Defining success in youth ministry can be like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. At times, success is who can unwrap a Christmas gift the fastest while wearing crab claws. Other times, success is seeing how far someone can throw a marshmallow and still land it in someone’s mouth. Taking miscellaneous candy bars and shaping them into a replica of the Titanic or the Golden Gate Bridge is sometimes a measure of success in youth ministry. The way I see it, success all depends on how and what you measure, and the tragedy of rural youth ministry is that our metrics are usually wrong.

Nobody likes to feel like a failure. While no one likely calls youth pastors and volunteers failures openly, I am willing to guess that the struggle of feeling like a failure is there. It can be seen by how and what we measure. Many youth groups are measured in weekly attendance, with some churches reaching 10, 20, 50, or 100 students on average. Some are measured in number of leaders, with large churches frequently leading the pack in recruiting college students, event chaperones, and small group leaders. A look at the numbers can give an unfair tilt toward urban centers, because rural churches simply cannot measure up to a megachurch whose weekly attendance is more than the population of their entire county.

I stepped into a rural youth ministry context where my first youth group meeting consisted of two students. I was brand new to the role and naturally apprehensive about such a low showing. The next week there were four and a few weeks later we managed 8. I lamented the slow progress to a more seasoned rural youth pastor, who jokingly said I should write a book on how to double a youth ministry every week. It may have been wrapped in humor, but what stuck with me was the drastic change in perspective. In comparing myself unfairly to large churches or youth ministries, I was failing to value the growth happening in front of me. In this third part of our look at rural youth ministry, I want to challenge us to see youth ministry with a new measure of success, one that is instantly achievable regardless of context, youth group size, or community population:

Love the student in front of you.

It is simple, short, and easy to remember. Additionally, this statement speaks of infinite possibilities because it is inherently easy to start doing. One does not always need the perceived pastoral gifting of growing something to staggering numerical heights or preaching sermons full of witty and relevant exposition. Instead, the metric can be as simple and sustainable as loving the student in front of you. The best part is, this metric is perfectly suited for rural contexts.

In a brief breakdown of this principle, I hope we can come away with tangible ways that volunteers and youth pastors in rural settings can love the student in front of them. I hope this becomes a rallying cry for a new perspective on rural ministry. And I sincerely hope this helps pastors and volunteers value their experience in a rural setting and the immense potential it has for kingdom impact. The first perspective shift we need to see is this:

1) Rural youth ministry has fewer blind spots.

Small towns are perfect for loving the student in front of you, simply because students are always in front of you. When I lived in a larger town, I could subconsciously avoid difficult students. We lived in different parts of town, or had different social circles, or they went to a different high school than the one at which I frequently ministered. In a small town, it is considered lucky to have more than one grocery store, or even to have a grocery store at all. In this setting difficult students, parents, families, and situations are never far away. What an extraordinary opportunity God has given rural youth pastors and volunteers to lead the way in loving students. If love can be defined as continually choosing to act in kindness, grace, and good will towards another, small towns offer endless opportunities to do just that.

2) Every small-town student has an advocate, except the ones who don’t.

Small towns are full of students who are lifted up and propelled into a successful future by school administrators, teachers, coaches, civil service workers, and other key community members. Whether they are academically gifted or the star quarterback, these students do not lack for people to support them. However, small towns also have dozens and dozens of students who lack that support. I believe rural pastors and volunteers are uniquely called and equipped to fill that role of advocate, loving students that would otherwise succumb to a system of resignation and failure to thrive as they enter adulthood. Again, these situations exist not as a challenge, but as an extraordinary opportunity waiting to be seized by rural youth pastors and volunteers.

3) Each small-town leader can join in calling David in from the field.

A dear friend of mine made it her mission in youth ministry to find students from obscure places and disciple them into achieving God’s calling on their life. She believed that small towns were full of David-like students waiting for volunteers and youth pastors who refuse to overlook those from humble origins. This model rings true over and over again. Rural youth ministry cannot be about getting a youth group of hundreds or thousands because the population denies this possibility. However, it can be about committing to loving and discipling individuals living in overlooked corners of the world.

