This weekend Brady Nemmers who has fearlessly led our student ministry for over a decade announced that he’ll be leaving our church for a lead pastor position at a church down the road. I could not be happier for him. He’s one of the best teachers out there. I’m excited to see where God takes him.
In my opinion, Brady is a student ministry legend. He has taught me so much about student ministry. Working alongside him has made me a better person and a more skillful youth pastor. Today, I want to share a bit about what he’s taught me.
- Environment Matters
Brady has a pretty unique story. He never set out to be a youth pastor. He landed in student ministry by way of a biology degree and a thriving DJ business. Yes, I’m serious. Back in the 90s if there was a killer Prom going down, Brady was laying down the tracks.
DJing left its mark on Brady. I’ve never met a person more in tune with environment and atmosphere. Don’t invite him to your church unless you’re ready for some revealing feedback.
What I learned from Brady is that environment matters. The way a student feels while the teaching is happening is crucial. The way that a program flows helps or hinders how students connect with God. Brady’s unique approach has made our ministry better.
2. Clarity is Critical
Like I said, Brady is an amazing teacher. If you asked him, he’d probably tell you that the trick to being a great teacher is speaking with clarity. Who cares how theologically sound you are if no one knows what you’re talking about. It’s the presenter’s job to take complex ideas and talk about them in ways that are accessible and useable. When it comes to student ministry, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone do it better than Brady.
3. Lead with Grace
Brady is an optimist. He sees the good in people and he’s likely to give a person 2nd and 3rd chances. Coming into my role at Ada Bible I was a little short on grace. This sort of thing is common in ministry. You get beat up and lose your tolerance for people. Watching and imitating Brady has helped me regain a grace filled approach to ministry.
4. Simplicity is Freeing
At the risk of committing technological heresy, Brady is a bit like Steve Jobs. OK, maybe I’m overstating my case but what I mean is that Brady loves simplicity. He resonates with Jobs’ design strategy—simple, elegant and functional. Brady has applied these principles to our student ministry and it has served us well. We don’t try to do a lot but what we do we do with excellence.
I think this approach has directly contributed to his and other team members’ longevity. Complexity and chaos lead to burnout. Simplicity and elegance lead to excellence and margin.
In short, Brady has been an astronomically awesome youth pastor. He came into the game with basically no training and yet he became an amazing speaker and leader through sheer determination and the humble pursuit of excellence.
Brady Nemmers, I tip my hat to you. You’re a legend of the game. We’ll miss you deeply.
Shot across the bow…you’re gonna kill it at your next gig.