160: Stephanie Collins "Accidentally In Love With Youth Ministry" #WomenInYM

In our 14th installment of #WomenInYM Chad Higgins sits down with Stephanie Collins of Munice Indiana
NextGen Pastor at The Gathering Muncie
Studied Master of Divinity at Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry

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Key Takeaway: Accidentally In Love With All That Youth Ministry Can Be

• The story of God's and the struggle for me is my call to be a pastor. I grew up in a denomination that affirms women and had trouble finding my place. 
• I didn't start out wanting to be in youth ministry, I didn't even think about it, I fell in love with youth ministry. 
• “We will take your student and love them no matter what”  

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

And welcome to episode 60 of these ministry booster podcast. Thanks for tuning in and listening. This is our 14th part in a multipart series. As we feature all month long women in Youth Ministry, those that are serving leading. We want to celebrate and encourage those. And so we thank you for checking. In. This episode is Stephanie Collins, all the way from Muncie, Indiana with a little bit of Oklahoma roots too, and so we're thankful for our friend Stephanie and her sharing of how she accidentally fell in love with Youth Ministry. It's a great listen, you're not gonna want to miss it, but you want to make sure to remind you all the things we've got going on this month at youth ministry booster. Want to check out[inaudible] dot com slash giveaway because for Hashtag women in Yam month, we're giving away a description of booster and a subscription box of your choosing either for you, a woman serving in youth ministry or to someone who you love who is a woman serving in youth ministry, which is why you can play along at home. You see the contest things there at the giveaway, but also on twitter or instagram or facebook tag somebody with Hashtag women in. Why am a woman in ministry? That has meant a lot to you as we celebrate this October month of pastor appreciation by focusing, celebrating and encouraging women and youth ministry. We hope you enjoy this series of interviews. Up Next is Stephanie Collins, interviewed by our own chat higgins, so enjoy this interview about what it means to fall in love with Youth Ministry and to be reminded of the call which is not the same as the job and that yes, even the tufts students often can't come around by the grace and mercy of Jesus. Thanks again. I'll catch you at the end. Hello and welcome to youth ministry

Speaker 2: 1:51

booster. My Name's Chad Higgins. Thank you so much for joining us today as we continue to celebrate some of the wonderful women in student ministry. We are here with Stephanie Collins. Stephanie, how are you? I'm doing well. Thanks for having me today.

Speaker 1: 2:10

So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 2: 2:13

Who are you? Where are you from? What's that all look like? Yeah, so I am currently the next Gen Pastor, which is my official title. I'm at a church called the gathering in Muncie, Indiana. We are affiliated with the Church of God, Adam Anderson, Indiana, and so we're kind of a Wesleyan movements. Um, I'm over actually kids, youth and small groups at our church and so I have a broad range of things but youth ministries definitely where my heart is at right now. And um, I'm just really enjoying it. I've been there three and a half years. This is my first ministry job out of seminary and so I'm learning a lot. I'm, I'm enjoying it and just really loving a student ministry right now. That's awesome. So where did you do your seminary work at? Yeah, I did. Anderson University did an Undergrad degree in Oklahoma City, so, but none of that was actually a youth ministry related, so that's really funny that um, I didn't get into this, I'm sure later, but I did not expect to be a youth pastor. So yes,

Speaker 3: 3:20

keep everybody waiting. Tell us, tell us a little bit about like your genesis story. How'd you get here today?

