Reflecting on 20 Years at Steamboat Rock Baptist Church

Yep, you did it, in August of 2005, you hired a young, newly married and recent seminary grad with an earring and hardly any experience in youth ministry. The search team asked if we could see ourselves ministering here over a long period of time and in maybe a completely Spirit led response, I said, “I could see us here in Steamboat Rock for at least 10-15 years.”

If I sat down with myself in that interview room many moons ago or shared with a brand-new Youth Pastor ministering in a rural setting (which I’ve had the privilege of doing many times), here are some things learned over 20 years right here at SRBC:

·         Change is slow, but possible. There is usually not a huge rush on making sure every youth ministry change that you think is needed, needs to happen in the first couple of years. Honor decisions that the church has made in the past and pray/communicate over extended periods of time for future change.

·         Lone ranger ministry may lead to some quick growth but usually isn’t sustainable over time. Volunteers will become your best of friends in a church setting and the pathway for discipleship across large numbers of students.

·         When the Youth Pastor becomes “the hero”, ministry will usually be shallow and will lead to burnout. Burnout results in short tenures for youth pastors. Much like the previous point, team ministry is the best ministry.

·         Lead up. Don’t demand a powerful voice in meetings; rather, lead by example over time. Work with your Senior Pastor and earn the chance to instill vision and change within a church, even from the Youth Pastor role.  

·         Get out in the community. Attend as many sporting events, plays, band concerts and school and community events as you can in your first 5 years. Be where the people are and use those opportunities to support students and engage with families, and to enjoy lots and lots of bags of popcorn.

·         Administration and details are important. Youth pastors who can’t delegate administration and details or pull that off themselves to some degree will have a hard time staying around for a long time. Students and families will become frustrated with the lack of planning and lose trust in the ministry.

·         Love, support, and care for all your students, no matter what school they attend.  

·         Develop friendships inside and outside the church. We received some bad advice from someone who had been in ministry a while after getting hired in Steamboat. They said, “Don’t make any deep friendships as you never know how long you’ll be at a church.” We certainly know that without friends and deep connections over 20 years, we would have never lasted as long as we have. 

·         Try new things. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and try new evangelism events, spiritual growth goals, or to take a risk on starting things like small groups or changing nights of ministry.   

·         Teach the Bible and all things Jesus to students. I think fun has been an important piece of our youth ministry and one that I’ll never give up, but the Gospel is where eternity is impacted and where spiritual transformation takes place.

·         Build up your chips. Do things outside of your job description and love all the people in your church (across all generations) to “build up some chips.” Those chips will come in handy when you royally screw something up, put a hole in the wall at church, or forget something important, which has happened many times in 20 years!

Thank you for being gracious to us and allowing us to learn things like this in ministry and about ourselves along the way. You supported our growing family over the years without putting undue pressure that pastors can sometimes experience in churches. You allowed us to try new things in ministry and added immeasurable value by so many committing to serve as volunteers and supporters over the years. You have backed our vision to reach youth with the Gospel of Jesus both inside and outside our church walls, which has included a new youth Loft, a bus, hundreds of Bibles given to students, over 15 mission trips supported, the hiring of a worship pastor to lead our youth worship times, and 20 years of youth budgets to help with curriculum, student contacts, camp scholarships, pizza and snacks, and much, much more!  

And on Saturday night, 20 years after our move to Steamboat, you managed to wow us with a magnificent night of remembering what ministry has looked like over two decades. From so many gathered to enjoy the evening and delicious desserts, to the amazing program filled with funny skits by our youth, impactful testimonies and monologues, to a very touching highlight video of ministry over the years. And to top all that off, your many cards and gifts of encouragement. We could never say thank you enough for all the effort put into a great night.

As we wrapped up the night, several of you approached us with a smile and said, “Well, here’s to the next 20 years….” I couldn’t help but think of myself leading Bible studies and dodgeball games at the gym in a wheelchair... (ha), but God has certainly surprised us with our tenure here and you never know what He has in store for us. For now, we’ll take it one year at a time and continue to enjoy this journey together.

Blessings,

Pastor Bryce