One thing I am confident of is that other youth pastors will always ask about how many students attend your youth group weekly. Inevitably, some rural youth pastors and leaders will sheepishly respond with small numbers and quickly excuse themselves from the conversation or change the subject. However, as 1 Corinthians 12:31 puts it, God wants to show us “a still more excellent way” (ESV). Success can be many things, but I would hope that rural youth pastors decide that loving one student is enough. History will display in vivid detail the contributions of rural students to the advancement of God’s kingdom for the cause of His glory. I am confident of this because it has already taken place. Our Christian history is filled with revivalists and reformers who were the product of dedicated disciplers who lived in obscure places.

To put it practically, take a student out to lunch. Show up at the one activity they are a part of, even if they ride the bench. Meet with one student for a Bible study every week simply because they really want to be there. Talk about how glad you are to see them instead of how sad you are that more did not come. Invest creatively, continually, and consistently. Commit to the one, and give of yourself to see them succeed. This model makes small town students into disciples, and disciples of Jesus can change the world.

To read more of Joseph Epley’s series, “Principles for Rural Youth Ministry” click the links below:

Part One: “Principles for Rural Youth Ministry: Making Blind Eyes See”

Part Two: “Principles of Rural Ministry: See a Need Meet a Need”

The post Principles for Rural Youth Ministry Part 3: Crab Claws and Candy Ships appeared first on Rural Advancement.

Small towns are a lot like cars. When maintained properly, they can last for years. The trick with cars is to give proper attention to each moving part at the right time. It is to see the needs of the vehicle and be proactive in meeting those needs. It is also important to make sure too much attention is not given to one area over another. To give you a mental picture, imagine pouring engine oil into the car until it overflows into a puddle on the floor, ignoring a flat tire while oil cascades down the driveway, wasted.

Like cars, small towns are made up of dozens of moving parts. Local businesses, non-profits, community recreational entities, and school systems all operate and overlap simultaneously. In the midst of this complex web of community elements, we find rural churches and rural youth ministries, which can often feel overwhelmed or unsure of how to best impact students. In this part of our rural youth ministry series, I want to address how to properly care for our small towns, how to look at the whole picture of our various rural communities and find which spot needs attention. In doing so, I hope our youth ministries can succeed in reaching students by meeting real needs in their communities.

If you fit the profile of most rural volunteers or paid youth staff I have met, you frequently juggle several obligations, family needs, jobs, titles, roles, and functions within your small town. You may find yourself having limited nights to spend doing youth ministry while you are busy working with the PTA, or sitting on local boards, or doing half a dozen other tasks that are integral to small town life. Upon moving to my small community of 1,700 people, I distinctly remember wondering how I was going to handle having so much extra time on my hands. Not long after that, I unintentionally found myself with more to do than I could have imagined and had little time to spare.

In the midst of this rural hustle and bustle, one question then becomes paramount: How do we best reach the students of our community? There are often not enough resources to spare to allow the task to be done inefficiently, and not enough energy to justify trying every new strategy or doing endless events in an attempt to reach people. In addition to this strain on resources, it can be incredibly overwhelming to contemplate doing more, leading to a bit of resignation as we wrestle with our limitations or abilities to minister to students. Another common temptation is to settle for “good enough”, and while we may be accomplishing something, we can often miss out on greater impact.

In the interest of keeping things practical, I want to focus on a few principles of car maintenance that will also keep our ministries running well, and will help us be a working and contributing part of our greater community.

1) Do some scheduled maintenance.

We know that cars require scheduled maintenance (regular oil checks, tire checks, and certain parts that need replaced every 50,000 miles or so), and sudden maintenance, which arises when something breaks. While both are important, for the sake of planning, it is easier to focus on scheduled maintenance than it is to predict problems.

That said, I think many of us need to analyze our small town. Let’s look at the whole picture, and figure out which part needs more attention. Often, small towns are doing many things exceptionally well, and as “part of the team”, we have the opportunity to find areas people are not already taking care of. You may find that sports programs and local scout troops are handling after school activities pretty well. You may discover that your town’s businesses have partnered to handle homecoming week at the high school. You may notice that the schools and a few non-profits are working quietly in the background to produce scholarships for students.

