The harvest is plentiful, the workers are…?
I’m not sure whether you are old enough to remember Blockbuster Video? Around the year 2000 as the digital age was exploding, the executives of a small start-up company called Netflix had a meeting with executives at Blockbuster, they wanted Blockbuster to invest in them. They saw their online experience could be fully realised by investment from an established and successful entertainment company like Blockbuster. But things didn’t go according to plan and it didn’t take long for the boss of Blockbuster to laugh at the Netflix offer and usher them out of the boardroom. The offer price to buy Netflix in 2000 was $50 million, Netflix is currently valued at $229 billion and Blockbuster is no more!
As it is, Blockbuster is remembered only as an object lesson in what happens when you don’t adapt to a changing world.
One of my team recently looked at a website where most church youth and children’s work jobs are advertised. Currently there are 87 jobs available, which is massively exciting as it means 87 churches are wanting to invest in youth and children’s ministry. But the downside is that there are 87 jobs being advertised, and if our local area is anything to measure things by, nobody is applying for these jobs.
So the question is, why not? Well I guess there are some ‘simple’ answers and some less simple answers. We are coming out of an insane 18 months where maybe moving jobs hasn’t been the easiest or wisest thing to do! We also know there are just less people out there being trained, or choosing to go into full time youth and children’s work. More significantly we forget that most churches have volunteers leading their youth and kids ministry and so we need to think carefully about how we encourage and resource these phenomenal volunteers.
The harder answers are what I want to talk about today. I believe there are three main reasons why we find ourselves in this hugely challenging situation.
Firstly, some churches have not looked after, or invested in, those who serve within youth and children’s ministry.
Secondly, churches have found it hard to encourage ministry progression within a paid role.
Thirdly, youth and children’s ministry is seen as significantly less important than ‘adult’ ministry and so many youth and children’s workers have seen ordination as a ministry route where they are able to feel more greatly valued.
Ok so maybe I’m being a little idealistic and making some sweeping generalisations here but I hope my suggestions and ideas will prompt conversations about how we can invest and value youth and kids leaders more. I am less about offering a clear answer but more about having hard conversations and implementing new ways of ministry that value leaders and invest in them long term. My ideas may not be easy or straightforward but then often the things that are worth doing require hard work and tough choices.
Some of the possible solutions I have been mulling over:
1. Offer housing to paid workers!
Bear with me here as I am using less than accurate numbers to make a point, hope that’s ok.
If the ‘average’ house price across the country is around £300,000 what would it take for the Church of England to ‘buy’ a bunch of properties so that youth and kids leaders could really build relationships long term and thrive in their calling because of the stability of a home.
I found out that in 2016 the CofE made 11.6% profit from their £2billion property portfolio, so that’s around £232,000,000, a fair chunk of cash!
If we were to buy those 87 churches a house for their youth and children’s minister that would cost around £26 million, so plenty left over and they aren’t actually ‘spending’ the money but investing it, so win win really. So from property profits they could spend £26 million, house 87 youth and children’s workers and still have £206 million left to enjoy! Now I know I am being a little naive and idealistic, but the money is there in property, I believe it just needs to be invested differently.
How amazing to invest in 87 leaders who will invigorate 87 communities and, with the right support, build significant ministries. Surely that is a much more exciting and Kingdom-orientated way of investing?
Please don’t quote me on this as I know not all those 87 church vacancies are with the CofE, but I hope you’ll get what I am saying. I just think we could ‘help’ the church spend their money better!
If someone feels called to serve the church in a paid youth and children’s role it can often mean that they need to move to the area where they will serve. With the housing market being so insane many workers simply can’t afford to live and have a family with the salaries that many churches are able to offer. When I started in paid youth work as a young single guy I was ok with just a room in a church family’s house. But if we want workers to invest long term into communities and give them the freedom to have families and life-giving social lives etc, then we need to honour them by helping them find a home and a space they can grow in. It isn’t anyone’s fault but where I live churches offer around £25,000 as a youth worker salary, which is amazing. But to rent a property in this area costs around £1800 a month, so that’s £21,600 a year!
