June 1, 1995. I walked into my first official office. It had a 6ft white table as a desk, a metal filing cabinet in the corner, a small bookshelf that, if you didn’t lean it up in the corner, it would collapse on itself, and a well used computer that took 10 minutes to turn on every morning. The small church that had hired me had never had a youth director before, but they were ready to take a risk. Like most small churches, taking a risk meant hiring a person with no experience, big heart, high energy, and paying them as little as possible. I didn’t care. I was starting on a journey, more than a journey, a calling that I felt God had given me three years previously. Other than giving my life to Christ and marrying my wife, the decision to commit my life to youth ministry has been the biggest, most substantial decision I have made. I have never regretted the decision to be a youth pastor and I am grateful to God for allowing me to do this and for bringing the most amazing people for me to do life with.
When I look back over the last 25 years, a lot has changed in me, how youth ministry plays itself out, and in culture. Here are just some of the culture changes over the last 25 years
- Netflix now exists
- MP3 players were invented and made cassettes and CDs obsolete
- Flat Screen TV’s entered the scene and no longer do we have to carry the 300 pound TV that takes up the whole corner of the living room
- Google Search began – yep, still don’t know how we found information before being able to search for it on google
- International Space Station – people went to space but there wasn’t a unified project before that
- DVD – before Netflix, Amazon, and blue ray there was the invention of the DVD, that no matter how many times you watched the movie, you didn’t wear out the VHS tape.
- Facebook – There was amazing social media possibilities before Facebook like MySpace, but Facebook opened the door to contemporary social media
- YouTube – Life before YouTube? Not sure it actually existed, blockbuster probably wishes it was never created.
- iPhone – I can’t imagine not having an iphone or any smartphones – it is amazing to be able to have everything connected, but not being available 24/7 was nice at times also
- Security at Airports – Remember when you could meet your friend at the gate that they arrived on or you could show up 15 minutes before your flight and literally run to your gate because there were no TSA lines?
- You had to memorize someone’s phone number – We didn’t share someone’s contact, we actually knew their phone number because there was no way to store their contact in our phones
- Answering machines – When you came home from being out, it was always a rush to see how many times the answering machine light was blinking – it was a rush to see that you had a message while you were out, especially if you were waiting for a call from someone important
- Smoking in restaurants – It used to be when you went to a restaurant, the host asked you if you wanted smoking or nonsmoking seating.
A lot has changed over the last 25 years. In some ways youth ministry has changed too, and in some ways there are things in youth ministry that will always remain the same. As part of my journey over the last 25 years I am going to share some of the things that I have learned about youth ministry so far in my experience. I am not trying to communicate new truths but to remember what is really important and to inspire me (and maybe you) for the next 25 years.