The Bridges Project is designed to:

• develop research on effective, life-giving practices of youth ministry
• address the high burnout rate common to the first years of youth ministry
• discover approaches to youth ministry in which leaders and young people thrive

The Bridges Project includes:

• a survey of the relevant literature on the transition from seminary to the pastorate
• identification and study of exemplary youth ministries to discover how these ministries foster thriving Christian leadership
• assessment of needs and consideration of concerns of pastors in the first years of ministry
• Bridges 2001, a pilot program of support and theological education for pastors in transition from seminary to professional youth ministry

Background:

The Bridges Project was designed to develop research on life-giving practices of youth ministry, to address the burnout rate common to the first years of youth ministry, and to discover approaches to youth ministry in which leaders and young people thrive. Bridges has been a 3 year research project (Sep 2000-Jan 2004) of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.

The Bridges Project has surveyed and/or done focus group interviews with a total of 120 ordained clergy divided into 3 research populations. 40 Transitional pastors were less than 3 years post seminary, 40 Veteran pastors were five or more years post seminary, and 20 Bridges pastors graduated from seminary in 2000 or 2001. The survey and focus group questions identified specific pastoral practices which help youth ministries and youth ministers to thrive.

Findings:

1. Early departures from first calls

Twenty five percent of the transitional and Bridges pastors had resigned from their first ordained calls within 3 years of graduation from seminary. While most of these pastors took new calls with youth ministry responsibilities, this vocational instability is troubling. One pastor says: “Everyone I know had a terrible first call. It’s a miracle I’m still in ministry.” Many of these pastors were frustrated by their inability to shape healthy professional relationships with other staff, particularly senior supervisory staff. Some pastors were disillusioned by the lack of tangible congregational support for youth ministry.

In hindsight some of these pastors accept responsibility for taking a call that was a “poor fit”. Students in their final year of seminary are not savvy about call discernment. They need help in exegeting a potential congregation. They underestimate the importance of relationships with other staff members, particularly senior supervisory clergy. Veteran pastors say that the most important questions about a potential call have to do with these relationships: “Who would I be working with/for? Does she/he value the same aspects of pastoral ministry as I do?” Students need information to make good choices about first calls, even in judicatory systems where the bishop makes the placement. The first call process is an opportunity for judicatories and seminaries to be of great help in getting new pastors off to a good start.

2. Inadequate compenstation

One third of the transitional pastor population reported that their compensation package was not adequate to allow them to live within the community they served. Excellence in youth ministry is incompatible with commuting. Young people are available between 3-10pm after school. Their pastors must go out to meet them in their world. Commuting home late at night is an added stressor. Congregations serious about ministry with youth must make it possible for their pastors to live in the community.

3. Life giving practices in youth ministry

The pastoral practices most often identified in surveys and focus groups:

4. The Bridges Pastors

The 20 Bridges Pastors participated in a program of continuing education and support for 2½ years. They attended 3 Princeton Forums on Youth Ministry and met together a total of 5 times. They learned, prayed, and played together, and have become a powerfully supportive network of vocational friends. They have met each other’s families and visited in each other’s homes. Key elements of the success of this program have included careful selection of participants, flexibility in programming, respect and truth telling within the group, able pastoral care for the 20 pastors, and encouragement to play together. With the leftover funds from the Bridges Project each Bridges Pastor will be given a mini-grant for 2 years in order to continue participating in some kind of vocational friendship network, whether with Bridges Pastors or other clergy colleagues.

5. Next Steps

This report is also available as a PDF.

The Bridges Project coordinator is the Rev. Leslie Dobbs-Allsopp. She is a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1987 as a minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She has served pastorates in Baltimore, western Maryland, and New York City.

For more information about the Bridges Project, please contact:

• The Rev. Leslie Dobbs-Allsopp
  Bridges Project Coordinator
  Institute for Youth Ministry
  Princeton Theological Seminary
  P.O. Box 821
  Princeton, NJ 08542-0803
  
• Phone: 609-688-1949
• Fax: 609-279-9014
• Email: leslie.dobbs-allsopp@ptsem.edu