YPT Guide for New Youth Ministers

Dear new youth minister,

Welcome to youth ministry! It can be pretty overwhelming to be a new youth minister. Some of you have spent years dreaming and praying for this opportunity, endured a gauntlet of applications and interviews, and now the real work is about to begin. For others, it can seem overwhelming because it was suddenly thrust upon you when you weren’t expecting it and you feel underprepared.

I hope this packet will encourage you and help you get started with confidence in the Lord’s provision while also providing a few practical tools that will help you develop a sustainable plan.

YPT believes that youth ministry is pastoral ministry. That’s true whether you hold the office of pastor/elder or if you serve as a ministry director. The ministry itself is pastoral: You are called to proclaim the gospel and teach God’s Word, you will provide pastoral counseling to students and parents, and you’ll build and develop a team of church members who evangelize and disciple teenagers, among other duties.

As you begin, I want to encourage you to think big but start small (more on that in section three). There are lots of recommendations on the Youth Pastor Theologian blog and podcast, but these are a good starting point if you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where or how to begin.

Finally, your students don’t need the world’s best youth pastor - they only need you to be faithful. God is great enough, so you don’t need to be. Relieve yourself of the pressure to be everything and do everything that you feel pressured to become. Rest in God. He is already building his Church, and that’s what He will continue doing.

With you in Christ,

Mike McGarry
Founder/Director, Youth Pastor Theologian