Goodbye Youth Minister

Last week the youth minister at my church left. He had served our church for 2.5 years, and everyone loved him.

He has gone to another church in another state. We know it’s not because he was unhappy at our church. On the contrary, he could barely believe God was calling him to move when things were going so well in our ministry. But family issues and other things were taking him away from us.

The kids only had two weeks notice. I help with the youth ministry, so I got to see it all happen. It was very difficult for him to share the news of his departure with the students. He read the words he had prepared, and as he did so, he cried. Several of the students cried, too, but as the announcement was being made, I could feel the group as a whole gathering its strength.

It is no fun when someone who has been a big part of your life moves away. The teens at my church have been encouraged to grieve and talk about their feelings. We need to be truthful about our disappointment. But we also need to know that the suffering will not last. We will be okay. We will keep on going, keep having fun, and keep learning about Jesus. God has not left us. And thank goodness our group serves God and not the youth minister. We have plenty of parents and volunteers who love the teens and can teach and plan activities. We will keep doing our thing, and we eagerly anticipate the next person who will come in as our youth minster.

Have you ever lost your youth minister? It’s a hard thing, but it seems to happen to a lot of people. If you’ve experienced it before, or if you’re going through it now, I encourage you to go ahead and let your heart be sad. Don’t bottle it up. Talk about it with your friends at church and with an adult who helps in the youth department. You could even talk to your pastor. And then allow God’s peace to come over you. Remember that the Lord is always near and that He has planned good things for you.

“The LORD is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry for help and saves them.” Psalm 145:18-19