Q&A with Jake Kircher on “We Love Our Youth Worker”

Editor’s Note: Jake Kircher has been a youth pastor for 10 years in New England—he is also the U.S. representative for We Love Our Youth Worker (WeLoveOurYouthWorker.com), an infant movement that was started in Old England in 2007 by a frustrated and heartbroken youth pastor. Chris Curtis is his name, and on a train-ride back from a national youth ministry conference in the UK—with the voices of under-appreciated and over-worked youth leaders still in his head—he scribbled-down seven promises he wished churches would make to their youth pastor.

Those seven promises morphed into a movement. And then the movement changed the face of youth ministry in Britain. And then a few U.S. youth ministry people started talking to Curtis about bringing the movement across the Atlantic. And then a larger group of youth ministry people (including me and my partner in crime Andy Brazelton) met in Washington DC in early 2011 to hammer out a plan. And now the plan is in launch mode—click on over to WeLoveOurYouthWorker.com to learn more. Meanwhile, back in Connecticut, Kircher is trying to juggle a full-time youth ministry with his snowballing role in the U.S. version of WLOYW and his training role with REACH New England and Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry.

Rick Lawrence:Tell me a little bit about the genesis of the We Love Our Youth Worker movement in England—a little of the backstory.

Jake Kircher:After that train ride, Chris Curtis just started talking with other youth workers in the area and it picked up a lot of momentum. A lot of churches and denominations quickly got behind the idea—they understood the value of really loving on youth workers. Since their official launch in 2009 they’ve created a full accreditation process that has created a church culture that is much more healthy for youth workers. Youth workers feel more cared-for and valued by the churches they work in.

Lawrence:What was the key for churches understanding the importance of this? It’s a little surprising they so quickly jumped on the bandwagon.

Kircher:I think the UK is unique, in some aspects. Youth ministry is not as professionalized as it is in the U.S, so this movement was part of a broader conversation about youth ministry in the country. People were just waking up to the high turnover rate of youth workers and the high number of kids dropping out of church. They were starting to understand the importance of youth ministry for the future of the church. Also, denominations in the UK seem like they’re a lot more willing to work together—they’re already partnering on so many things. So when this came up it fit into an existing context that was primed to help it spread and grow.

Lawrence:So how did you personally get involved in this, Jake?

Kircher:I’ve been involved for a little over a year. I was at my first church for six years—it was a part-time paid position. I really wrestled with balance when I first started in ministry—setting boundaries and priorities. And the church didn’t do a great job of managing me, or guiding me toward health in the midst of my youthful enthusiasm. I was working two other jobs, about 80 hours a week, and I hit a point where I was just burned out. I got married toward the tail end of my time at that church, and the first year of marriage can be very difficult in general. But when you factor in not being around and being emotionally exhausted, my marriage took a huge hit. Even if the church had pushed me to take a day off, my response would’ve been: “I don’t need a day off—if I take a day off it means that kids aren’t going to hear the gospel.”

So a friend of mine sent me a link to the UK Web site and it just immediately resonated with where I had been in ministry. So we organized a gathering of youth workers and ministry influencers here in New England and talked about bringing WLOYW to the U.S. Toward the end of the meeting somebody asked, “Who wants to take the time to work on a booklet?” There was a dead silence, and I just jumped at the chance. One thing led to another at that point. Eventually, the group asked me to lead the initiative, and this is where I am today.

I’m very passionate about wanting to see youth workers succeed and stay for the long term—it’s a huge strength in ministry. I’m in my fifth year in this church and doors are just now opening because the connections I’ve made. This church is healthier than the church I was at before, and I’m healthier and have stricter boundaries and guidelines, summarized by the seven promises in We Love Our Youth Worker.

Lawrence:So the basics of this movement involve a church working through a process to assess where they are around seven distinct promises that a church makes to the youth pastor. Eventually they commit to undergirding those promises in their church, and in return they get to broadcast that they’re a church that adheres to the covenant, making it a more attractive place for youth workers to work at. Will you describe the seven promises, and why they’re worthy of a “covenant” commitment.

