What to say to a new youth pastor (part 3)

Next I would say to start with what you have.  You don't have to have a super-cool, rockin' worship team with MTV quality graphics to be a good youth group.  As I said before, just concentrate on what you have now, not what you don't have.  Focus on your strengths, and the strengths of your team and group members.  As you add more teens or team members with other strengths, you can add more capabilities.

When I was a youth pastor in Bonn, we knew in our rental facility (which provided us with a different meeting room each time we met) and with our members' talents, we could never be like the youth group down the street that had an amazingly cool, rockin' worship team.  We had to focus on what we could do best: loving teens.  We determined that each teen that came through the doors would be truly welcomed, engaged in conversation and loved, just as they were.

In the same way, you have to determine what you can actually do.  Yes, dream big.  And don't despise the day of small beginnings.  The youth group down the street started out with a less than perfect band, but kept working on it until they saw the dream become a reality.

But you have to start with what you have, not complain about what you don't have.  When you're faithful in little things, God is able to give you more.