A Tale of Two Youth Workers: A Youth Ministry Fable

by Eric Venable

Overview

"Wes is young, enthusiastic, and perhaps a little idealistic about his new position as the youth pastor of the largest church in his denomination. Running into the ministry at full-steam with the best of plans and intentions, Wes soon learns that all the idealism and plans can’t prepare him for the struggles he’s facing. When Doug, the star quarterback, stops coming to youth group, Wes is faced with questions and frustration from the parents and church leaders. When he tries to win Doug back, Wes becomes even more confused when he learns that Doug began attending the youth group at the smaller church in town. Britt is a seasoned youth worker who has been at the smaller church in town for too many years to count. Doug ends up at Britt’s youth group, and soon after, Wes comes to Britt for insight. Only months before, Wes thought little of Britt because of his small youth group, but now he comes to Britt for help. In this creative fable, you’ll be invited into the ongoing conversations between Wes and Britt as they explore what it takes to have an effective youth ministry. You’ll watch as they discover what it takes for students to have a long-term, transformative faith. As Wes changes the way he does ministry, you might find yourself with a new perspective as well."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310867531
Publisher:	Zondervan/Youth Specialties
Publication date:	12/15/2009
Sold by:	Zondervan Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	835 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Eric Venable grew up in the Silicon Valley and spent most of his life and twenty-two years of ministry in the tech capital. He has a special place in his heart for the early adolescent years and trains parents and youth workers to connect significantly with them. Eric has been a storyteller from a wee age and will tell stories to anyone at anytime. This is to the delight of his two young daughters and an embarrassment at times to his wife of 13 years, Pam. Eric is currently the pastor of students and families at Sunset Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon.

Read an Excerpt

A Tale of Two Youth Workers

A Youth Ministry Fable

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By Eric Venable

Zondervan

Copyright © 2009 Eric Venable
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-28524-3

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Chapter One

A NEW BEGINNING

The phone rang, but Wes was in screening mode, content to let caller I.D. do its job.

"Call from ... Coastline Commu," the digital voice announced.

Coastline Community Church.

Wes' heart tap-danced in his chest.

It was the call he'd been waiting for-he just didn't think it would come so soon. Wes sat back in his chair and took a deep breath as he picked up the phone.

Don't be nervous, he told himself. It's only the most important conversation of your career. You know-the one that could change your life forever. No big deal.

"Good morning, Wes," a deep voice greeted him. The voice belonged to Richard, the senior pastor of Coastline Community Church, the largest church in the denomination. "How do you feel about moving to California?"

Wes opened his mouth, but no sound came out. That wasn't the question he was expecting. He and Jenny had just returned from a visit to Coastline. He was expecting to field some additional questions about his age and experience-the one area in the interview where Wes had felt vulnerable. Jenny said he'd covered well, but that didn't ease his unease.

He kept asking himself, Would a church the size of Coastlinereally turn over its youth ministry to a guy younger than 30 with only one church stay under his belt?

Apparently the answer was yes.

"Umm, yeah," Wes replied. "I think I'd really like that. But I didn't think you'd just come out and ask that. I thought you might have more questions for me."

"Well, I like to cut to the chase, Wes," Richard explained. "We have a huge need, and you're the guy to fill our leadership void. We see your skill set and gifts, and they line up exactly with what we're looking for. The search committee and pastors were unanimous. We think you'll fit in great here. So why wait?"

Wes caught his breath and tried to slow his runaway heartbeat. Sound professional, he told himself.

"I'll have to discuss this with Jenny," he said. "We've been talking about it, and I think she's excited ... um ... open to the possibility. I would also love an offer letter so the details are clear to everyone. You know, some stuff on paper."

Wes kicked himself. Stuff? Who says stuff?

Richard assured Wes that Coastline's COO would email an offer letter to him within 48 hours. "Look it over, pray it over, and let's talk more," he said.

"Richard, what are you thinking timewise?" Wes asked.

"The sooner, the better, Wes," Richard replied. "So whatever it takes to expedite the process, let us know. We want this to be as quick and smooth as possible. Here's my private number, Wes. Give me a call anytime as you think through this decision."

As soon as Wes hung up, he bellowed, "Yeah! Sweet action!"

Then he called Jenny at work.

"Are you sitting down?" he asked. "I just got off the phone with Richard from the Coastline Community Church. They're sending me an offer letter."

"Oh, my ... just like that?" Jenny asked.

"Just like that?" Wes shot back. "You know God is in this. This is exactly what we've been praying for!"

"I don't remember you getting this excited when you got an offer from that church in Kansas City," Jenny said.

"And there's a perfectly good reason for that," Wes replied.

"It was in Kansas City," they said in unison.

"That would have been a lateral move," Wes explained. "But this-"

"This is big, isn't it?" Jenny said.

"Huge," Wes replied. "You were there. You saw it. You felt it. This is a church that gets youth ministry. And it's a church that thinks big. If something works, the whole church backs it. They don't make you beg for extra staff members when your youth ministry's bursting at the seams and tell you they need the money in your budget for more pressing issues."

"Are you saying you're not going to miss First Church?" Jenny asked.

"I'll miss the kids," Wes said.

"What about the staff?"

"I'll miss the youth group volunteers," Wes answered.

"What about life in Lansing-the joy of being a Michigander?" Jenny pressed.

"I'll miss the kids and the volunteers," Wes repeated. "Jenny, I can't tell you how excited I am. I keep thinking about what everyone told us in California."

"That we were the palest people they'd ever seen?"

"No," Wes said, "that the church releases its people to do ministry, and the job is as big as we want it to be."

"Does the same go for salary?" Jenny asked.

"Richard didn't give me a number, but I'm sure it'll be a big increase," Wes said.

"It'll have to be if we're going to afford California living," Jenny added.

"So tell me, Jenny, are you ready to sell your winter clothes?"

"Yes!" Jenny exclaimed.

"Are you going to miss scraping ice off your car windows?"

"Are you kidding?" Jenny asked.

"Will you miss the 'seasons'?"

"Heck, no!" Jenny said. "To be honest, honey, I never really liked the seasons. Very rude. They're all about themselves."

She paused.

"Wes, I can't work! I'll take my lunch break early. There's just so much to think about."

"Sounds great," Wes replied. "Where can we grab lunch at 10:45 a.m.?"

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from A Tale of Two Youth Workers by Eric Venable Copyright © 2009 by Eric Venable. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter 1: A New Beginning....................17
Chapter 2: Everything Counts in Large Amounts....................23
Chapter 3: Feel Free to Succeed....................31
Chapter 4: Start Me Up!....................39
Chapter 5: Don't Stop Believin'....................45
Chapter 6: Rock You Like a Hurricane....................53
Chapter 7: Dazed and Confused....................59
Chapter 8: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For....................69
Chapter 9: The Wider Story....................81
Chapter 10: The End of the Story?....................95
Chapter 11: The Building Story....................107
Chapter 12: The Better Story....................117
Chapter 13: Walk This Way....................125
Chapter 14: Even Better Than the Real Thing....................135
A Few Last Thoughts