Being a Woman in Youth Ministry
The experience is often lonely.
I worked in local church youth ministry for 13 years. The amount of women I personally have friendships with that have also worked in youth ministry for 10+ years can be counted on one hand. We’re a rare breed.
As a rare breed, we can also be really isolated.
I’ve heard this from a lot of women in youth ministry - not just from those I am personally close with, but also with those I have connected with through various networks in my circles. It’s actually one of the most common things I’ve heard women in youth ministry say about being a woman in youth ministry, regardless of their length of service. They often use the word “lonely” to describe what it’s like.
Depending on their church and ministry situation, they may lack other female ministry staff to relate to. Sometimes, the men they work with meet up with each other for prayer and fellowship, while they have no one to do this with. They have a hard time finding female friends who understand the day-to-day of their youth ministry jobs. Single women especially tend to feel the lack of peers.
Many note the absence of ministry mentors, especially female ministry mentors. When they want a mentor, women in youth ministry often aren’t able to find one. Once a woman has been in youth ministry for a handful of years, it’s harder for her to find other women with an equal or greater amount of experience. Thus, she often ends up in the mentor role, all the while wishing she could also be a mentee.
When I’ve asked women what would help them thrive in youth ministry, one of the top things they want is connection to other women in ministry - and especially to other women in youth ministry.
One of the things I’ll be doing in this space is sharing many of the insights I’m finding related to the experience of being a woman in youth ministry. I have found that many women have “aha” moments when they hear others share themes that they themselves have navigated but never put into words. Perhaps this can be a little corner of the internet where we find others like us (or others who support us, even if they aren’t women in youth ministry), have those “aha” moments together, and cheer women in youth ministry on.
Know any others who’d benefit from joining in on these conversations? Share this Substack with them.
Have any thoughts you’d like to share about being a woman in youth ministry? Message me or add a comment. I’d love to hear from you.