In the course of your analysis, you may also find that no one is partnering with the school on an after-prom party for students, or that no one is helping teens and families with basic needs. You might discover that many students need tutoring and there is no one around to provide a consistent service. You may learn that there is a shortage of substitute teachers that are able to personally step in and help address this need. Getting the whole picture of our town helps us see gaps. These gaps become tangible ways we can meet needs in our communities, which then become opportunities to reach students with the gospel.

2) Figure out what needs the most attention.

We hope this is never the case, but sometimes cars have multiple needs, with multiple lights flashing on the dash highlighting areas of need. Sometimes, it is best to figure out what needs the most attention and do that first. In the same way, after we have identified needs in our community, we begin the process of figuring out which one is the most important for us and our youth ministry to tackle. Jesus had a knack for this. He lived His life with an awareness of the big picture of humanity’s greatest needs, but frequently moved from town to town and person to person by listening to the Father’s specific leading. Mark 1:35-39 describes one such moment where Jesus withdrew, prayed, and followed God’s leading in how to best meet the needs around Him and fulfill God’s will for His life. In the same way, we must become intimately acquainted with prayer in order to clearly see how to proceed.

3) Get the job done!

Once we have a clear understanding of an issue, and a specific direction on what area to tackle first, our next job is to get it done! When working on cars, there are definite moments where a “one-hour job” turns into a whole afternoon of frustrated trips to an auto parts store or many false starts that create a sense of frustration. However, getting the car running and keeping it running is a big enough motivator to navigate the frustration. The main questions are: What do we need to do to get the job done? What resources do we need to gather? Whose wisdom do we need to lean on? How willing are we to keep trying even with a couple setbacks? Is the need big enough to demand your time and effort? The answers to these questions are key in determining how we will do youth ministry successfully in our communities.

Small towns are a lot like cars. They have a lot of moving parts that demand attention. Instead of covering an area that is already being maintained or spending our energy on areas where needs are being met, we can better utilize our limited time and resources by finding an unmet need and filling it. Meeting one community need effectively opens the door for new relationships with students. These relationships then provide open doors for the gospel. It is my hope that by taking care of one overlooked area in our communities, we can have a greater impact on students in the long run.

To read part one of Joe Epley’s series, “Principles for Rural Youth Ministry” click here: “Principles for Rural Youth Ministry: Making Blind Eyes See.” For part three, “Principles for Rural Youth Ministry: Crab Claws and Candy Ships.”

The post Principles for Rural Youth Ministry Part 2: See a Need, Meet a Need appeared first on Rural Advancement.

It is impossible to read scripture without seeing how often God seems to enjoy using young people from obscure places to accomplish his will in the world. In the center of major biblical narratives, we see the likes of Joseph, David, Jeremiah, Daniel, Mary, and Timothy, and the incredible ways in which God used them. A shared trait among these Biblical heroes is their humble origins, with all of them heralding from lonely fields, nomadic tents, and far corners of countries that served as footnotes in greater empires.

I am convinced that God still uses young people from obscure places. As rural youth pastors and volunteers, we are tasked with discipling these potential world changers. My hope in writing this series is to contribute a perspective, one that has for the majority of my ministry been molded by the lessons learned from rural youth ministry.

I currently live in Southeastern Montana, in a rural community of 1,700 people situated on the edge of the state map. Prior to this, I spent the majority of my life growing up and ministering in the biggest city our state has to offer. Following the call of God, I was led to take a job in Baker, Montana. After zooming in on Google Maps to enlarge this new-to-me speck of a populated area and saying a quick prayer, I embarked on a journey into rural ministry that was truly eye-opening.

The goal of this introduction is not to set me up in an idealized narrative in which I instantly adapt to rural life, overcome challenges, and find successful ministry to teens. That wouldn’t be accurate. When reflecting on my adjustment to rural ministry, I tend to identify with the man blind from birth found in John 9. His story reveals that he has never had sight, and until God miraculously opens his eyes, he has absolutely no awareness of the world outside of his senses of hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Once Jesus gives this man sight, he becomes an evangelist for the cause, even challenging the Sanhedrin to follow Jesus in discipleship.

