So at the last Following study, we started getting into the issue of how to determine growth (numbers, discipleship, fruit, etc) and who is responsible for the growth of the church (pastor or congregation).
In sitting there, I heard lots of "it's both the pastor and the congregation's responsibility." I brought up a concrete example of myself. I spend time building relationships with teenagers. I pray for the teens and their friends. I spend oodles of time studying God's word in order to adequately preach and teach God's word with the goal of teenagers following Christ and then growing and becoming more like Christ. However, in the last few years, our numbers have NOT been increasing. So does that mean I am failing as a youth pastor?
According to 1 Timothy 4:11-16, the pastor is to:
11 Prescribe and teach these things.
12 Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, blove, faith and purity, show yourself can example 1of those who believe.
13 Until I come, give attention to the public breading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through aprophetic utterance with bthe laying on of hands by the presbytery.
15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Some questions to ponder
What am I to do as the youth pastor?
If I am doing these things, is that enough or am I to do other things? What are those things?
What is your responsibility as a member of Catalyst?
I'd love to get your thoughts from Scripture on this.
Isaac T
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First, to me a youth pastor should be doing many of the same things as a regular pastor only with the youth. A youth pastor should preach and teach. A youth pastor should prepare youth to go out and spread the Gospel. A youth pastor is also called to have a relationship with the youth. And due to the youth being a small portion of an entire congregation, a youth pastor is able to better intimately interact with youth than a pastor is with the church.
ReplyDeleteSecond, those things should be enough(unless I have missed a key thing a youth pastor should do). A youth pastor should not have to go outside of his/her given gifts, which should be teaching, a love of youth, and the ability to prepare others to do a certain job(in this case, preparing youth to spread the Gospel).
Third, one's responsibility as a member of Catalyst is based on their gifts and their "calling". Catalyst needs to be a body, many parts doing specific jobs. Sometimes you will need to go outside the boundaries of your gifts, but in general one should use the gifts that God has given them to the best of their ability and not "waste" time on things they're not as good at.
For me, I have been called to be a servant leader at Catalyst. The servant part is evident. God has given me a desire to serve and glory to Him, I have been using that gift to serve diligently. The leader part is a little less evident. I am definately a leader. However, leading is something that takes time to learn and I am always constantly learning how to lead more effectively. Whereas serving isn't something that needs to be learned, it just has to be put into use.