Reimagine Youth Ministry is an organization devoted to educating and training youth pastors to do youth ministry in the era of mental health awareness. Below, the owner of Reimagine, Kristy, has shared her story of how her mental health organization came to be.
I Saw The Problem Of Mental Health
Eight years ago, I felt the first whisper–the first nudge of the potential of Reimagine Youth Ministry. See, at that point in my life I was in the full swing of youth pastoring and loving it! But the truth is, I wasn’t able to shake the gap I saw between a teen’s formation in Christ and their biological development. Of course, I knew the right church answers, how to pray for students, lead a small group, and preach. But on the other hand, what I didn’t know was how Christ biologically formed teens, and what was happening on a brain development level with each of my students. In that moment, I realized I didn’t know how to structure my youth group that would not only provide a discipleship pathway for my teens, but that would also meet their biological and developmental needs. Consequently, I froze. I froze hard, and wept.
As a youth pastor, I would attend incredible youth trainings hoping and wishing that someone would help me understand a teens development, give me practical tools and strategies to deal with mental health & from that point help me curate a spiritual formation pathway for my youth group with those things in mind. As you can imagine, I got SUPER frustrated because I found nothing. Day after day, I found myself plagued by the question:
“Why isn’t there a resource for understanding the development of teens and their formation in Christ?”
The little nudge turned into a holy discontentment. That fire inside of me drove me to go back to school to get my masters in clinical social work with a specialization in adolescent development. From there, I began helping bridge that gap between a teen’s development and their faith formation.
Reimagine Youth Ministry Was Born
Here we are eight years later and that little nudge from the Holy Spirit is now a ministry for me, and I am so grateful. I get the privilege of meeting youth pastors, and parents from different denominations around the country. The common thread I see everywhere is a deep desire to see teens not only become more like Christ, but to fall in love with Jesus. My prayer is that Reimagine would provide you with a backstage pass to see how Christ created teens, holistically.
Reimagine Youth Ministry exists to help youth pastors feel less alone. It exists to help you structure your ministry in ways that work with a teen’s emotional and mental health development. My hope is that youth pastors like you would feel empowered to holistically help teens become more like Christ.
On your team and cheering you on!
Kristen Mclachlan is a former youth pastor and a trauma-informed counselor with a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work. She leads Reimagine Youth Ministry, equipping youth pastors and parents nationwide with insights and practical strategies for understanding how Christ created teens.
Related Blog Posts
