Job Switch? Youth Pastor Top Tips

Leaving a Youth Ministry Job is tough, in this video, we're going to explore some top Youth Pastor job switch questions, such as: Is it wrong to look for a new church job? When you start looking, when should you share that information with your current church? How can someone go about expressing concern about current job frustrations without burning bridges?

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🕰️TIMECODES
00:00 Should You Stay or Go?
00:26 4 New Job Principles
07:12 Tell Them Early
10:42 Tell Them in the Middle
12:41 Tell Them at the End

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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:05 - 00:00:23:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In this video, we're going to look at when a youth pastor takes a new church job. What are some principles that you can live by? And I, as a 15 year youth ministry veteran, have made several job transitions. But I've learned some things along the way, and I want to talk about some of the pros and the cons about when you choose to share this with your church leadership and what I recommend doing.

00:00:23:24 - 00:00:44:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show, everybody. Welcome to the Hybrid Ministry Show. My name is Nick Klassen and in this episode we're going to be answering this question. What are some what is some advice for looking at other church jobs while you're still working at your current one? Specifically, according to this anonymous poster, they said they're currently in negotiations with their current church.

00:00:44:26 - 00:01:10:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They love the place. However, the workload is undoable. They're not willing to budge on adding staff to the student ministry instead of looking at other jobs to get an idea of what other church staffing ratios might look like. And in the midst, they may have found what seems to be better circumstances over and over again. Should they let their current church know that they're applying, or should they wait until they get a real response in interviews from the other churches?

00:01:10:15 - 00:01:34:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I know it's not, but it almost is. I can go on behind their back, but my main goal is to really see if I'm off on what I'm asking for. If you've been in this place before or have any advice, please help. Well, the first thing that I want to say is that I believe that there are four principles when it comes to looking for a new church job that you should just, you know, be aware of and like, have kind of on your horizon.

00:01:34:19 - 00:02:01:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Number one is it's not disloyal to look like there's nothing wrong with looking for I, I understand it like you say, saying here, like it feels like I'm doing something wrong. I'm going behind their back. I understand that feeling. I've had that feeling. But you got to understand that there is nothing inherently or morally wrong. Now, if you're doing something sneaky or you're lying, like if, of course, there's like a moral, you know, a moral obligation baked within to that.

00:02:01:12 - 00:02:20:21
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But like in the grand scheme of things like you haven't done anything wrong. The other thing is, like you don't you're not obligated when you're like looking for other jobs to tell your church. That's my personal opinion. And that's what I believe from like a moral, ethical like dilemma. Right. Hey, quick break. Let me ask you a question.

00:02:20:21 - 00:02:41:02
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
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00:02:41:02 - 00:03:01:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
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00:03:01:28 - 00:03:19:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
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00:03:19:22 - 00:03:42:03
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can grab that pack right now and start becoming a master at social media and hybrid ministry. In your youth ministry context, rooting for you as you are crushing it this fall in your student ministry. The third one is like you should try to keep an open communication about your workload. And according to this question, it sounds like you are.

00:03:42:03 - 00:04:10:24
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Or at least you're attempting to. And like I would. This is why I am such a strong, proponent and advocate for regular one on one check ins. So like, for example, at one church I worked at, my boss had like an open door policy and it was like, hey, come find me if you need me. And like for my personality type guy who, like, doesn't really like to be told what to do and doesn't really like, love taking advice from other people, wants to kind of figure it out for themselves.

00:04:10:24 - 00:04:30:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like I never needed him like. But there are times he's like, you never come to me. And like, he took that as like me being uncomfortable and teachable and just, like, wasn't like my vibe, right? But my very next job with my very next boss. Regular one on ones. Not my favorite thing, to be honest. Because again, same thing personality like do things on my own.

00:04:30:12 - 00:04:49:09
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
However, it helped me stay just like in the loop of like how he was feeling about me, how he was feeling about my job performance. Like what I could do better. And like when you when you in a regular one on one get feedback about like what you could be doing better, like what you're doing well like that's a natural normal thing when you're never having regular one on ones.

00:04:49:15 - 00:05:11:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like then when you do have like a talking to, so to speak, with, like your boss, like then you're getting in trouble. And so if you don't have regular one on ones, first of all, that's on your manager. But second of all, like an opportunity for you to lead up in this moment and ask like, hey, can we have the regular check in where we can evaluate and analyze like how this is going and like what we could do, you know, to make it better?

00:05:11:18 - 00:05:31:11
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And one thing I say to the staff that I lead is like, don't just bring problems but bring solutions. And so if you feel like the workload is unmanageable, it very well may be and you may be getting to a spot where like you do have to make a decision and you do have to choose to leave. However, what are some other solutions that you could bring to your manager, like perhaps some of this like workload?

