Youth pastors feel 'crushed by weight of responsibility,' says CEO of youth organization

Many youth pastors are overburdened with the tasks assigned to them and feel unsupported in their ministry, according to the CEO of an organization that caters to young people.

Chris Curtis, CEO of Youthscape based in the U.K., said many youth ministers are not properly managed by their employers, leaving them consistently "under-resourced, unsupported and under pressure."

"We've heard some real horror stories over the years from people who have discovered that the church or organization they've come to work for have unrealistic expectations, or poor management structures, or a combination of both," Curtis said, according to Christian Today.

"Too often youth pastors are crushed by the weight of responsibility placed on them by an adult congregation and leaders, and find there is no one around to support or listen to them."

That is why Youthscape has decided to conduct an annual awards program called "Christian Youth Work Awards," which was primarily established to encourage youth pastors and other youth workers in the U.K.

The awards program is now in its sixth year, and there are six categories for this year's event. People can nominate any youth pastor, youth volunteer or youth ministry according to these categories through the program's website. The awards will be held on Nov. 11 at the London School of Theology.

In the U.S., many youth pastors also reach the "burnout" stage, at which point they become too discouraged, unproductive and physically tired, according to an article from Smarter Youth Ministry writer Aaron Helman, who studied the process leading to youth pastor burnout.

Helman says burnout begins with discouragement, which then leads to "increased time wasting," in which the youth pastor spends more time working but never getting more work done. This is also often characterized by increased screen time – browsing through social media or simply watching videos on YouTube.

From repeated time wasting, the youth worker starts to build bad habits like sleeping late, exercising less and eating at fast food chains. Helman said some youth pastors he interviewed felt like their bodies were "shutting down."

Helman says recognizing the signs leading to burnout can help youth pastors avoid it.