Speaker 2: 3:28

Yeah, so, um, I went to Undergrad at 19 years old to a Bible College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and I really felt the call to ministry at Nineteen and, um, immediately felt like I was going to be a senior pastor, which is a thing in our, in our Church of God movement. We affirm women in ministry, at least on paper. We do this a little bit part of my story as well as just the struggle that, that has brought me. I'm trying to be a woman pastor. But, um, so I went to, went to school, went to Undergrad thinking I'd be a lead pastor and um, got out of Undergrad and couldn't find a job. I'm a lot because I was a woman even in a movement that affirms women in Ministry. It was hard to find a job. And so I went to seminary after that, just kind of trying to better myself to give myself more credentials. Um, and so I got my mba at Anderson University and graduated in 2014 and I still could not find a job, which was a really hard and sad part of my story. Um, and so I ended up just kind of trying to do whatever I could do in the meantime, and it was about a year later that I finally was on, um, our ministry connector website, trying to just apply to any kind of position that I could just get my foot in the door. Never thought I'd be a youth pastor, but just felt like I've got to do something to kind of get my foot in the door. And I found the gathering and actually had some friends that were the worship pastors here. And so I kind of had a connection, which was great. And through conversations with our senior pastor just really felt like this was where the Lord was leading. And um, I was just really trusting God to give me a heart for youth and to give me a heart for the next gen ministry that he was calling me to at the gathering. And so I'm never what I thought I was going to end up as. But I'm just loving. I've fallen in love with youth ministry and just really loving. I'm just the passion and heart that God has given me for teenagers

Speaker 3: 5:40

on glad that entry level position of senior pastor didn't work out for you and you were able to advance past that into student ministry. I feel like that's a, that's a sweet gig for you. That's amazing. So next Gen Pastor, you tell me you're enjoying student

Speaker 2: 5:57

ministry. Give me like one of your favorite moments so far, but I think my favorite moment had to be actually last month in August, so it's kind of a little bit of a story. So I'll give like the funny parts of this story first. So I came in to student ministry three and a half years ago, not knowing what I was getting myself into, but just trusting God in that process. Um, and had some really tough students the first year, but as in youth ministry and one of those students was a sixth grader and he had just had some really hard things happen in his life. Um, he got kicked out of boy scouts and that was a pretty traumatic thing for him because he was being bullied. But then the leadership of the boy scout people in our community actually just kind of blamed it all on him and so he had some really hard things going on in his life and his mom called me crying one day because she just knew like, he really needed a place to belong and a place to fit in, in a safe place in his life. And we had been having some trouble with him and youth because he was being forced to go. Um, and so she knew that we were having trouble with him and I just had to tell her I had to calm her down and just say, listen, whatever. He does, like a promise. We will never kick him out of this youth group. Like it's never going to happen. He always has a place here. But it was a rough first semester because he would go into our bathroom at the church and we had those like welcome baskets with like hairspray and toothpaste and all that kind of weird stuff that churches do. But we had those welcome baskets out and he would go every youth meeting into the bathroom. And like trash our bathroom using our products and he would spray hairspray on the mirrors. He would leave us nice presence in the toilet. And the worst part of it was he, he would, he ended up starting to pee on our floor and the bathroom. He would just, yeah, decided that would be a great way to trash the bathroom. And so, uh, I still held by my, my, what I had told his mom kicked him out. He still has a safe place here. We did end up giving him a chaperone to go to the bathroom with them. But my favorite part of youth ministry, it was actually a month ago because in the last three and a half years, this youth group has really just taken him in our volunteers, have loved him well, um, and kind of leave all in the last three years I've just really been praying for his salvation and praying that God would do a work in his heart because he just has a really tough exterior. Kind of doesn't want to admit that he actually really likes youth group now that we've been praying for his salvation. And so last month I got to baptize him and so that was a really cool mountain top moment of my youth ministry experience thus far just to see the transformation in him. Once he started, he was hating each ministry, he was hating his life. He's struggled with depression and like I said, being bullied a lot and just to see the work that God has done and is doing his life has been my favorite part so far.

Speaker 3: 9:16

One of the amazing story of redemption and always reminds me like, and it's always so much easier when you're not the youth pastor walking through that. Right? But like anytime I hear of a kid acting out in that way, it makes me want to ask those questions of like, why were I think like no first or second year youth minister Chad would have not have asked why, but more of like, how do I get this kid to stop? Like now? Uh, and I think asking those like, why and what, what's going on in this kid's life that would lead them to this and acting this way. And those kind of things I think are such important questions. I love that story though. That. All right. Let's be honest. Emotions that are going through your mind morning of baptism. What are they?