00:05:31:11 - 00:05:47:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
I can hand some of these things after some of my unpaid volunteers, and I can start to treat them as like quasi staff members, you know, certain things like that, like what would it look like to be able to do that? And I don't know your current context in all of your current situations, but if you truly did want to stay, what would it look like if you did something like that?

00:05:47:14 - 00:06:12:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Then my fourth and final option is until God calls you anywhere, like bloom, where you're planted, which means like as soon as like you start looking elsewhere and maybe even like get your heart set on somewhere else. It's really easy once that like Seed of potential is planted in your head that you just like want to chase it and you're ready to mentally check out where you are and start to check in somewhere else.

00:06:12:08 - 00:06:30:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And my encouragement is just continue to bloom where God has you planted for the time being, and God God in his timing. And I can. I can say this based on my own experience. God is always perfect in his timing and God. When it's clear that it's time to go, God will make it very clear when it's time for you to go.

00:06:30:16 - 00:06:47:19
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
In the meanwhile, stay completely locked in and bloomed. Where are you planted? Now? Listen, I get all that stuff. Sounds great. Those are like for kind of like, high level principles. It's not disloyal to, like, you don't need to disclose to your church when you're looking. Keep it open communication about where your workloads are and do everything you can to bloom.

00:06:47:22 - 00:07:08:05
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Where are you planted? However, in this next section we're going to explore when are the three different? What are the three kind of different like options of telling your your bosses, your senior pastor, your church that you're considering looking and what are the pros and what are the cons? Because factors you could really do any of these three different scenarios.

00:07:08:07 - 00:07:31:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And there are pros and cons to all of them. Let's check it out. So as I said in the beginning, I've been youth ministry for 15 years. I've made I've been in five different churches, some part time all the way back in college, others full time, you know, several years, just couple of years, like, and in every single step of the way, I've made different decisions about when I chose to disclose that I was looking.

00:07:31:12 - 00:07:54:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So let's talk about when you tell your church or your boss or your senior pastor or whoever it is as your direct supervisor, that you feel obligated to let know that you're looking when you tell them everything. Okay, so I worked in church one time where they said, hey, if you are starting to get like squeamish and squirmy about your job, let us know and you got to think about it like, of course I would say that.

00:07:54:01 - 00:08:11:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Why? It helps them brace for impact, right? And it does. It does in a way. Put them in the driver's seat. Okay. And we'll get to that and we'll talk about that in just a minute. But if you do tell them everything. What are some of the pros of that. Well the first pro is it does build transparency and trust with your current church.

00:08:11:14 - 00:08:32:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. It let them know exactly where you're at and you won't blindside them with any sort of decision. Additionally, if you're feeling this sort of way about like your workload, and you let them know, like, hey, listen, I'm looking. I'm seeing this. I'm seeing that, like, it may actually also lead to a resolution. If they do value who you are and what you bring to the table in your work, you know, I think and they do want to retain you.

00:08:32:28 - 00:08:55:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Then you've if like, it's more than just say, hey, like this is hard. You're like, hey, this is hard. And I'm looking that might put a little bit of like a different fire underneath them if you tell them early on and then the third pro and this is like it could potentially allow for a smoother transition if they support your exploration and potential future interviews, if they're on board all the way.

00:08:55:08 - 00:09:10:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Now, you know, because if they're not, for example, like you got to figure out how to do that without getting like exposed or caught. And again, that's where it feels like, you know, it feels like you're doing something wrong. But just like put yourself in the shoes of like if you are like a CFO at like a big company, right?

00:09:10:24 - 00:09:28:29
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And like you're like, hey, I have a job interview. Somewhere else, like, I don't know, I guess, like sometimes that can be like a tricky thing to do, but like, for the most part, like, transitions, people moving up, people moving out, like, that's kind of normal part of, like everyday life in church, we tend to take it a little bit harder because there's like a personal aspect to it.

00:09:28:29 - 00:09:49:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the cons of letting them know everything early on is this is it could strain your current relationship. Right. And that's the tension, like the pro is it builds trust and transparency. The con is it could potentially strain it. And the fear is if it strains it is like will they ever fully lock into you as like the youth pastor at that church, or will there always be a seed of doubt?

00:09:49:12 - 00:10:09:25
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like as soon as something gets better, soon something gets rocky. You're out. You know, I mean, the second con is, it might lead to immediate pressure, or even termination if they see you as disloyal. And that obviously, this worst case scenario, if you let them know and like I feel to be somewhere else, let you go and you know, that would strengthen you got to provide for your family.