Kircher:The first one is that the church will pray and spiritually support the youth worker. This is all about making sure the youth worker is spiritually fed so he or she can lead spiritually and teach spiritually. A lot of churches pray for kids, but how often do we really take the time to pray for our leaders?

The second promise is that the church will give space for retreat and reflection. This is something you see in gospels over and over again. How many times did Jesus take time away, just to be by himself—to pray, reflect, and relax with his Father? How much more do we need to take that time to seek God’s direction? In Sustainable Youth Ministry Mark DeVries calls this “balcony time”—taking time to pause and reflect.

The third promise is that the church will provide ongoing training and development. We’re all a work in progress—we all need to grow and learn. But this tends to be one of the first things that gets cut from a youth budget.

The fourth promise is that the church will give the youth worker at least one full day of rest each week. We had a debate about whether the covenant should dictate two full days off, but there are so many youth workers who don’t even have a single day off that we felt we’d be pushing too much.

Number five asks the church to share responsibility for the youth ministry. You can’t do ministry alone, so the church really needs to come alongside its youth worker. This is the way to reach more kids, and if the youth worker leaves there are other adults can make that transition easier to handle.

Number six is that the church will strive to be an excellent employer. This is targeting annual reviews, job descriptions, and clear expectations. This also covers salaries—how much is a youth worker really worth? No youth worker gets into it for the money, but making sure their basic needs are covered helps in setting people up for a long-term commitment. I had a lot of peers who tried to do New England ministry for a couple of years, but just couldn’t afford to live in the area. We’ve watched them leave New England and head further south, where churches do a better job of covering youth workers’ basic needs.

The last promise is that the church will celebrate and appreciate their youth worker. This could be as simple as including him or her in Pastor Appreciation Month. At times, I’ve been left out of that. I’ve watched a church do big, grand things for my senior pastor while I just kind of sat there. Of course, we’re not in it for the praise, but everybody likes to be appreciated.

Lawrence:Specifically, what are you asking churches to do, relative to these seven promises?

Kircher:What we ask churches to do for the accreditation process is to make two commitments per promise, per year—two ways to act on the promise in ministry. We’re not policing that; it’s really based on a system of trust. For example, for the promise about training and development, it could be as simple as a church ensuring that their youth worker gets $20 a month to buy and read books that will fuel their growth in ministry.

Lawrence:Obviously, it would be overwhelming to try to “police” all of this, but how has this worked in the UK, with churches following through on their commitments?

Kircher:The original accreditation lasts for a year, and then a church can reapply. In the UK that reapplication is good for a three-year period. In the U.S. we felt like that was too long, so we’re going to do a two-year period for reapplication. When a church reapplies we ask them to provide an overview of the things that they’ve done to fulfill their promises. Obviously, there’s a natural accountability when a youth worker votes with their feet and leaves the church.

Lawrence:What’s the benefit for the church?

Kircher:When a church has the WLOYW accreditation they’re allowed to use our logo on job listings or on their Web site. When it comes to parents who are looking for a church, we think this will be a huge help and indicator: “Oh, that church is really committed to a healthy youth ministry.” We’re working with Simply Youth Ministry and others who run youth ministry jobs Web sites to build this covenant into their application process. In the UK there are churches that aren’t getting applicants for their jobs because they’re not accredited.

Lawrence:What can a youth pastor who’s reading this interview do to help get the ball rolling?

Kircher:Communication is one of the biggest things. We just completed our free booklet—anyone who wants one can request it. Youth workers can request a couple of them and disseminate them to some of their core ministry leaders. I have a core team of adults at my church that I’ve given these materials to—they’ve already looked through some of it. They can really spearhead the beginning of the accreditation process. Also, we have a PowerPoint presentation on our Web site that’s a free download. ◊