In small towns, there are so many needs, and it seems there are so few resources. You may be the only one paid in your community to do youth ministry or you may not be paid at all. However, you have abundant resources in the God who called you to ministry. Here is how to start living in abundance and surface the youth ministry resources around you.
Pray, Pray, Pray
"Always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." Ephesians 6:18b NIRV. It seems so cliche to pray but that is the life source of all youth leaders. Especially in rural ministry where teenagers are bored and many want to be somewhere else. Take time to pray for and with students. In a small community everyone knows each other so pray for each student by name. Get others in the community to pray for students as well.
There are strategies like Claim Your Campus that will help you take the next step in prayer by equipping students to be prayer warriors. You may know only three Christian students a school. That is all it takes to start a prayer movement.
Partner
Find ways to connect with teenagers and other adults who care for them. It may be through a 4-H program or school sports. In Richfield, Utah, Ryan Shaddix is the lead pastor At Calvary Chapel Sevier Valley and he supports his ministry as the football coach at Richfield High. His wife, Sara, teaches at the middle school and runs a youth center. They choose to be bi-vocational so that they can free up resources at the church and hire a youth pastor. They encourage other staff and church members to mentor teenagers. They also network with others churches to care for the needs of the entire town.
In your community, you may even have a Fellowship of Christian Athletes or other parachurch ministries. Ask around to other churches and map out who are already connected to youth. Partner with whoever is already doing ministry to youth in your town.
Plod
One benefit in rural America is long term relationships. Families tend to stay local even though their kids may move away. If you are just moving in it may take a long time to build the relationships and partnerships you need. Make sure to have people around you who encourage you. That is why networking is so important in rural ministry.
Don't be afraid to use other people's resources and do ministry on the cheap. Over the last five years my friend Richie Gibson, one of the few paid youth pastors in Utah, runs a youth conference where dozens of rural churches come together for a weekend for twenty five bucks a person. They do a summer camp for under a hundred dollars! It is the small victories that can add up to huge wins.
If you are doing youth ministry in a rural environment then feel free to reach out to us. We have six hundred youth leader networks across the nation. You can go on our front page at www.nnym.org and find a local network or start one on your own.
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Kevin Boer grew up on a Dairy farm in Winchester, CA where there were more cows than people. He lives in rural Utah with less than 50 paid youth pastors in the entire state. He is the network coach trainer and Utah coordinator for National Network of Youth Ministries.