00:10:09:25 - 00:10:33:28
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And you can't really be without a paycheck. Like I get that fear. You know, it's probably, unless it, you know, and like, have evidence that it would happen. Like, it's probably not going to happen if the people that you work with are reasonable, but, you know, it could. Right. And then the third thing is like you also risk the word of it spreading and potentially affecting relationships within your church or even like on your church staff.

00:10:33:28 - 00:10:54:22
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And what people think about you. And you know, whether or not they believe that you're going to be kind of like around for the long haul. Here's the pros and cons in the middle, which spoiler this is typically the one I choose. But I will be honest, like a lot of church like early on interview stuff like, it ends up being a pretty prolonged period and ends up fizzling out.

00:10:54:22 - 00:11:16:01
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And if they say no to you, I feel like that's God closing the door. And then be like, you don't again have to disclose, have people question, you know, whatever. Tell them in the middle the middle spot for me, is often a like an in-person like sort of site visit. And that's where like, all right, I feel like I need to, like, say something.

00:11:16:01 - 00:11:45:23
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Okay. I haven't always done that. Just full disclosure. And, when I have not done that, and then I just, like, told them all the way until the end after I accepted, wasn't super great. And but otherwise. Right, like, I would like to tell I like to try and tell them, like, if I go to a site visit, like, hey, there's this this opportunity, that's kind of like where I would prefer if I could and if I feel safe in the job that I'm in all that type of stuff.

00:11:45:23 - 00:12:04:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So the pros of telling them in the middle is it balances transparency with also some caution, while giving you time to kind of assess where you're at with some of the current options. The second thing is it allows you to gauge their reaction once you have concrete offers. Right. And then also helps kind of strengthen your position as a staff member.

00:12:04:26 - 00:12:22:13
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then the third one is it may encourage them to act on your needs like, you know, for example, like you're feeling overwhelmed, when they now see that, like you're serious and like you actually have something like on the actual line. Of course, the cons are it could backfire if they discover your job search earlier and you didn't tell them.

00:12:22:13 - 00:12:40:07
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
And then, of course, it damages trust even more. You could be risked as seen as manipulative if you're using it for like just simply a negotiation tactic to stay put. And then the third one is it may complicate leaving if they retaliate or do choose to make a sudden change and you don't yet have an offer, you know, signed all the way.

00:12:40:09 - 00:13:10:27
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
The final one is don't tell them until you accept it all. And in full disclosure, I've done this a couple times and it hasn't been amazing. So I, I will say like, learn from my mistakes. Not necessarily what I would recommend, however, here are some of the pros, right? The pros are you maintain your current position, your income, your security, all that stuff the entire way during the search, you avoid potential conflicts or pressure from your current church leadership, and it gives you full control over the timing of your departure, which I would say you're entitled to.

00:13:10:27 - 00:13:32:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Right. The downside is how the church chooses to react. And like, you can't control those types of things. However, I think the earlier you tell them, the more trust and transparency you have. And, it also helps them kind of like I said, like, brace for some of that impact. The cons are could risk damaging your reputation if they do find out through other means could also burn bridges.

00:13:32:18 - 00:13:48:10
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like again, people's feelings might just be hurt and like, they like they feel like you never, gave them a fair shake. And then finally, they may leave. It might leave a lot less time for, like, a smooth transition. All that type of stuff impacting your ministry. Let me just leave you with this kind of, like, final bonus hack.

00:13:48:10 - 00:14:08:08
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
Like when you're leaving, it's natural to feel bad and to want to stay and to hang on as long as you can have done that a handful of times, like, hey, stick on for six more weeks, like after they know they start to make decisions without you, they have to they have to move on. And the longer you stay, you're just like a dangling dead fish, like you run out of stuff to do.

00:14:08:15 - 00:14:25:17
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
They start dishing your work off to other people. And so, well, you do want a smooth transition, especially for the students, and you want them to feel like they were able to say goodbye, within the office and within the decision making framework and culture. Like it is better if you let them know. And then it's a quick kind of departure.

00:14:25:17 - 00:14:40:12
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
So, hey, I hope you found this episode helpful. If you did give it a like, give it give us a subscribe. We're going to be answering some more questions. So you can do that right here on the screen. Or you can see what the next video is going to be, that we're going to be answering from some different questions that we're finding in different youth pastor Facebook groups.

00:14:40:12 - 00:14:43:26
Nick Clason | Hybrid Ministry
But until next time, my friends. And as always, don't forget stay hybrid.