Pastors, Youth Pastors Improve Teamwork Through New Series

This fall, four youth pastors and their community pastors met online via Zoom for a five-week webinar series on communication and teamwork. Led by Kaeleigh Moffitt, National Youth Ministry Coordinator, and Miilhan Stephens, Family Federation (FFWPU) USA Vice President, the pastors discussed ways to build mutual respect and a common vision in their communities. “At our last youth pastors’ retreat, the pastor and youth pastor relationship was listed as one of the challenges that our youth pastors are facing in their local communities,” explained Kaeleigh, who spearheaded the program. “We designed this series as a means of providing a space for pastors and youth pastors to begin communicating.”

Kaeleigh and Miilhan served as facilitators who shared about their own experiences while working as a pastor and youth pastor team in Maryland. Their honesty about their own challenges broke the ice for the rest of the group. “It pushed us to go out of our comfort zone and meet each other face to face,” one participant shared. Another agreed. “I like the openness we had in the series.”

Throughout the five weeks, each team had homework assignments that focused on getting to know one another, learning about each other’s ministries, sharing common goals, and working toward the future. Then, during whole-group Skype calls, they would discuss their experiences. “Through a trial and error process, we found that learning from each other was the best model,” said Kaeleigh. Youth pastor and pastor teams agreed that their communication was stronger after going through the series. “I don’t feel afraid to ask [my pastor] for help,” said one youth pastor.

Some of the teams hope to participate in the webinar again in the future. “I think this series should be attended by the pastor and the youth pastor at least once a year,” reflected one team.

Miilhan and Kaeleigh plan to offer a second series in April 2017. If you are a district pastor, a local community pastor, or a youth pastor interested in participating in this series, please fill out the form below to express your interest and find out more.