3 Spiritual Dangers of Youth Ministry

Around YouthWorks, I get to witness the incredible work God is doing through all sorts of people, all dedicated to doing good. But along with their helping hands come hidden hazards in ministry – spiritual dangers that can turn service into a stumbling block.

 

In his new book, The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good, Peter Greer names a number of pitfalls that come with the territory of serving others. As I read this book I looked for ways to apply it to my own context of youth leadership. I also thought of a few folks who are preparing to lead teenagers this summer:

• the youth leader preparing for this summer’s trip
• the college student / soon-to-be YouthWorks Staff getting ready for training next week
• my fulltime coworkers at YouthWorks who, after a long season of preparation, will be headed out to train and lead staff all summer long
• Me, at my desk, writing and printing and editing and corralling any final creativity from the corners of my conscience.

…all these things in an effort to do good.

 

But seeking to do good is not always good. While a prodigal son strays to sin another stays to serve, but both can be focused on self-centered gain. Greer suggests, “Hedonism and heroism (doing good) are brothers, not polar opposites. At their core, both are about wanting our own way. One is wrapped in good deeds and religious service, but both are empty” (33).

 

But doing good can be very good… if we are able to dodge the dangers. Of Greer’s 14 spiritual dangers, I’ve written about three that resonated most with me in terms of the youth ministry I do at church and at YouthWorks. Perhaps they will resonate with you as well.

 

 

1. Using the Wrong Measuring Stick to Define Success

I used to get depressed every Wednesday night. After hours of preparation, three teenagers showed up. Sometimes fewer. I would go home feeling beat up and let down. Fortunately things have changed.

 

You probably think I’m going to tell you that we get tons more students now. Well… that’s not quite true. Some nights, we’ve had the unique problem of having more leaders than teenagers. What’s changed is my measuring stick. I still notice numbers, but it doesn’t define success for me like it did years ago. Instead, I’ve started measuring the conversation – noticing when a student “gets it” or when we leaders have listened well or when we can pray for someone in a meaningful way.

 

Take a moment to analyze your measuring stick for success. There’s nothing wrong with numbers or smooth productions or on-schedule events, but are these really the rulers you want to measure success by? Greer points out how Jesus measured success: by how much we love God and how much we love others, no matter how many or how few.

 

What is your measure of success?

 

In what ways are you being successful with what you’ve been given in your ministry?

 

 

2. Being Obsessed With What Others Think

EXHIBIT A: A very sore body after trying to keep up with teenagers on the football field.

EXHIBIT B: Countless jokes I have not-so-subtly slipped into conversations that desperately did not need a joke in that moment.

EXHIBIT C: A road trip playlist I made for a retreat, which a teenager immediately responded to by asking if we could listen to “different music.”

 

This is my abbreviated list of recent failed attempts to get high schoolers to think of me as “cool.” In fact, I am quite certain that for years I have been concerned with how teenagers see me. For example, I can think of specific times when I have not shared a struggle because I thought sharing it would make me look bad… and other times when I have shared a struggle because I thought it would make me look humble.

 

In fact, right now I am questioning why I just shared that with you… hmmm…

 

In any case, what I’ve discovered is that when I’m busy trying to get teenagers to like me, I don’t do a very good job of loving them. Maybe you’ve been in the same place – a place where your obsession with what others think becomes a barrier to loving others. Some of the most practical advice I’ve been given is to pause before entering any interaction with teenagers and ask myself a simple question: “Why am I here?”

 

The answer, of course, has very little to do with me and a lot to do with loving others well.

 

How has your love for others become impeded by your concern over what others think?

Why are you here, in ministry?

 

 

3. Giving Leftovers to Loved Ones

“Busy.” It’s a word I keep trying to avoid when I’m asked how I’m doing, but a word I inevitably return to again and again. But I am busy with great things! Working for a missions organization, serving at my church’s youth group, going to seminary… but there are days and weeks and months when another word becomes the companion of “busy”…

 

“Neglect.” At work, pressure plus tangible payoffs can cause meaningful ministry to hurt life at home. There is a lie that “if Serving God Through Service = Good… then Serving God Through More Service = Better” (42). It isn’t true. Too often the fruit looks good while the roots are dying. The ministry is producing, but there is failure at home.

 

“Home” is the people we love most who send us out each day and receive us each night. They are also the people who should be most familiar with our love. I have close friends that I need to sit across tables from more often and parents who I need to call more frequently. You might have a spouse or a future spouse or a kid or 5 kids or that one really good friend or…  well… you get it. And we all have a God who deeply cares for us, who is our eternal “home” and who is our ultimate “loved one.”

 

Who are you giving leftovers to?

 

How do you need to readjust your ministry priorities?

 

 

 

Whether you’re in the midst of ministry or, perhaps, preparing to dive in: Beware! Dangers lurk ahead! But, as Greer puts it so well:

“Let’s not tire of doing good. But let’s remember why we serve… out of a heart posture of gratitude to a God who knows we aren’t perfect, who recognizes that we are a mess, and who loves us anyway” (176).

What Spiritual Dangers of Youth Ministry would you add to this list? Comment below.

 

 

Also Read: 5 Spiritual Dangers of Mission Trips

 

Click here to learn all The Spiritual Dangers of Doing Good, by Peter Greer.

 

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Sam Townsend helps write training, programming and marketing materials for YouthWorks mission trips. When he isn’t hanging around teenagers at church or digging into seminary homework, he is generally looking for a good conversation and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to have it in. Sam still considers his first couple summers working for YouthWorks in Virginia and Pennsylvania communities some of the most transformative times of his life.