The Delicate Art of Asking Questions When Being Interviewed

Do you provide cell phones for the youth pastors?

The interview had gone quite well until the applicant asked that question-it changed the whole tone of the interview, which went downhill from there. Too bad because for the first two hours we were all impressed. Then we asked him, “Do you have any questions for us?” and he pulled out a binder and began rattling them off from his list. I felt like we’d moved from interview to negotiation. I began to wonder when his agent was going to walk in the room and ask for a signing bonus.

When Jonathan asked me to write up the kind of questions that I believe a prospective youth pastor should ask in the interview process, I reflected on my 13 years in youth ministry, my decade as a senior pastor, my six years as a member of our church’s personnel committee, and my 20 years as a human resource consultant in private and public sectors. (Wow! I must really be old-that’s a year shy of half a century!) In addition to that, I’ve sat in on at least 50 interviews and witnessed the best and worst of them.

If you’re interviewing for a youth pastor position, I have four suggestions that will help you demonstrate your strengths, your experiences, and your affirmation that God’s directed you to be open for this position. And at the same time not feeling as though you’re being taken advantage of “in the name of ministry” (e.g., working 80 hours a week for part-time pay).

Suggestion One: Don’t Ask Questions-Seek Information

At the end of this article are more than 40 questions you want answered before accepting a youth ministry position.

The trick is getting this information without asking a list of questions.

How do you do that? One word: Listen. A huge, frequent search-committee mistake is that their members talk too much during the interview. But that can be a benefit for you if you listen carefully and ask for clarification. For example, “Can you tell me more about that?” Try to get them telling you stories of how the former youth pastor operated… which leads to my second suggestion.

Suggestion Two: Focus on Two Very Specific, Key Questions

Many prospective youth pastors love to ask, “What’s your philosophy of youth ministry?” But that’s a cliché. A stupid question. So avoid it. It’s too general and gives the impression that you’re into theory rather that practical ministry. Instead ask these questions:

After you ask the first question, listen carefully. Listen for what the church leadership loved and didn’t love so much. Ask follow-up questions that draw out the story (e.g., “Why were you concerned about this?” or “What excited you about this ministry?” or “How did that impact the church?”) Listen for insights about significant issues such as staff relationships, volunteers, and budget overruns (and they will tell you about cost overruns-it’s often a hot topic). If the former youth pastor was weak on administration, the committee may ask you tons of questions about your administrative gifts because they want to correct that problem. Or maybe you’ll learn that the previous youth pastor will be hard to follow because everyone on the committee thinks he/she walked on water.

After you ask the second question, listen carefully for what they want. Do they want you reaching out to the community with huge events that draw hundreds of kids? Do they expect the group to grow by 10 percent, 50 percent, or 80 percent in your first year? Do they expect you to develop a discipleship program, an evangelism program, a mission-trip program, a big youth choir (popular in the 70s when most of the committee members were probably in youth group)?

Suggestion Three: Focus on the Church’s Behavior with the Previous Youth Pastor

Most people and churches don’t change easily. The church where you’re interviewing probably will treat the next youth pastor the same way it treated past youth pastors. So focus your questions on past behavior. In other words, try to stay away from hypothetical or philosophical questions. Focus on very specific questions such as, “How did the former youth pastor handle fundraising activities?” “How did the former youth pastor get along with the pastor?” If the church fired its previous youth pastor (for a good reason), listen carefully to the reasons, the evaluation period, the documentation, and the process.

This style of interviewing-from both the interviewer and the interviewee-is called behavior-based questioning (we use this same style in our Sample Job Interview Guide on our Logistical Crud page). Behavior-based questions presume that “past performance reflects future results.” So rather than asking the committee to regurgitate philosophies or what they’d “like to do,” simply ask what the church has done. Most of these questions will prompt recollections of how the church responded to the previous youth pastor.

There are exceptions, however: The question suggested earlier-What are your expectations for the youth minister in the first six months, first year?-is about the future; past behavior isn’t a factor. Therefore the key is making the question very specific and then turning it around and asking, “How long did it take the former youth pastor to meet your expectations?”

Suggestion Four: Meet and Converse Casually with Key Church Leaders to Get Information

Boards, staff, and special committees hold the answers to the following questions-not the search committee. And you can get much of the information you need through informal meetings, over meals, or just sitting around visiting with individuals.

Important Questions You Want Answered During Your Interview Process

Job expectations

Budgets

Staffing

Priorities

Facilities

Salary and Benefits

Church Governance

General

Theology