Of course, there is a huge caveat here. We can never keep secrets. I tell the teenagers in my small groups that they can trust me with their issues, but the moment they tell me something that is potentially harmful to them or harmful to someone else, mom and dad are going to get involved. We can also never operate in place of mom or dad. We should always ask two questions: “Do your parents known about this?” And “How do your parents feel about this?” and strive to support their authority in their son or daughter’s lives. Being a confidant is a vital role, but one where common sense has to be exercised.
Role Model
Many of our students don’t have a parent in their home who models a life devoted to Christ. This is tragic. We have the opportunity week in and week out to model what it looks like to pursue Christ above all else, to value meeting God regularly in His Word, to worship God wholeheartedly and to serve others in Christ’s name. For teenagers without role models, this is vital. For teenagers with parental role models, it’s more of a good thing.
Teacher
We each have the chance to, in the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:19, help students know [the love of Christ] that surpasses knowledge. In my experience, there are a number of parents out there who aren’t in the practice of teaching their children to grow closer to Christ. For those that do, we are a wonderful supplement. For those that don’t, we stand in the gap. The opportunity to weekly show teenagers God in His Word is one of my favorite things in the world. It’s a role we should all take seriously and approach with great joy.
So, those are the five roles we can play as youth workers. What did I miss? What would you add? Leave your responses in the comment sections below.
