Being a YM and being flexible are often the same thing.

By John Gocke

I bet you thought that you were the only youth worker or youth pastor who shared his or her office with other staff. If you are not sharing your office with other staff, you might be in a dual-purpose area like:

• Youth Minister’s office/ Library.

• Youth Minister’s office/ choir room.

• Youth Minister’s office/ copy and collating center.

• Youth Minister’s office/ janitorial supply closet.

• Youth Minister’s office/ lactating women and diaper changing station.

• Youth Minister’s office/ last-minute conference room.

Does that bother you sometimes? Your reaction is totally normal. It probably bothers you that it bothers you; because in the “big picture,” the whole building belongs to God’s purposes. What is better than denying your feelings—because you are too holy to have such thoughts—is to deal with these inconveniencies and grow from them.

My first full-time job as a youth pastor afforded me a spacious office in the church library. Finding unexpected people in my office or coming in mornings to find all my stuff out of place never failed to irritate me. I acknowledged that it did and was able to roll my eyes, reorganize my stuff, and get to work. Instead of letting my annoyance eat at me until I blew up at someone, I would let the anger flow through me and fly out into the ozone layer. That felt much better than stuffing it inside and pretending that the annoyance did not exist or unloading on some unsuspecting person who was just coming to the library.

We’re human (I read that fact in Genesis 1:1), so God knows it. Being annoyed isn’t a sin, Annoyance can be just one of many daily opportunities for either grace or strife. We can choose which path to take.

Each church, from small to mega, has its own space challenges. These issues become more exacerbated when:

• Renovations are going on;

• No nursing or crying child rooms exist;

• Not enough computers to go around and you have one everyone else needs or you have to go borrow someone else’s;

• Not enough cozy rooms for small groups.

However, on a more positive note, sharing your office exposes everyone who enters your space to the fact that a vibrant youth ministry going on. Your CCM posters, pictures of the kids, and musical instruments witness to your activity level. Every youth pastor either has the gift of hospitality or should be actively pursuing it. Often you are the ambassador of the youth, translating differences between youth and adults and advocating for support and understanding from both sides. Your office is a reflection of your job and role in life. You can set up visual media to constantly broadcast your messages. Capitalize on this opportunity.

That being said, you also need to keep your sanity. Here are a few ideas to help with that struggle:

• Ask to be kept updated on who will be in your office and when. With communication, you won’t need to be in the room one night doing final preparation for an event only to find a small group that seems to meet forever.

• Get in the habit of putting things away and turning things off. You might even set up a circle of chairs so that the other group won't need to move lots of things around.

• Keep a schedule book near or on the door so that people have the opportunity to forewarn you of their need. They may have never thought of signing up for your room.

• Put a divider around your personal space area so that people aren’t tempted to stare at you if their own session gets boring.

• Don’t leave anything sitting out that other eyes should not see. If you have sensitive or private files in your office, get a locking file cabinet and use it. If the information is on the computer, then use a password to protect the documents.

• Backup all of your important computer work on disk and take the disk home with you at night. Nothing is more frustrating than losing a PowerPoint® presentation on which you have spent hours because someone hit the delete key—especially right before you were going to use the presentation in a meeting.

• Use a laptop, if possible. Then put your work on it and be prepared to get things done on it while in another room, at home, or in a coffee shop. When you use a laptop, your office can be as mobile as you are.

• Keep your attitude positive. Realize that if you are sharing space with someone or a group, that someone or group is are sharing space with you. You are just as inconvenient to them as they are to you. Your going the extra mile with a smile will encourage them to do so too.

When all is said and done, you will be a better person for practicing the art of flexibility. Allow yourself a therapeutic roll of the eyes from time to time. It's the human thing to do. ;-)

John Gocke is a veteran of youth ministry, having worked in various churches in Southern California and for Al Menconi Ministries, based in Carlsbad, California. John holds an MA in Theology from Point Loma Nazarene University and currently works on the staff of www.ileadyouth.com.

Other articles by John Gocke:
Eleven Signs of a Successful Youth Minister.
Dealing with sharing your office.
Christian Pirates?
Saying what you really think!
Cures for the Summertime Attendance Slump
Going Back in Time
The Epic Struggle Between Youth Pastors and Senior Pastors
You and Conan the Barbarian
A King Josiah-Kind of Christian
Fantasizing About Violence: Violent Video Games Promote Aggressive Behavior In Youth
Chico the Roach
Are you a Batman or Superman Christian?
Ten Skills They Don’t Teach You in Seminary
Teach your youth grace-not just mercy this Christmas
Five reasons you should encourage your youth to experience Christian music
Secular prophets in the business world and their lessons for us
Hollywood Secrets for Your Next Youth Meeting

Brought to you by your youth ministry colleagues at Cokesbury.

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