I’d love the Church of England to set an example and take some of their significant financial resources and invest in youth and children’s ministry through providing homes for those people who we ask so much from.
2. Help grow leaders, including volunteers, by offering relevant and innovative support and training, and also by giving specific and genuine encouragement.
I feel utterly blessed to be paid to do what I do, I really do. As a full time paid youth and kids worker/charity director, I get access to all sorts of retreats, training, networking, encouragement and resources, so much exists to cheer me and my ministry on.
I would guess that only 1 or 2 % of churches across the country have a paid worker for their youth and children’s ministry, that means every other church, if they have kids and young people, rely on volunteers. 267 came about because I wanted to serve those churches that would never be in a position to employ someone, surely they deserved access to resources, training and encouragement that could enable their ministry to thrive? Surely their kids and young people were as important as those churches that employed someone?
Maybe it feels hard work for a church leader to think about this when they have so much else on their plate, I get that. But we often invest our energies in what we think is important, I would like to think all of us see the importance of kids and young people. Maybe leaders think volunteer-orientated resources aren’t out there? Maybe it needs a volunteer to step up and take the lead in this? Whatever needs to happen can I encourage you to have a conversation about it, talk to your church about it, seek help from organisations like 267, Youthscape, Urban Saints, Younglife, Youth for Christ, OneLife to help you. As Russell Crowe said in Gladiator, “what we do in this life echoes in eternity!” Let us not be passive but active, our kids and young people are worth it, and the survival of the church depends on it.
3. Nationally and locally church leaders being helped to see the value of youth and children’s ministry rather than it just being a stepping stone to ordination or “proper” ministry.
The reason I love it being called ‘youth and kids MINISTRY’ is because it should be seen as equal value to ‘adult’ ministry. Now I am conflicted here a little as I have seen many youth and kids work friends feel called to go for ordination and then lead churches, and they continue to do amazing work for the Kingdom. My struggle I think is that there is an overwhelming sense from the church that being a church leader is where every church worker should be aiming. How can we embrace the calling of youth and kids workers and see that calling as a potential lifelong one? This year I turned 50 and have been doing youth and kids ministry for over half my life, and yet still in some spheres I am not accepted because I haven’t gone through ordination! My hope is that churches and organisations can provide places where a calling to kids work or youthwork can be for the long term, even lifelong. It will require hard work, creativity, investment and changing how we value and encourage leadership.
I have three words that I think we should embrace when thinking about youth and children’s ministry; invest, value, thrive. If we invest in, and value people; then ministry, communities and churches will thrive. I know it sounds simple but how we invest in and value leaders is so key to them staying in ministry longer and experiencing an abundant ministry. Also, by doing this, we will ensure they feel affirmed, they can realise their own potential, they are being supported in their life calling and, subsequently, enabling kids and young people to meet Jesus and the full life he offers. We feel value when someone takes an interest in our well being and in the things we love doing and are good at. We feel value when someone wants to invest in us and get the very best out of us, no competition, no jealousy, no agenda except the discovery of fullness of life through our chosen calling.
If someone wanted to go to university to study something they loved but couldn’t afford it, and then someone says “I believe in you” and offers to pay for their studies. How would that make them feel? They would thrive because someone believed in them and was willing to back it up by action. If we believe in the youth and children’s ministry in our churches we cannot just say it, we have to back it up by significant and sometimes costly action. But know that any investment will be paid back 100 fold as you witness God move within individuals and communities as they experience being deeply valued by a church.
If we don’t adapt and seize an opportunity to invest wisely in the the significant possibilities of the current and future youth ministry tribe, my worry is that in 10 years time as we look back we will feel like Blockbuster Video as they lament the missed opportunity to buy Netflix!