Butts and Baptisms

“I am the number two baptizer in South Carolina,” the first line on the application read. It was a few years ago and a church had hired me to help them find a new youth pastor. The church just wanted some help looking over applications and doing interviews. The application stood out to me because the applicant thought his strongest attribute was his ability to get kids in the water. I called him and told him I was sorry we were looking for the number 1 baptizer; he didn’t laugh at my clearly meant joke. Needless to say I didn’t invite him for an interview. When did we start thinking that numbers mattered most? When churches begin keeping score the craziness does not end. So many youth workers have told me stories of how their churches have pressured them about numbers. We got to stop this! Before you take any job in youth ministry ask the church and the leadership what their value is for numbers. If they don’t give you a clear answer ask again and if you still don’t get a clear answer, run!

Why run you might ask? Because leaders use numbers when they don’t understand transformation. If the church leaders don’t understand transformation and you want to see transformation happen, then you are going to be in a sorry place.