I received an e-mail from someone who was asked to be the church’s youth director.  Though having been to seminary, this person did not feel trained for youth ministry.  Perhaps my response will help others with a similar dilemma.

I am all for training.  That is what Ministry Tools Resource Center is about … equipping / training people for ministry.  Let me suggest that you pursue training specifically for youth ministry.  That could include attending youth ministry conferences, networking with other youth ministers, and/or doing reading about it to learn from people who are veterans.  Look at training as an on-going process and not a one-time effort.  You can take a look at the Youth Ministry Resources page for help.

With that said, let me emphasize that training isn’t everything.  First and foremost, you need a love for the Lord that spills over into a heart for the teens.  If one or both of these are missing, teens will soon notice. 

Your love for the Lord will keep Him first and in the center of all you do.  Your love for the teens will give you the motivation to invest into them and the youth ministry what is necessary to help them love the Lord too. 

Out of your love for the Lord will come an authenticity that speaks volumes to youth, probably more than all the actual words you will speak.  Out of your love for the teens will come an atmosphere of acceptance, respect, and security which appeals to deep-rooted needs within them and opens them to further ministry.

Let me suggest that you work on three objectives:

1. Understand youth and their culture and meet them there.
    
   You need to meet them where they are to take them to where they should be, to go deeper in their walk with the Lord.  If you don’t understand how they view life, the messages you send might not get through the way you intended.  They might be hearing something different than what you think you are communicating.   –  Resources about Youth Culture
    
2. Build community in your youth group, making the emphasis about relationships … first with God and then with you and the other teens.
    
   Let me encourage you to read a previous blog posts, The Focus of Youth Ministry.  From this focus, you then strategize or plan out your youth program and meetings.  What can you do to help them “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18), to love Him more?  What can you do to help them know one another better, not to be cliquish, but to engage in true body life to help each other grow?  What can you do to let them know you care?    — Ideas for Building Community
    
3. Disciple or mentor them in their love relationship with the Lord.
    
   Youth ministry needs to be about more than fun activities.  It even needs to be about more than simply learning “about” God or gaining head knowledge from the Bible.  Teens need help in navigating through life with Christ at the helm.  They need to see an example.  They need to be nurtured.  They need feedback and debriefing.  This can happen one-on-one and/or in small groups.  Some will happen in your regular youth group meetings, but it is going to take more than the large group setting. Given the number of teens in your church and your youth ministry staff, how can you best work toward this goal?  You might find the Shepherding Ministry section on the MinTools.com site to be helpful.  Start by reading through all the general pages.  Then under venues, look at discipleship.  It doesn’t specifically deal with youth, but the principles apply.

Sure, there is more to youth ministry … planning and scheduling activities, service projects, group dynamic, parent relations, dealing with conflict and discipline issues, staffing, working with a budget, etc.  However, if you work on the three objectives mentioned above, these other matters tend to fall into place.  You might need to learn some of the particulars involved in administrating or overseeing a youth ministry, but at least you will be headed in a good direction.

Youth ministry is about community, not just about programs and activities.  The focus should be on relationships.  Everything else is merely a tool.

1. Relationship with God:  Make youth ministry about knowing God personally and intimately, not just learning about Him.  Get beyond religion or a bunch of rules to presenting a God who cares about them and has their best interests at heart.
2. Relationship with One Another:  Face it.  Most teens initially attend youth group because of their peer, unless a parent forces them to go.  Purposely incorporate activities to build them into a community of believers, not just friends.  Give them a taste of Body Life, what God intends the Church to be.
3. Relationship with the Youth Leader(s):  Trust and respect grow out of relationship, not control or superiority.  Be affirming and encouraging.  Truly listen to them, actively, with your heart, to their feelings and body language, not just their words.  Be available.  Be a friend … an adult friend, not an overgrown teenager.  Be real.  Be genuine.
4. Relationship with the Total Church Body:  This is often overlooked in youth ministry.  Students need to realize that they are part of something bigger than themselves.  If you don’t incorporate them into the total church body while they are still teens, why should they stay in the church when they can no longer attend youth group?  Treat them like they are the church of today … not just the church of tomorrow.