,000 per year job.

But that doesn’t mean formal youth ministry training is somehow something you can sidestep.

It might not be the entry point. But formal education must be a waypoint. 

A Reality Check

One of the things that scares me. Actually– terrifies me when you think of the long-term implications-– is that there are so many people in long-term youth ministry that have absolutely no formal training. Yes, there is value in self-study. And yes, you can get mentored. And yes, there’s a lot of fantastic curriculum out there.

That’s scary to me from a youth ministry perspective. How can history not repeat itself if you don’t know the history of youth ministry? How can you avoid pitfalls if you have no idea what the pitfalls are? On and on.

It’s downright terrifying to me from a theological perspective. Going to church is good. Reading books is good. Going to conferences is good. But that’s not academic rigor.

It’s awful hard to tell the difference between great theological insight and horrible, crappy, made-up-on-the-spot-crap that flows out of some people’s mouths.

The trained ear has a finely tuned B.S. meter.

The untrained ear isn’t so finely tuned. 

Sometimes I read an article by someone or have a conversation with someone who is wondering how a person has gotten so popular among pastors despite being absolutely full of crap. And I think: It’s because so many people are in full-time vocational ministry that have no formal training. 

A Low Entry Point is Not a License to Skip Education

Here’s the point.

I love that youth ministry is one of the church vocations with a low entry point.

But, if you came in through an entry point that didn’t include formal youth ministry education at the undergraduate or graduate level, and if you don’t have any theological training… I’m begging you: Get in school. Take a class a semester. Figure out how to get a ministry degree or a seminary degree.

Invest the time. Invest the money. Go back to school or start school or take a class online or do whatever you have to do. Don’t buy the lie that you can fake it ’til you make it forever. You can’t. You will be better at your job, you will lead students better, you will last longer in vocational ministry, and you will invest better stuff into the lives of students if you take the time to invest in your education.

Do it for your church.

Do it for your students.

But more importantly, do it for yourself.

Get Coaching

If you find yourself 5-6 years into vocational youth ministry and things are starting to get complicated. Like, you absolutely love it but in the past few years you’ve started to find it hard to balance life in ministry with having a life or you’re feeling in a rut or whatever– check out the Youth Ministry Coaching Program.

Posted

in

by

Adam McLane

Tags:

Comments

14 responses to “The Value of Academic Preparation in Professional Youth Ministry”

  1. Joel Mayward Avatar
    Joel Mayward

    There’s a lot of wisdom here, Adam. I doubt many in the church would tolerate lead pastors who continue in their ministries without any formal theological training (though Mark Driscoll and Steven Furtick both planted and led their churches for a number of years before getting any formal theological education, and Joel Osteen still doesn’t have a divinity school degree). If we believe in the youth ministry tribe, we should encourage them in their educational endeavors, to be trained to think theologically and critically.

    Reply
    1. Adam McLane Avatar
      Adam McLane

      Yup. The first person I ever saw that has advocated for hiring people, intentionally, without formal education— Perry Noble. This post was jaw-dropping in 07. And you’ll notice this “blog” doesn’t accept comments anymore. You know, because people who aren’t allowed to be educated have no business asking questions. http://perrynoble.com/blog/five-things-to-look-for-in-a-staff-member

      smh.

      Short-term strategy.

      Reply
  2. Andrew Esqueda Avatar
    Andrew Esqueda

    Adam, thanks for the great post! During my time at Fuller Seminary I remember having a conversation with another student about the importance of theological training for ministry. He told me that he was currently in Youth Ministry and that the only reason he was in seminary was to get a degree to his name – cause that’s what ministers are supposed to do. The unfortunate thing is that he’s not the only one that feels that way. There’s a sense in which education is for the purpose of going through the motions and not for the sake of learning, or enhancing your own spiritual development, or the development of your ministry. My theological education has not only been the most practical thing I have done, but has greatly helped me as a youth minister, and my ability to address the tough questions that high school students will inevitably have. Thanks for encouraging those in youth ministry to seek out more education. We often like to love God with our hearts and our souls, but we often forget to do so with our minds.

    Reply
  3. Jackson Fong Avatar
    Jackson Fong

    Great Article Adam! There were a number of things I learned at Liberty University, Bethel Seminary as well as other Schools that I would not have gotten in other places. It brings back a ton of memories with previous interns and other church staff. It’s also a reminder to keep encouraging, equipping and pressing on. As culture can change so rapidly (the number of ‘months’ change depending on who you art talking to) it would easy to get comfortable.

    Reply
  4. Ray Hausler (@rhausler) Avatar
    Ray Hausler (@rhausler)

    I was a lead volunteer in youth ministry at my home church for ten years before I pursued my formal education. I remember pridefully declaring I didn’t need the education to do what I was doing. Even quoting Acts and being an “unschooled ordinary man” who had been with Jesus as my reasoning. But, my education blew me away. It helped me connect the pieces of what I was doing with the why. It helped me see scripture clearer, and helped my passion for scripture deepen. And I know I’m not done. I would love at some point to continue the formal education, because I have seen how it grows what I can do, and more importantly, what God can do through me.