Speaker 2: 10:10

Oh Man. I was trying not to cry. Oh my gosh. I'll cry. I can't understand. Like it would not come out. Like I know this is an important moment, but like I get so overwhelmed and those moments of like, this is so awesome. But I actually don't think I cried. I was just taking in the moment and I have a picture someone captured of me getting ready to Dunkin and I just remember looking into this kid's eyes and I said, because God has really been speaking to me about his leadership qualities. And I said, um, I said his name. And I said, Hey, I just want you to know I think God really wants you to know this morning that you can change the world. And he hadn't looked at me until that moment. She was just kind of in his own little bubble. But he looked up at me and somebody captured that moment. And so that was really cool. Yeah. So many emotions thinking about the past that I've had with this kid and thinking about the future that I feel like God says that he has. I really believe he's actually called to ministry and he actually gave his first sermon in our youth group before his baptism. So that was really cool too. Um, and so just the, just just can't wait to see what God continues to do in his life.

Speaker 3: 11:32

That was great youth ministry moment. Nothing against them. I'm just like the funny camp moment or whatever. Those are great a man. Just hearing these stories of just like authentic, true life change, like so powerful. Okay. You mentioned a time where you were struggling to find a ministry job and I'm sure that we have many listeners that maybe in that same boat or may even have a job right now, but now they need to leave and or you know what I mean? Those kind of things. If you could go back in time, sat down with Stephanie, who's frustrated that you don't have a job yet, what advice would you give her?

Speaker 2: 12:24

I remember I was working in the hospital and I had just gotten a call from a church that they actually told me point blank, they weren't going to hire me because I was a woman and you know, no matter what your situation is, male or female, we all have those moments where we are told no for a moment that's out of our control. Um, and, and I was crying on the bathroom floor of this hospital that I was working in and I'm just didn't believe God's promises to me anymore. Um, was really struggling to believe that I was actually called to this still. And so if I could go back in that moment and just speak words over my life, I think it would be, um, you are called and God has chosen you. And I know it doesn't seem like it right now. I know you can't see your way out of this. You can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but God has a purpose for your life. And he wasn't lying. He wasn't joking when he called you to this. But just keep trusting him. Keep putting your faith in him and I promise you it's going to work out. I just really believe that I'm in the middle of those hard circumstances. People just need to remember and be spoken over like cops still has a plan, has a purpose and he has still called you and just don't give up in that.

Speaker 3: 13:49

That's awesome. I'll leave this with that. I think probably each of us need to hear and be reminded of exactly the kind of that wisdom that you would tell yourself, but I would love the opportunity just to say to each of you listening today to be able to look in your eyes and say, I believe that you can change the world. So no matter where you're at, know that the students that you're ministering to and that you're working with, no matter how frustrating, how isolated and alone you may feel in the process, uh, that God's not done. And so thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for the opportunity, uh, to just get to sit with you. View in your earbuds today. We hope that you join us back tomorrow. Alright, there you go. That's our interview with Stephanie Collins from Muncie, Muncie, Indiana. Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing honestly about the feeling of call and the struggles that it comes with the job that is not the call. I thank

Speaker 1: 14:51

you for your insight and your wisdom and your encouragement that we too can fall in love with youth ministry all over again too. I forgot today, listener, however you're serving in youth ministry, check your heart and know that youth ministry is worth falling in love with in so much more than any kind of job. Do you enjoy this podcast and you want to hear more and make sure to rate, subscribe, review on Google, play, spotify, apple, itunes, or wherever you get your podcast. We appreciate your listenership. You can find us on facebook and twitter and facebook. You finish, you boost your podcast and twitter ministry booster. We'd love to hear from you and our Hashtag women in y m series and we'll see you back tomorrow.