This is a call to action!
I am writing this just before I make my annual pilgrimage to High Leigh to meet with fellow full- and part-time youth ministers. When I started youth ministry in 1985, there were very few full-time workers around. It is a real joy to meet with those who have committed their lives to such service in the church. There are still many pressures on people who fulfil this ministry but, without question, it has been a blessing to the church.
Support for volunteers?
However, for every one full-time youth worker, there are at least ten people who are not employed by the church who turn up faithfully week by week. I wonder if our so-called ‘volunteers’ get all the help they need or deserve. More often than not, the youth ministry is run by volunteers – not every church can afford a paid worker. As I have visited churches around the UK I have been impressed by the ministry of volunteers, but concerned by their lack of support. One sees churches who don’t have any support mechanisms for their volunteers so that many just keep going on their own.
