You Can't Possibly Do It All
I talked with a youth pastor the other day that was absolutely exhausted. Though there was a strong family atmosphere in his youth group and great small groups, he was trying to do it all himself because he couldn't get leaders to commit to more than one night a week. Though effective small groups are important in helping your kids feel loved, if you have a youth group of more than 10 or 15 kids, you can't possibly take care of everyone yourself and the time commitment for your volunteers is often limited. I had a couple of suggestions for him:
Even though it would be ideal to have your kids in a small group every week on a different night than your regular youth group, sometimes because of demographics, or lack of leader commitment, that's impossible. In Atlanta, most of my kids don't have their own cars and the city is massively spread out, so here, one Wednesday night of the month, we do abbreviated worship and then we break into small groups all over the church. That is much easier to run and doesn't ask another night of the week from your leaders. I do ask my leaders that besides this night, to do one activity with their small group outside the church once a month.
Never underestimate the power of a quick telephone call or a text message. Those things are simple, easy for your leaders to do and mammoth in the lives of your kids. I train my leaders to understand that most of the time when you make telephone calls you will feel stupid and that's okay. It's just that many times kids don't know how to respond when you call and you end up doing all the talking.
Don't overlook the power of reaching beyond just your busy adults to make some of your key small group leaders your college and career people. This group of people anchor my team here in Atlanta. Do I know there are possible bumps with them? Of course, I do. But I work with them and train them. I could not do small groups if I depended only on my older adults.
I also look for some of my more with-it kids who are a little older and consider making them assistant leaders with some responsibility, possibly making your phone calls.
I understand the good leaders are hard to find, and I often hear youth pastors complaining that they cannot get good leaders. Of all the duties your job entails, the process of obtaining solid leaders should be the most exhausting thing you do. It requires finding, training, and the most difficult part of all...retaining them. If you do not take the time to build a fence of people around yourself as you walk this journey, when you reach the top of youth ministry mountain...you will wind up calling the ambulance for yourself at the bottom.
I talked with a youth pastor the other day that was absolutely exhausted. Though there was a strong family atmosphere in his youth group and great small groups, he was trying to do it all himself because he couldn't get leaders to commit to more than one night a week. Though effective small groups are important in helping your kids feel loved, if you have a youth group of more than 10 or 15 kids, you can't possibly take care of everyone yourself and the time commitment for your volunteers is often limited. I had a couple of suggestions for him:
Even though it would be ideal to have your kids in a small group every week on a different night than your regular youth group, sometimes because of demographics, or lack of leader commitment, that's impossible. In Atlanta, most of my kids don't have their own cars and the city is massively spread out, so here, one Wednesday night of the month, we do abbreviated worship and then we break into small groups all over the church. That is much easier to run and doesn't ask another night of the week from your leaders. I do ask my leaders that besides this night, to do one activity with their small group outside the church once a month.
Never underestimate the power of a quick telephone call or a text message. Those things are simple, easy for your leaders to do and mammoth in the lives of your kids. I train my leaders to understand that most of the time when you make telephone calls you will feel stupid and that's okay. It's just that many times kids don't know how to respond when you call and you end up doing all the talking.
Don't overlook the power of reaching beyond just your busy adults to make some of your key small group leaders your college and career people. This group of people anchor my team here in Atlanta. Do I know there are possible bumps with them? Of course, I do. But I work with them and train them. I could not do small groups if I depended only on my older adults.
I also look for some of my more with-it kids who are a little older and consider making them assistant leaders with some responsibility, possibly making your phone calls.
I understand the good leaders are hard to find, and I often hear youth pastors complaining that they cannot get good leaders. Of all the duties your job entails, the process of obtaining solid leaders should be the most exhausting thing you do. It requires finding, training, and the most difficult part of all...retaining them. If you do not take the time to build a fence of people around yourself as you walk this journey, when you reach the top of youth ministry mountain...you will wind up calling the ambulance for yourself at the bottom.
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While we all know numbers are not the only factor, or even the strongest factor, in determining the health of your ministry, it is also true that we can't make an eternal difference in an empty chair. In this Youth Leader's Coach we are talking about one of youth ministries' most puzzling topics, "How To Hold On To Numerical Growth."
So grab your coffee and join me as we talk about a few key pragmatic ways to get kids in the door and keep them.
Still Growing 1% at a Time,
I hear it all the time... "I just can't seem to grow my leadership team. I get people to volunteer and then they quit a little while in, or they won't even try." Everything rises and falls on leadership. We all know the expression; but the implications of it in youth ministry are huge. We all know that we don't have the hours in the day to do all the work it takes to run a youth ministry by yourself, have a life, and still make a significant impact in a few student's lives.
In this Youth Leader's Coach, "Key Hurdles In Growing Your Leadership Team," I unpack the six key hurdles you need to face if you want to multiply your leadership team. You'll smile during some sections of my honest mentoring dialogue and maybe even "ouch" during some of the others. Whatever the case, this Youth Leader's Coach will speak to a youth ministry topic we all deal with on a regular basis. And just for the record, if no one has quit your leadership team in the last couple of months, you're doing better than most.
Lovingly yours,
I recorded this Youth Leader's Coach quite some time ago, but I'm including it in the Playbook because it marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in my ministry. We had just recently made the move to Sacramento, CA and I had accepted the role of "Director of Student Ministries." So even though I was over 50 at the time, once again, I started from "ground zero."
Charting the growth of a youth ministry from the beginnings can definitely be an overwhelming charge, however there are some simple concepts that can make the journey much easier and effective. As I started this new season, I paused to reflect on some basic, but essential, principles that I put into action in Sacramento.
Even if you're not starting out in a new youth ministry, you can still apply these concepts to your current youth ministry. All of them serve as guidelines to take any youth ministry to the next level. As you take this hour just to listen and reflect on these principles, may you be captured once more, by God's "heart" in reaching this generation of youth. We really do have the greatest "job" in the world!
Lovingly,
I have way too much to do and I know you relate to this. But, I can't think of anything that is more vital in the life of a leader as saying, "Jesus, I want each day to count to the maximum!"
What I'm talking about in this Youth Leader's Coach, "A Leader's Most Important Time Management Strategy," is by far the most important principle that I adhere to, as I am called to multi-task in many different directions. So listen in, as we take a look at how the Apostle Paul maximized his time, and I share with you some of the strategies I use for making the most of my time as I find myself in one of the busiest seasons of life I've had to face yet!
Lovingly,
As leaders, many times we communicate, "We're not into quantity; we're into quality." Often, that's a cop-out. Winning youth ministry leadership teams PLAY TO WIN. Don't you want to be a part of a CHAMPION leadership team?
This Youth Leader's Coach, "Attitudes Of A Winning Youth Leadership Team," will help equip you with all the strategies to not only have a thriving team, but one that WINS souls for the kingdom of God to make you absolutely UNSTOPPABLE! In this resource you will find pragmatics to help you identify the overarching goal of your ministry and how can you instill an unshakable method of accomplishing that goal for both yourself and in your leaders! I'll also talk about being successful from the smallest scale, to the biggest as we address some of the most CRUCIAL practices in continued growth and relevance in today's leadership culture, while at the same time, talking about the pitfalls to avoid as you lead your team into your best winning season!
Lovingly,
