Often in youth or children’s ministry, the minister can feel isolated or alone. As the leader of the ministry, it can feel as though no one truly knows who you are. It may feel as though they only care about what you can do for them rather than who you are as a person. At times this is self-imposed by doing ministry in a silo.

With YMI’s coaching, cohorts, consultations, or courses our youth ministers, children’s ministers and their volunteers become well known. We begin to understand who they are, what drives them, where they hope to go, the strengths God has given them, and the challenges they are facing.

The youth minister or children’s minister can feel overlooked, underappreciated, insignificant, or disrespected. People who serve in youth or children’s ministry can feel as though they or their ministry is second to others in the church. Youth or children’s ministers are often cleaning soda spills, unclogging children’s toilets, stacking chairs, wrestling with church board members for funds in an underfunded ministry, or trying to repair the old hand me down sound equipment that is 20 years old. The fact that they are working with young people, who are often without a voice, means that they are fighting for those who can be easily overlooked. One common encounter that youth or children’s ministers may experience is when a well-meaning church member asks, “when are you going to be a real pastor?”

With YMI youth ministers and children’s ministers learn of and further develop their skills, confidence, and understanding of the many ways they play a role in the Kingdom of God. We help youth ministers and children’s ministers see that they are, in fact, real pastors who deserve a seat at the table, not in the future, but now.

Shopping as a youth or children’s minister can lead to many strange looks and weird questions from cashiers – “why do you need 30 toilet seats?.” Their shopping lists are a symptom of something greater. No one understands what a youth or children’s minister does. “What do they do all week? Don’t they only work on Sundays or Wednesdays?” People who have never served in ministry fail to understand the unique challenges, situations, and joys that a youth or children’s minister may experience.

With YMI, we believe that whether you are full-time, part-time, or a volunteer, your ministry and, therefore, you are a vital part of the Kingdom of God. Many of our staff members have served in full-time, part-time, and volunteer roles, so we understand the uniqueness of our students’ situations. No matter the level of paid salary or paid time, with YMI youth ministers, children’s ministers, and their teams will be listened to, affirmed, and understood.

Youth and children’s ministers often feel as though there is no one to support them when they need help. At times a youth or children’s minister finds their only community in members of the congregation. The relationship dynamic of being on staff and your single source of a community being in congregants can create a relationship that is lopsided.

With YMI, youth and children’s ministers will find a community of support that operates on both a mentor-to-mentee and peer-to-peer dynamic. Our youth minister’s and children’s ministers find support in fellow youth & children’s ministers in our program, coaches, staff, professors, and other professionals who desire to support youth or children’s ministers.

In ministry, it can be easy to continually pour out and give to others while never seeking your personal development. Youth and children’s ministers often do not invest in their spiritual, personal, emotional, physical, or professional development.

With YMI, we challenge youth ministers, children’s ministers, and their teams to develop in many capacities. We provide them with opportunities to grow in professional skills, encourage them to practice taking care of their physical body, and give them tools to handle their emotions in a healthy manner. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, we challenge and encourage their spiritual growth. Through their growth at YMI youth ministers, children’s ministers, and their teams will remember why they began in ministry and move forward in a more skilled and focused manner.

Youth and children’s ministries can be seen by some as simply babysitting, recreational leadership, or as ministries that do not make significant contributions to the larger body of the church. These views, often expressed in subtitles, fail to recognize the influence that youth and children’s ministers have in the lives of future generations and their families.

With YMI, youth and children’s ministers develop the skills necessary to play a meaningful and impactful part in the lives of today’s youth, children, and their families. At YMI we understand that this impact is multiplied exponentially when a youth or children’s minister has a long tenure at their church. With the skills learned at YMI, youth and children’s ministers are prepared and empowered to stay longer at their churches.

It is important for youth ministers to define their call to youth ministry.  Some may have a sense God is calling them for the long haul while some may discern that God is calling them to a stage in life.  And still others may be exploring.  Defining this becomes important as intensity and commitment follow a sense of purpose.

By the same token, everything we do in the Youth Ministry Institute has purpose.  The program is very integrated.  Nothing stands by itself.  The instruction is supported by the multi-directional coaching.  The consulting reinforces the coaching.  The books we read are excellent – not mere busy work to prove rigor.  The work youth ministers do in YMI is immediately applicable to their ministry.  And, they are expected to make direct application – on purpose.  In YMI Purpose is measured specifically through Positivity, Spirituality, Integrity and Self-Responsibility.

There are obvious relationships in youth ministry – with youth, with parents, with other adults involved in the ministry.  All are important in developing effective youth ministries.  Relationships are also complicated.  They require the mastery of particular skills to maintain and enhance relationships.  The Youth Ministry Institute focuses on all aspects of relationship building including a youth minister’s relationship with God, arguably the most important relationship of all.

At a business level, the Youth Ministry Institute values relationships with other like-minded partners.  YMI doesn’t claim to know everything.  We do claim to partner with other organizations that provide a high level of expertise in particular areas.  This makes us unique.  It is exciting to bring multiple organizations with similar agendas to the table to develop strategies, events, and/or tools that become more effective than any one partner might develop. Relationships are measured in YMI through Trust, Being Personable, Communication and Empathy.

It is easy to get stuck.  Being stuck might come from complacency and familiarity.  One might be stuck because of ignorance and lack of vision.  The Youth Ministry Institute pushes its students out of stuck places.  Youth ministers are challenged and prodded to deal with issues that immobilize them so they can begin to move intentionally forward.  This is important to do at a personal and professional level.

The Youth Ministry Institute continues to move forward.  It is not the same organization that was envisioned in 2005.  We recognize God continuing to open doors of opportunity that continue to make the training more effective for the local church.  We are continuing to improve systems and relationships so youth ministers can become more effective leaders.  Motivation, Objectivity, Mastery, Organization and Generator of Alternatives all measure Mobilization.  

The Youth Ministry Institute embodies an orthodox faith characterized by the traditional creeds of the church.  To be clear, our goal is not to indoctrinate youth ministers into a particular sect of Christian belief.  But, rather we encourage the exploration and appreciation of the spectrum of belief within orthodox Christianity.

1. We believe in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2. We believe in Jesus Christ, God incarnate, whose death and resurrection make possible the reconciliation of God and humanity.

3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, God dwelling in every believer and in the church.

4. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God.

5. We affirm the church is the most faithful expression of the body of Christ on earth and unity of all believers in Christ.

6. We believe in the priesthood of believers, that all disciples of Jesus Christ are called to share in his ministry here on earth.

7. We believe in ministry for and with children, youth, the church of today and tomorrow.