Home Youth Leaders Articles for Youth Leaders Why to Stay in Youth Ministry: 7 Compelling Reasons Not to Quit

Why to Stay in Youth Ministry: 7 Compelling Reasons Not to Quit

why to stay in youth ministry

These days, more church workers than ever are wondering why to stay in youth ministry (or any kind of ministry). If that’s you, read these encouraging words from evangelist Greg Stier!

Youth ministry can be highly rewarding and highly discouraging…sometimes all within the span of an hour. Helicopter parents, apathetic teenagers and eye-rolling, finger-wagging church leaders can all combine to become a slow-moving vortex of depression that churns deep in the soul of the average youth leader.

Are you wondering why to stay in youth ministry? Why remain in such a low-pay, high-pressure position? Why not escape to get a “real job” in ministry, a job where you are loved and respected? And where the pay is more than the typical barista’s?

7 Compelling Reasons: Why to Stay in Youth Ministry

1.  Teenagers come to Christ quicker than adults.

According to Barna, two out of three people put their faith in Jesus by age 18. After that, the odds go way down. In the words of my grandpa, “Get the gettin’ while the gettin’s good.” And the salvation gettin’ is good before the age of 18

2.  Teenagers spread the Gospel faster than adults.

Because the average teenager has well over 400 online and face-to-face friends, they have a huge (and growing) opportunity to share the Gospel like no generation before them. Generation Z, the nickname for today’s teens, is filled with “digital natives.” 

They’re called this because they’ve never known a time without digital devices and social media. As a result, they have an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate the spread of the good news through their many social media channels.

3.  Teenagers are daring.

Part of the reason teens get into trouble so often is that their brains aren’t fully developed yet! The part of the brain that signals “DANGER! DON’T DO IT! isn’t fully operational. Believe it or not, this can be an advantage when it comes to getting teenagers to live out the Cause of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)! Kids will do and try things (both good and bad) that adults would never dare. So let’s use that to our advantage and mobilize them to Gospelize their world!

4.  Teenagers are fast learners.

Generation Z is a multitasking, fast-learning crew. Kids love to take in information and put it to use for causes that matter. Because no cause is greater than the Gospel, let’s unleash teens to advance it!