Interesting post by Phil Bell about whether it’s necessary to have a college education if you’re a youth worker. I think a lot of people would disagree with his viewpoint, but he definitely lays out a lot of good points. Check out a snippet below, then head over to Phil’s blog for the full post.
Just last week, a couple of youth workers and myself were asked this question on twitter:
Anyone have info on the importance of a college education for a career in YM?
I gave a quick answer at the time, but here is a slightly longer answer…
1) Yes and No: If you are in full or part-time paid ministry I would say “yes”. If you are a volunteer my answer is “no”. However, I would challenge you to educate yourself and understand God’s Word, youth culture, and ministry skills as best as your time allows.
2) College Gives Greater Theological Grounding: Being in full-time ministry, I have found that college forced me to get grounded theologically and gain valuable hermeneutical skills to teach and apply the Bible. I am not sure I would have forced myself otherwise?
3) College Gives Greater Youth Ministry Skills: No matter how much many would debate the value of theoretical college over practical real world youth ministry, there is still a great value in studying the “how’s and why’s” of youth ministry.
