Editor’s Note: Today’s back-to-school guest post is by Rev. Kelsey Stillwell (she/her). Kelsey helps us think about the back-to-school season for student ministers. She serves as Support Minister for Three Minute Ministry Mentor. She is also the Youth Ministry Coordinator at St. Francis Episcopal Church and is an artist at Trader Joe’s.
Back to Student Ministry Basics
I vividly remember the back-to-school season as a youth minister. The way August takes you by surprise with little time to catch your breath from a packed summer. Preparing for a church kickoff that launches into weekly church activities, mapping the year of events, recruiting volunteers, welcoming new youth and families, and navigating the new group dynamics. If you’re a youth or children’s minister, you also know that this busy month is actually the “downtime” before fall programming really takes off and the church seasonal chaos begins.
It’s been three years since I was last on staff at a church. This fall, however, I am starting a new “side gig” working with youth at an Episcopal church. This commitment comes with a number of adjustments, but the hardest one will be that the job averages only ten hours a week. I am confident in my ability to do youth ministry the way I have before – full time and full throttle. I am less confident that I can do it reigned in – minimal but still meaningful.
The Good Stuff
As I prepare for this new season, I’ve been reflecting on my previous experiences, and it takes me right back to the stress and chaos of the fall. Thankfully, what’s surfaced just as strongly is how the season was also full of the really good stuff – welcoming new 6th graders and watching the group grow in compassion to welcome them, hearing what students are excited and anxious about for the year ahead. In this in-between time, I had some of the most meaningful conversations with my students, and we worked through the challenges that come with being an inclusive community. Back-to-school is a natural reset point, a chance to choose, again, who we want to be as a group.
The gift of hindsight has helped me realize that the good stuff was never a product of hours of planning; it wasn’t blocked on my calendar, but it was always the moments that mattered the most. Thankfully, working in a new church context with limited hours is forcing me to slow down and take a step back. I have no choice but to get back to the basics, back to the things that made me love this work in the first place. It’s been a chance to reset, to choose again what matters most in student ministry and what kind of leader I want to be.
Time to Reset, Not Just Ramp-Up
As I’ve intentionally taken time to name what I want to keep at the center of student ministry, it doesn’t look exactly the same as it used to. I have let go of some aims and added others. Thank goodness for years of experiences that have allowed my approach to youth ministry to evolve. (Maybe lock-ins aren’t worth it.) And there is reassurance in the things that have not changed, things central to my calling and worth advocating for. (Creating safe, inclusive space is always, always worth the work.)
Though it varies depending on your context, this in-between and back-to-school season is still a good invitation for us to get back to the basics. A chance to reflect on the aspects of ministry that pull on the best parts of us. Maybe it’s time to reconsider what your own mission in ministry is and to name what matters most. A season to reset, not just ramp-up.
Imagine a Countercultural Student Ministry
I am lucky to have a great friend and colleague who is also the best brainstorming partner. JD Granade and I had a recent conversation about this topic. He reminded me of the obvious. “The church is supposed to be countercultural, so should student ministry.” Many demands bombard our students with expectations, packed schedules, multiple responsibilities, and harmful assumptions about who they are or should be. So the church’s mission is to push back against the tendency to mirror the exhausting culture our students are experiencing. Instead, it should be a place where they can exhale. A space to be vulnerable and unfinished. In this particular back-to-school season, what does countercultural look like for students?
Choosing a Practice for Yourself
I recognize that the exhaustion of this season isn’t just about personal choices and pace. The exhaustion is created by the systems we work within. Sometimes these systems ask too much, push past healthy boundaries, or ignore real limitations. At their worst, they lose sight of the humanity of the ministers that give so much of themselves to their work.
Choosing to slow down programming or carve out more space for your students to simply be may not be an acceptable option. Challenging the system that measures success by size, attendance, a booked calendar, or large budget isn’t something you can do on your own. But getting back to the basics is still a practice available to you and a way to guard yourself against burnout, one choice at a time.
As our students go back to school, it offers us a natural time to return to the basics. To focus on student ministry that matters most. It reminds us to be the ministers we are called to be. If you were to take the time to rewrite your student ministry mission statement, what would you notice? How has it evolved? How might it influence your planning for the year?