The pressures of Student Ministry!

Latasha on February 18th, 2009

The past two weeks have been crazy at our church.  It seems like the last few weeks we have put out a dozen fires with our students making poor choices. It started with a student leader who decided to skip school for 16 days. When she decided she did not like her new school. This student is in the 11th grade an cannot afford to mess up. Georgia law will allow the school to drop you if you miss over 15 days of school. 

We then just learned that a student whose mom was away on a business trip just passed in a car accident. The student is having a tough time dealing with the death of her mom, as would  any student. 

To top it off we found out TODAY a student of ours has been charged with child molestation. His mom caught him inappropriately touching his 4 year old niece. Could you imagine a mom having to turn her son in for molesting her grand-child. They discovered this behavior has gone on for sometime after they interviewed the 4year old. 

In youth ministry you have good and bad days. Sometimes you will go for weeks or months where you feel like everything is going well. Suddenly, things begin falling apart and you may  feel you have nothing left to give. In that moment of your weakness, God in his sovereignty lifts you up. It’s that support and comfort that helps you endure the hard times, the disappointments and the discouragement. In the midst of your hardache you have to be a comfort and support for families. It’s at moments like this you have to be assured of your calling. It’s also in moments like this where the Lord expands and deepens you in your spiritual walk.

What tips do you have when dealing with pressures of student ministry? How do you stay encouraged in the midst of what seems like chaos. 

Discuss (9)

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Gavin Brown at 5:09am February 25

Hey i just read this comment, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Youth ministry can be discouraging. I just found out some news about a staff member leaving from our team and i have only been here 8 months and this person 6. I kind of felt discouraged, but last night had a great time to be reassured of my calling here at this church and my commitment to these kids. The lord did take on another journey of trusting him that everything in it’s time will work out. Thank you for your candidness. It really blessed me today. :)

James at 11:35am February 26

One of the things that helps me through stressful times is being plugged into a network of other youth ministers in the area. They know what it’s like and can encourage me. They can also tell when I’m in over my head and when to let other authorities (senior leadership, professional counselors, local law enforcement and even parents) take over the situation so that I can tend to the rest of the flock.