My own story does not have that quick of a turnaround. The journey from being ignorant of the treasure that is rural youth ministry, to taking on the role of evangelist and advocate for rural communities took longer than one chapter. It is my intention in this series to offer nuts-and-bolts suggestions and principles that have helped me develop a sense of what it means to minister to rural youth. However, before we explore these principles, we must first see differently.

I remember a book I read during my undergraduate studies that seemed straightforward in its subject. It was basically an introduction to missions. The book had the intent of informing the uninformed of what principles guided missionaries as they followed God’s call. I read this book with a dedicated, but distanced understanding. In my mind, this material applied to missionaries, but not me.

Of course, we are all called to evangelize where we are, but in my naïveté, I vastly underestimated how these lessons could shape me. To put it broadly, the work set forth ideas that many missionaries and theologians refer to as indigenous principles. These principles explain why learning language, customs, existing religious beliefs, and cultural values are important for any missionary seeking to engage a foreign culture. After reading this, I can still remember the moment the lightbulb came on: I am not a youth pastor, I am a cross-cultural missionary.

Cross-cultural missionary. That phrase played over and over in my head, and in that moment my philosophy shifted dramatically. I realized that the youth of any generation exist as their own culture. They have a language all their own, developed through slang and social media, and cemented through pop culture. Youth have their own customs, deciding how and when to socialize, and what is proper to do and not do in every new social setting that arrives with rapidly changing technology. Their beliefs have been diversified through the availability of and exposure to new ideas in a technologically connected world. Finally, they have values that are uniquely expressed and driven by powerful forces of a global internet culture.

In this moment, I recognized with sudden appreciation the length to which missionaries go as they become students of the culture they hope to reach. Their dedication challenged me to grow as well. While I was sitting there reading, feeling unfit for the task and daunted by the work ahead, I was challenged by a question from the Holy Spirit: Isn’t it worth it? The answer seems clear. It is worth it. Worth, however, does not guarantee ease.

We are trying to understand a unique culture both in terms of it being rural and youth-oriented. If you’ve read this far, you, too, know it’s worth it. And you likely recognize the difficulty of the task. In my own experience, I’ve found that behind the veil of complex ministry philosophies, we often find simple principles. Here are a few of them that rang true for me.

• Learn the language. The double-edged sword of the internet has created a culture that is at one extreme rapidly changing. This can make it hard to engage with youth where they are at or get in their world. The positive side is that the internet exists as a giant billboard granting insight into what students value, discuss, listen to, and find entertaining. Find out where your students are spending time online and engage with whatever social media platform they are engaging with. It may feel overwhelming, but it is an invaluable window into their lives.
• Let the natives lead the way. Youth value the ability to give input. Although adults are still considered “experts” in their respective fields, when it comes to technology, youth culture, current problems and issues facing their generation, be willing to consider that these teens may know more than us. Yes, there is still a need for oversight, but there is also a very real need for their input. Give students voice in how your ministry operates, how you communicate, what activities you schedule, and what topics you engage with in the pulpit and small groups.
• Read a book. Or a blog. Or a social media post. Or a Facebook group. Or a dozen books. Or an academic study. Listen to a podcast. Or a teenager who is a personal friend. The point is simple, the task is too important not to be equipped. The list of resources is too large to put into the space of this blog, but leverage your network of people to find out what subjects need exploring and what’s being written on the subject. I personally know a pastor who started a youth group and discovered five students struggling with gender identity and sexuality. His first step was to read books on the subject, and I consider his ideas and methods of discipling those students to be far above those who have many more years of experience, but have not been active in learning new things.

Once we can see clearly the task ahead of us, and the value of that task, the nuts and bolts of youth ministry can be explored, which we will do in parts two and three of this blog.

The post Principles for Rural Youth Ministry Part 1: Making Blind Eyes See appeared first on Rural Advancement.