Dear Student Pastor (an open letter to those in student ministry)

One of the greatest ministries we can have as student pastors is ministry in public schools.  Getting involved in sports teams, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and other clubs gives us a great entry point into some very unchurched pockets in our communities.  One thing I have learned from Jeff Lovingood, the Next Generation Pastor and former Student Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, TN, is to minister in schools from the top down.  In other words, develop relationships and serve the administration and teachers in the school first, and secondarily to the students.  This allows for more involvement and ministry to take place in that school.

So how should we conduct ourselves at school?  First of all, we need to dress appropriately.  God has never called us to be the coolest student pastor.  He didn't call us to have the clothes that make us "fit in" with the students.  He has called us to share the Gospel.  In doing that, we need to make sure that we do not dress in a way that is going to detract from our message.  In one school, there is a guy who sometimes comes to FCA, and he is always wearing a three piece suit.  In another, a guy was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and sneakers, none of which looked good.  So, how do we avoid legalism in our clothing style?  I don't really care how you dress in your church.  I don't care if you wear shorts and a t-shirt on Wednesday night.  That is your place; your pastor and you set the rules for attire there.  However, when you are going to a school, it is a professional place filled with professional teachers.  I think that you should dress similarly to how the teachers have to dress.  If the men have to wear a tie, you should probably wear a tie, or at least dress paints and a collared shirt.

Secondly, we need to abide by school rules and respect the authority of teachers and administrators.  Every time you go to a school during school hours, you need to check in at the office and go through whatever procedure they have in place for visitors.  Eventually, the front office staff will recognize you, and you will get in a comfortable routine with them.  If the school has a policy of walking visitors to and from the classroom, then you need to abide by that policy as well.

Thirdly, do not mock, criticize or make fun of any school personnel, even if it will get a big laugh from the students and fits perfectly as an illustration with your message.

Why are any of these things a big deal?  Aren't we supposed to be culturally relevant?  There is a difference between being culturally relevant and stupid. We are the adults.  We need to act like them.  The more professionally we carry ourselves on campus, the more likely the administration will be to give us more and more latitude for ministry.  The more we develop relationships with the administration, the more willing they will be to give us freedom within the school to do more and more things.

So please, for the sake of all student pastors who are trying the right way to be involved in school ministry, don't mess it up.  Don't be the reason that no student pastors are allowed on campus during school hours.  Don't be the one who gives the rest of us a bad reputation as just wanting to be cool and mess around with students during school hours.  School ministry is so much more important than that.  It's about sharing Jesus with those who do not know Him and may never darken a church door.

So help us out; help us to minister to the administrators, the teachers and the coaches.  Help us to minister to teenagers that we may otherwise never meet.  Let's do it together!