Youth Ministry Cheerleaders

Youth ministry is hard work. It may look like it is nothing but pizza, video games, and road trips, but, trust me, there is a lot more that goes into it. There is the overwhelming weight of knowing that you will only have some kids in your youth group for a year and others for six years. There are those nights where you have a ton of students in your youth meeting and other nights where you are bombarded with the excuses as to why they won't be there. And then there are those students who just don't care about the things of God at all. You will cry and plead and beg God to change their hearts, but nothing happens.

And these are just the normal things of youth ministry. It is a sad reality that many youth pastors will deal with death, suicide, divorce, and teen pregnancy. Ministry is hard work.

Because of this, every youth pastor needs a cheerleader. No, I don't mean someone who will follow you around chanting your name and saying "U-G-L-Y" to that lady in the church that is giving you grief. You want someone to encourage and provide support when things are at their darkest.

I am lucky. I have several youth ministry cheerleaders. My wife, Tina is a big youth ministry cheerleader. I know that she will be there to make sure that I am taking care of myself and provides encouragement when I am beating myself up over a decision. Another of my cheerleaders is Carrie. Carrie has been my biggest supporter since the day I was hired on staff. She is full of ideas and a great sounding board.

Please, I beg you, if you do not have a cheerleader, pray that God will provide one for you. You will burn out very fast if you don't. If you are a parent or a member of the church, please consider rallying around your pastor or youth pastor. Too many people are willing to share their negativity with the pastor, but not as many are willing to encourage them.

Take a look at the note that Doug Fields wrote to Josh Griffin as a great example of cheerleading in youth ministry.