I am adopted. Now, this is not a phrase you can add, “and I am proud of it!” to it. I had no choice. I was left by my birth parents at the hospital and some time in the next few months I was adopted. I had great parents who fed me, clothed me, but most importantly, loved me. I think this is how it should be when youth pastors join church staff. We are family of God are we not? And yet I see, repeatedly, youth pastors join these “foster families” without any real hope of being fully adopted, being called one of their own.
My wife and I were temporary foster parents because of a situation in our church. We were poked, prodded, and vetted to make sure our home was going to be appropriate for the child we were taking in. I think every youth worker should be careful to ask the right questions before joining a church staff. I was too young and too hungry to be a part of a staff to realize what questions to ask, but not any more.
Here are some questions I wish I would have asked some Pastors before taking those ministry jobs
1. Do you pray with your staff?
2. Do you have Bible study as a staff?
3. Do you take an interest in the personal lives of your staff? How?
4. Do you feed and care for your staff ‘s souls? How? (encouragement)
5. Do you consider yourself a mentor? How do you mentor your staff?
Before you commit to a church family, make sure the “parents” (church leadership) are willing to take you in, help feed your soul, are not abusive, and are willing to help you succeed at whatever you do in life and ministry.
Some say my standards are too high and that my expectations of church leadership are off the chart. What do you think?
How about you? Have you ever been hired and then abandoned by your church? How So?
What are you needing from your Pastor that you are not getting right now?