Youth Leaders Research provides interesting results

There is a general assumption that those who serve as active youth leaders do so out of a sense of divine call. ... Yet when participants were asked... 31% of non-vocational youth leaders could not clearly acknowledge that they were called by God to youth ministry.

Reading Ancient History history recently reminded me of the political dictum that the ‘minimum condition for greatness is the peaceful transfer of power’. In his book Justinian’s Flea, William Rosen refers to Constantine’s politically disastrous decision to provide for his succession by naming five junior emperors — his three sons and two of his nephews – as ‘his last great sin’. Despite the fact that he left baptism and absolution to the very last moment before he died, Constantine’s pride lived on after him - and resulted in the deaths of thousands, including the assassination of most of his family, and the deaths in civil war of two of his sons. One forgets that often one teaches more by one’s example than by any number of words spoken.

Oddly enough, I was also reminded of ‘the minimum condition for greatness’ when reading for the press Wayne Harrison’s research on youth pastors in the Australian Christian Churches. Harrison makes the link for readers of history by demonstrating the neglect that youth pastorship often receives in both training and research among Christian churches. “After all,” he writes, “the future leadership of the AOG/ACC lies in those who are now leading a youth ministry or are involved in one.” Such a reflection draws one up quickly, and reminds the reader of the importance of acting from good information, good educational design, and research evidence. For while youth leadership is considered to be a crucial part of contemporary church ministry, it is in fact among the least resourced, least intentionally developed, and most pressured sections of church ministry.

In his research — based on a survey of over 400 active ACC youth pastors in New South Wales, carried out while a postgraduate student at Alphacrucis — Harrison demonstrates that pragmatism, insecurity amid senior leadership, unrealistic expectations on the part of parents and members, and vocational insecurity among youth pastors themselves, leads to a situation where youth leaders … are inadvertently busy doing rather than becoming great leaders, and that completed tasks become more valued than vocationally based teaching and training oriented towards long term ministry effectiveness.

Harrison discovers some fascinating facts:

• •Nearly a third of Pentecostal youth pastors (what he calls ‘non-vocational Youth Leaders’ or Non VYLs) are operating not out of a sense of the call of God but out of the sense of organisational or career necessity
•  A majority of youth leaders tend to serve as youth leaders for a 2-4 year period, and usually a period of time and in conditions when they are least likely to be able to learn and improve their effectiveness in ministry
• A majority of youth leaders serve in an insecure, voluntary capacity, leading to a bifurcation in effectiveness between smaller and less financially capable churches, and larger better resourced churches
• While most youth leaders acknowledge that better preparation and education is likely to lead to greater longevity and effectiveness in ministry, they have little idea as to what better preparation is
• Over half the subject pool perceived themselves to be poorly equipped or disorganized, and over 40% believed that the demands of their jobs exceeded the work hours available
• The ‘character’ related data indicates that a successful VYL in current youth ministry will be a leader who is personally a quick learner, and who is equipped with flexible learning strategies - and yet actual learning strategies a tightly constrained by the culture of their churches.

Such conditions create a situation whereby many youth leaders feel frustrated, or inadequate. They are trapped in this situation by ruling cultural pre-supposition that formal education, and particularly theological education, bear no relationship to effective ministry. “Significantly”, writes Harrison, “despite these attitudes towards academic training, when asked whether they have a good grasp of theological concepts, some 74% of youth leaders, either agreed (60%) or strongly agreed (14%).” In other words, the future leaders of the movement are supremely confident in handling those ideas to which they have not been introduced, and yet approach the means of engaging with those ideas with sublime disregard. How odd. The measure of effectiveness somehow has no relationship to the core values held by those in whose hands the future of the organisation lies. What is important for these young readers is not so much the actuality of their ability, but their ability to project confidence and self belief. Harrison concludes:

I am concerned at the emerging pattern of youth leaders who are inadvertently busy doing rather than becoming great leaders, and that completed tasks become more valued than vocationally based teaching and training oriented towards long term ministry effectiveness.

The mechanisms of this becomes apparent also in the survey. Despite having no particular understanding of theological concepts such as ‘revelation’, his survey pool ranked ‘revelation from God’ most important, and ‘reading materials’ least important, in terms of learning tools helpful in becoming a more effective youth leader. Significantly, relationships with others (including attendance at conferences, fraternization with other pastors, etc) was the second most important learning tool. Harrison concludes that this ‘relational dependence’ reflects

the culture of dependence among VYLs, whose marginality in ‘apostolic’ organizations forces them to fall back on strong relational links with those they interact with in ministry. In many cases VYLs focus on key relationships to help bolster a sense of greater ministerial and organisational acknowledgment (especially in smaller churches), a factor viewed as essential to the establishment of their ministry and leadership effectiveness.

Back to Constantine. The greatest of leaders are subject to the judgement of history, and the minimum condition for greatness. Greatness requires the ability to make sure that the persuasion of ideas does not become disconnected – either through the warping lens of organisational realities, will mis-conceptualisation due to pride and human frailty — from an assessment of true effectiveness. Harrison has picked up a significant trend indicating that short-term results may not bear long-term fruit, a result also evident in international research indicating that “the most highly trained ministers experience the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment of professional ministry goals.” When the future of a movement is at stake, it is important that people pay attention to critical research results.

Alphacrucis has a range of courses to help youth leaders, and those wanting to get into youth ministry.  The courses include the Local Church Certificate, local church-based internships, speciality internships in youth ministry (hubs) and intensives. 

For further information or to register please email info@alphacrucis.ac.nz or speak with our Enquiries Office on (09) 5801500.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Wayne Harrison’s condensed research paper (‘Youth Leadership: trends and research issues relating to educational background, attainment and sense of adequacy of active youth leaders in NSW AOG Churches’) may be read in the forthcoming edition of Australasian Pentecostal Studies [http://aps.webjournals.org]. The full version of the paper may be obtained from the author: wayneharrison777@gmail.com