A Hiring Covenant for Churches

The overwhelming majority of those who commit their lives to Christ make that commitment before they reach age 18. That makes childhood and adolescence our primary “harvest field” in the church. And that means the workers we hire to “plow that field” play a pivotal role in God’s great mission. With that in mind, it seems good to put some hopes and expectations on the table and ask churches that will be using this hiring service to consider these values as they post positions.

We will pray and spiritually support

The spiritual support the church gives the youth worker is vital too. A common phrase to remember in ministry is that, “we can not give away what we don’t have ourselves.” A church can’t only focus on the spiritual growth and prayer needs of the students, but must come along side the Youth Worker in those areas as well. A Youth Worker’s spiritual health is vital to having a healthy youth ministry in your church.

What this looks like:

• Have your youth worker find a spiritual mentor who is outside of any management structure
• Start a regular email prayer update for the youth work and include prayer requests from the youth worker as well as praying for young people.
• Add being part of a local youth ministry worship and prayer network to your youth workers job description. Visit nnym.com to find a local network.
• Have a weekly Staff Bible Study which rotates leadership
• Have your youth worker join a small group that they are encouraged to not lead
• Schedule a couple times a year for your church to pray for the youth worker and his or her families during a weekly service

We will give space for retreat and reflection

Every time a youth worker stops to pray, to spend time reflecting, to seek God, they are doing something that not only impacts their own life, but the lives of the young people in your church too. The truth is that good youth workers are mentors and examples, not just organizers of things like crazy games. And that means that taking time to seek God about the vision and direction of their ministries isn’t incidental to their work. It’s indispensable.

What this looks like:

• Send your youth worker on a silent retreat at a local monastery or retreat center in your area.
• Allow your youth worker to take an afternoon once a month to get away to a quiet place for prayer and reflection.
• Find somewhere beautiful and arrange for your youth worker to spend some time there in retreat. Regularly!

We will provide ongoing training and development

Alongside their spiritual growth, churches need to think about ongoing training and development for their worker. Whatever qualifications they arrive with, the church has a responsibility to continue to invest in them and develop their skills, just like in any profession. Learning the skills of youth work is an ongoing process and it’s important to continually invest in professional development.

What this looks like:

• Get hold of a training needs analysis tool and work through it with your worker to identify their training needs.
• Do a simple survey of other professionals in your church (e.g. ministers, nurses, doctors, teachers etc.) to find out how much ongoing training and development they get each year and aim to provide your youth worker with about the same level.
• Provide a monthly book allowance for your Youth Worker.
• Budget for your Youth Worker to attend a training event or ministry conference. (http://conference.youthministry.com)

We will give at least one full day of rest per week

It’s important for churches to actively encourage youth workers to develop a healthy work/life balance and make sure the youth worker knows they are expected to take regular time off. Churches will also need to think about how they can make sure that the rest of the church recognizes this. Although there’s always a huge amount to do as a youth worker, he or she should have at least one day away from their role each week and at least two weeks per year to do something different. Taking regular time off will help ensure the youth worker stay fresh and energized in their role, and that’s something every church should want to see!

What this looks like:

• Ask those who manage the youth worker to check regularly that they are taking a full day off each week.
• Organize another youth worker, perhaps one of the volunteers, to be ‘on call’ during the youth worker’s day off in order to take any telephone calls or deal with emergencies.
• Ensure that vacation time is clearly communicated to the youth worker and that they use it each year.
• Use a service or small group session to explore the issue of work/life balance with the whole church and encourage everyone to think about the way they structure their lifestyle. This is an issue for everyone, not just the youth worker!

We will share responsibility

Of course, the youth worker has a specific and important role. They will probably be leading and developing the youth work and spending a lot of time with the young people. But they shouldn’t feel that the church has simply handed the task over to them and left them to get on with it. Everyone in a church should be concerned about children and young people and should find a way to contribute to supporting them and helping them grow in faith.

What this looks like:

• Have church leadership actively help the youth worker identify people in your congregation to recruit to help with the youth ministry.
• Challenge everyone in the congregation to find one way of supporting young people in the church from volunteering to praying to providing meals for the weekend events.
• Set up a task group to explore ways that the church can get more involved in meeting the needs of young people in the community: for example, by encouraging church members to volunteer in other youth organizations and clubs.

We will strive to be an excellent employer

In exactly the same way that you expect the youth worker to provide a program that supports, encourages, and at times challenges, the young people, he or she should expect you to provide them with the support and encouragement, and occasional challenges, that they need to fulfill their duties. Because you want the best for your young people, you expect the youth worker to be the best. But that means you also need to be the best.

What this looks like:

• Review the youth worker’s salary and confirm that it’s a fair and comparable wage for their role, experience and qualifications. Ask an outside referee to benchmark the salary for you. Introduce a salary scale with incremental increases to acknowledge growth in skills and experience.
• Contact other local churches with youth workers and ask if you can see copies of their terms and conditions to help you see if you’ve covered everything needed.
• Set up an annual review process for your youth worker to evaluate goals, performance and the job description to make sure it’s still relevant.

We will celebrate and appreciate

Being appreciated makes a huge difference, especially when the job is as demanding as youth work. That means that churches should think seriously about how they value their youth worker. Sometimes it’s easy to assume that people know this when, in many cases, it needs to be more explicit. Churches should create a habit of acknowledging what is achieved in the church’s youth work and the value of the youth worker themselves.

What this looks like:

• Hold a ‘Youth Worker Sunday’ when you show your appreciation to your youth workers by publicly acknowledging their work in a service, with perhaps holding a special lunch or other social event afterwards. Include volunteers too!
• Ask the young people in the church to take part of a service to show how much they appreciate the youth worker. They could devise a special section of the service, report back on the impact of the youth work on their faith and life, and the difference having a youth worker makes.
• Give a small gift each year to those working and volunteering in the church, including the youth work. These small gestures can often make a huge difference in helping people feel their effort and work is appreciated.