The following is an article I wrote for YMX this past summer.

You Want Me To Do What?…the ministry of an interim youth pastor (Part 1)

By Brian Ford

in·ter·im
[in-ter-uh m] -  a temporary or provisional arrangement

I had served as a volunteer youth director of a church in New Jersey, was a volunteer for various youth events run by an internationally known ministry, and accepted invitations to speak at other church youth groups. I had several years of experience and thought I knew what a youth director/pastor/specialist was all about, but becoming an “interim” youth pastor was totally new and foreign. So five years ago when Interim Youth Ministries, Inc. approached me about joining them I had only one question: “You want me to do what?”

The vision for IYM came over a period of several years.  While some ministries provide youth programs containing evangelism, discipleship and leadership training to local fundamental Bible churches, it became clear to IYM’s founder, Bruce Yager, that there were churches that needed more than a program to help with their youth ministry, and lacked the leadership to do so. Interim Youth Ministries, Inc. was created to help the church by establishing or building upon their current youth ministries by sending an interim youth pastor to come alongside the leadership and provide the vital training needed. Once the leadership is trained and the youth ministry is functioning according to God’s principles and not like an amusement park or glorified babysitting service, the interim youth pastor then begins his transition out. And the process begins all over again with another church in need.

The entire concept of IYM fired me up; they were doing something different, something no one else was doing, something that many churches need. So after a period of prayer and answering God’s call, I took the necessary steps to becoming a full-time missionary with IYM, to becoming an “interim” youth pastor. I filled out the ten plus page application and sat through a two hour plus interview with the Board of Directors, and when all was said and done, in January of 2003 I joined the staff of IYM. I remember sitting in a local Cracker Barrel with my wife and my in-laws that day celebrating my newfound position in ministry when the question hit me again. “You want me to do what?” You see, it was then I realized I was not directing the question to IYM, the Board of Directors, or even myself. I was directing the question to God. I was now an interim youth pastor and I still had no idea what that meant.

While still trying to figure out in my head what an interim youth pastor does, we immediately began our journey just like any missionary couple. We began the process of raising our financial support as we both continued to maintain our full-time jobs.  But within a matter of a few weeks I found myself being placed right away in a small church of about forty people with a youth ministry of only five teens. And I quickly found out the number of teens outweighed the number of leaders by only one. To make the situation even more interesting, our commute to this small back road country church took us forty minutes each way.

I met with the pastor of the church, who shared with me their need to have someone come in for a period of time and provide the proper training his leaders needed. Being such a small church, they relied totally on volunteers so paying a youth pastor was out of the question. So for the pastor it was a no-brainer…IYM was his answer and an interim youth pastor would meet a need. We spent the next hour working out some details as well as discussing how he would introduce our ministry to his church. I mean…I was not the only one new to the concept of an interim youth pastor. How do you explain to your adult leadership, teens and parents they will be getting a youth pastor but he’s only here for six months to a year?

I was excited to get started and begin the process of training the leadership and working with the teens. I was looking forward to seeing them grow into a vibrant youth ministry with many teens showing up every week. And I was looking forward to preaching to this small band of teens. The travel time didn’t matter to me, nor did the small financial gift I received each week. It barely covered the cost of gas. What mattered to me the most was being the best interim youth pastor I could be, even if I still didn’t know what that meant.

 Each week, twice a week my wife and I made the trip to church. We went on Sunday mornings to join the congregation for worship and get to know the people, and then we drove back on Sunday nights to hold our youth meeting. But from the very first night we knew something was off-key between us and the leadership. While driving home from church one night after our second month in, my wife asked me if I thought the leaders resented me or us for “taking” over their youth ministry. I answered by telling her I had sensed that for several weeks but was praying it was not true. I was praying the leaders would see their need for training and be open to God’s leading as well as growing their leadership skills and abilities. But within a matter of a few months things had not changed for the better and I soon found myself leaving. But I had not left by my own choosing.

The pastor met with me in my home to discuss what had taken place. Apparently during his vacation the youth leaders had gotten together with several members of the church to find a way to have me removed. So they searched the church by-laws and without consulting the pastor had me removed on the basis that their by-laws state anyone in a teaching position MUST be a member of the church. True…I was not a member…I am a missionary serving the church. The whole thing did not make sense to us and broke our hearts. All we wanted to do was serve God and their church by providing leadership training for the youth ministry. We wanted to see them have a successful youth ministry that actively shared their faith and lived for Christ. In the end we discovered the leadership resented our “taking” over the youth ministry. They weren’t open for change. They liked the youth ministry just the way it was and since I was only temporary (interim) they felt they no longer needed our services.

There I was…removed from my first assignment as an interim youth pastor by a group of adult leaders who saw no need to change their youth ministry. That night while lying in bed, I asked God to help me understand what went wrong, and I knew I had some changing and growing to do myself. I began to ask God what being an “interim” youth pastor means and I wondered if I was able to live up to the task.

Though I had a rough start, the days, months and years to follow have been a tremendous adventure. God has allowed me to see many successes as well as many failures. I have experienced deep joy as well as deep pain.  And every night before bed I still ask God the same question; “You want me to do what?” And I still keep getting the same answer; “just wait and see. I have something to show you.”

 Within several months after our transition I received an email from a church in Maine. They needed help. But how does an interim youth pastor from Pennsylvania help a church in Maine? That generated a whole new question as I started asking; You want me to go where!?” In my next article I’ll share the answers God gave me to this question as well as continue to share the answer to “you want me to do what?” 

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