    Reply
  5. justmeleena Avatar
    justmeleena

    Agreed! If I mayadd aqn additional educational optoin to the mix – Thankful for my Youth ministry B.A. from Trinity Lutheran College… helped me to ask critical questions, keeps me in check, created networks and support for my ministry, and taught me how to continue to learn and connect and teach. In the Seattle/Everett,WA area there is a three week certification being offered in January (or you can just apply for a 4 yr accredited Child,Youth, & Family Studies program. “The Certificate Program in Children, Youth & Family Ministry is a three-week intensive leadership training program for children and youth ministry staff, Christian educators, pastors, and active volunteers … anyone interested in professional development in children, youth, and family ministry!” See more at: http://www.tlc.edu/cyfcenter/cyfmcertificate.html

    Reply
    1. Adam McLane Avatar
      Adam McLane

      @leena – Totally dead on about continued ed. I think different denominations have various requirements for continued ed depending on credentials.

      Really, I’d love to see some org get created that’s a real credentialing org for youth ministry. I think it’d be awesome to have someone hold the standard plus issue CEUs for the various training opps out there.

      Reply
  6. justmeleena Avatar
    justmeleena

    And quite obviously, you can see from my previous post, my education was so very helpful – especially when it comes to spelling! (Did not look like that when I submitted.)

    Reply
  7. Mike Cline Avatar
    Mike Cline

    It’s getting a little less expensive and easier to do while still working thanks to several creative schools.
    Bethel Seminary in St. Paul’s “In-Min” program has pioneered the approach, and in my opinion, Wesley Seminary (Indiana Wesleyan) is perfecting it.

    Reply
  8. Gene Avatar
    Gene

    Amen! to the importance of some serious education, both in theology and in the disciplines of education and interpersonal interactions (be it counseling or mentoring). As a pastor, I can’t begin to tell you how many people that I have dealt with at the end of their lifespan who are carrying around with them baggage they picked up from a well meaning, but apparently unthinking source early on in their lives. Long before Facebook, it seems people were creating memes that were catchy ideas, but rather theologically bankrupt. Nonetheless, because of their memorable nature there are still those who think that God only helps those who help themselves or that Saul had his name changed to Paul when he became a Christian. (Actually, you won’t find either of those statements supported by the Bible, but I’ll bet you millions of people believe and continue to pass on these ideas from one generation to the next.) Sometimes they are just bits of trivia, but other times they really screw up people long-term.

    So, I’ve always said that to be a youth worker one only needed three character traits: 1) love God, 2) love the youth, 3) be willing to introduce them to each other. But if one is going to make this one’s life vocation, one owes it to the church and to the kids to do it well, and that requires some education.

    But, I would like to make a case that not only should churches demand this of their youth workers, but that it is also the church who should provide for it. Whether that come in the form of deliberate and rigorus mentoring from the Sr. Pastor (think Paul with Timothy), or from paying for the youth worker to go to school to receive that training, the reason for demanding the education and training is for the benefit of the local congregation. And for this reason, I believe it is the local congregation that ought to be ensuring such needs are provided for. And all the more so when that person is a former lay volunteer who is being asked to step up and become an employee of the church.

    Reply
    1. Adam McLane Avatar
      Adam McLane

      @gene – Amen. You’ve got me on experience, I know you’ve seen way more than I have. And I 100% agree that a church would be wise to invest in their staff. If they hire a person without a ministry degree they had better count the cost of hiring them to include education, whether its the rigorous informal version you referred to, or the more traditional schooling. Now that there is so much good stuff available online: Geography really has nothing to do with it anymore.

      Sadly, I think a lot of people in youth min are treated as disposable by local churches. It’s really sad.

      Reply
  9. Cameron Cole Avatar
    Cameron Cole

    This is an important article. Thank you, Adam. It calls youth ministers to take themselves and their ministry seriously, which usually entails education.

    Churches need to encourage it AND FUND IT (as much as they can). My church has and it has made a world of difference.

    I think online education is something that makes a lot of sense for youth pastors. It can enable them to get good training in theology, church, history, and biblical studies while not wracking up tons of debt.

    Reply
    1. Adam McLane Avatar
      Adam McLane

      @cameron – I appreciate the comment. (Help me spread the word about the post!)

      I tend to agree with you that churches need to invest in their staff’s education. It’s been crazy encouraging to see how many churches have helped people fund their YMCP experience. And I know I was encouraged personally when our church helped fund my grad school the best that they could. They paid a percentage of my classes, let me use a church vehicle to get to classes, and allowed me to buy my classroom texts with my book budget.

      I don’t have any beef with churches hiring non-formerly-trained youth workers. But they just can’t leave them there. I think that’s my beef.

      Reply
  10. Rhapsody Avatar
    Rhapsody

    Really great post! I’ve been a volunteer youth worker for almost 3 years now and this really motivated me to take the step and get into a program where I can get formal training.

    Thanks for this post!

    Reply

Leave a Reply