Help! I'm a Frustrated Youth Worker!: A Practical Guide to Avoiding Burnout in Your Ministry

by Steven L. Case

There are so many benefits to being a youth You get to hang out with teenagers, watch their lives transform, and help them become adults who live for and love Jesus. But when you signed on the dotted line to work in youth ministry, nobody mentioned the negative side isolation, criticism, a general feeling of being constantly overwhelmed, relentless questioning from parents and church leaders. The list can go on… But your frustration doesn’t have to overtake you, or take you away from ministry. Inside the pages of this book you’ll find humor, comfort, and encouragement for those times when you feel like you can’t go any further. Youth ministry veteran, Steven Case, will help you through just about every scenario that adds to your discontent, including complaining parents, dealing with tragedy, and deciding when to leave a bad situation. Find practical tips to help you deal with the challenges of youth ministry, and get soul-renewing ideas to help you continue on, despite the struggles, so you can get back to enjoying youth ministry like you used to!

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2008

Reviews

[Daryl Watts · Rating 2 out of 5]

This small book is an interesting combination of humor, confession, and help. Case has been known for his humorous columns in Youth Worker Journal. That humor carries over here. Sadly, much of the humor is sophomoric (note the title of the first chapter). Case also uses his own past as illustration of mistakes that youth ministers make and of toxic churches that minister can serve. One begins to wonder how much the past toxic churches have affected Case’s perception of youth ministry.
In the midst of all this, Case does provide a few gems of youth ministry wisdom. Chapters two and three on complaints and complaining are particularly noteworthy. On the other hand, some of the myths of youth ministry (chapter 10) reflect a view of youth ministry as the marginalized ministry that was prevalent decades ago. One hopes that most churches that actually have paid youth ministers have moved far beyond that.
The book is worth a quick read and maybe a review once a year or so as a “pick me up.”