The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Youth Ministers: Working With Your Pastor

Authored by Bob Rice in Issue #32.2 of The Sower
Like any relationship, communication is the most essential thing. And there is no more important relationship in youth ministry than that of the youth minister and his or her pastor. But good communication is based on understanding each other. And before we can make a relationship better, we have to understand what kind of relationship it is. Just as marriage is my vocation, doing ministry in the pastor’s vocation. So I help him, and I keep in my heart that I’m am serving his ministry, not leading my own. This attitude is essential to have if you are going to effectively work with your pastor in youth ministry. It’s important to remember that, though you and your pastor might have a friendship, when it comes to ministry you are never peers. Yes, you should share with him what that is going on in the ministry. But he won’t reciprocate by sharing everything that is going in the parish. He can’t; much of it is confidential. You report to him, not the other way around. As a youth minister, it is your job to be obsessed about teens. But pastors have to deal with a much larger world than you do. From the serious to the mundane, people bring problems to your pastor with the anxiety that the world will end tomorrow if the issue wasn’t resolved yesterday. Being pastor is a tough, tough job. You are only part of the puzzle of bringing salvation to his flock. An important part, but a part nonetheless. Consider it your job to make your pastor’s life easier. He hired you to reach out to youth, to build the relationships that he can’t, to understand the culture that he is confused by. Your job is to help him minister effectively to youth, to live out the commitment he made when he was ordained a priest.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Editor's Reflections— The Gift of the Jubilee Year
By Dr. James Pauley
Free It was a predictably hot August day. We stood, tightly packed and shoulder-to-shoulder, in the blazing afternoon sun in the square outside the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City. It was the Great Jubilee year 2000, and I had helped lead a group of young people to World Youth Day. It was the largest gathering ever in St. Peter’s Square, which... Read more
Jesus and the Jubilee: Reflections for the Jubilee Year 2025
By Dr. John Bergsma
Free On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis announced to the world that the following year, 2025, would be a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church worldwide. The Jubilee Year would begin on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024, and last until Epiphany, January 6, 2026. This holy year would be marked by special liturgical celebrations, greater availability of the... Read more
Pilgrims of Hope
By Joan Watson
One of the hallmarks of a Jubilee Year is a pilgrimage to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome. But what is a pilgrimage? It is harder to define than one might think. Throughout history, men, women, and children have traveled for a variety of reasons, often for motivations other than simple relocation or practical needs. We can see a type of... Read more

Pages