Kenda Creasy Dean shares some thought provoking ideas about the future of youth ministry in this YS Idea Lab with Brian Aaby. As I listened through the conversation, I wanted to highlight a few things Kenda said about the future of youth ministry and how youth workers will stay in ministry long enough to see it.

In 10 years, Kenda thinks youth ministry will be…

less programmatic and will become embedded into the fabric of the overall mission of the church. 

more entrepreneurial, happening out in the community and making young people agents of ministry, not just objects of it. 

If youth workers are going to make it 10 years in ministry, they’ll have to…

understand that they can’t do it alone and surround themselves with people who can support them. 

make their senior pastor’s job easier and over communicate with them. 

be smart about the practical things, like structure and finances. It won’t help your young people if there isn’t a church to come back to after they are grown. 

stay in it and don’t quit. People succeed in ministry because they don’t quit as soon as everybody else.

Check out the full YS Idea Lab video below and let us know what you think.

We’re planning to tackle a ton of these same ideas at NYWC 2015 in San Diego and Louisville. Check out more info at NYWC.com and be sure to register early to snag the best savings for your ministry!