” …perfectionism, is a mix of excessively high personal standards (“I have to excel at everything I do”) and intense self-criticism (“I’m a complete failure if I fall short”). In its unhealthiest forms, perfectionism can lead to eating disorders, depression, high blood pressure and thoughts of suicide.”
Pressure from parents to pursue perfect
Pressure from coaches to execute perfect
Pressure from school to score perfect
Pressure from social to look perfect
And yes, pressure from us to be more ___________ (fill in the blank)
All this expecting perfect rubs off on a kids spiritual life. How many of your kids think God expects them to be perfect? How many of you think God expects you to be perfect or have the “perfect” youth ministry?
Let’s take a breath. Let’s get back to a masterpiece mindset. God created us to have fellowship with Him. We messed up in the garden and we’ve been scrambling to be perfect, on our own, ever since.
Thank God for for his grace in sending his Son so we could experience 2 Corinthians 5:17
“the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
At the beginning of camp this summer, a kid told me, “My parents think I’m a screw up.” By the end of the week this same kid boldly stated, “I’m a masterpiece created by God.”
This new five week series will equip you to help your teens get back to a masterpiece mind set and will lift the weight of perfect that is crushing them. Let’s remind our students that they are masterpieces, created by God, loved by God, no extra work required.
Start the Masterpiece Mindset by grabbing the series here.
Please take what I am about to say with a grain of salt. These are feelings that I have chosen to put here because..
a) Twitter character count is too short
b) Facebook invites my friends, and other, to chime in to encourage me, counsel me, etc. which isn’t necessarily what I am looking for.
c) People will not likely comment here (have you seen the comment section on blogs lately? A desert.)
This is part of my journey with Jesus just like everything else. So, I share this in the hopes of having open expression without a lot of noise.
There are days where I feel like I have said everything I can say about youth ministry. There are days where I have nothing more to add to the conversation. I’m just done. And when I am done with something, I usually just walk away and do something else.
When I started in youth ministry in 1992, before the internet got really rolling, I read books, went to conferences, and went to the local Christian book store to see what was new. Today, youth pastors have a glut of information, almost too much to sort through. Youth ministry resources are ubiquitous and I am not sure I am different enough to compete; which then makes what I do a hobby.
I’m a simple guy in a complicated world. I am one man with an opinion, like everyone else, when it comes to ministry with teenagers. I have this blog, with close to 1,000 posts, a podcast with 75 episodes, and a YouTube channel with over 3,000 subs. I’m starting to think I’ve done enough.
When I started in 92′, I wanted to be a lifer, a life time youth pastor, and I’ve done it. Thirty years is a lifetime to me. I’ve met some personal goals such as adapting to the internet age when many of my contemporaries wanted nothing to do with it. I adapted and, in my opinion, thrived, but I may have reached a point where I think all I continue to do, may be redundant
I don’t know if I bring anything new to the table. This is not a “poor me” me post. This is a “wake up and smell the coffee” post. So, no pity allowed.
In this season I’m in, I have to look at my options of competing in a crowded market as a solo voice against larger ministries or do something else. That decision hasn’t been made. I would appreciate your prayers as I pray through this season of recalibrating.
This is a rough transcript of Chad and I’s discussion on the podcast. I do not attempt a word for word transcript, but I try to interject key points and elaborate on Chad’s excellent thoughts for your benefit.
If you have a moment, if you’re a regular listener who has not left a review for the show yet, would you jump over to iTunes and leave a review? Thanks. Oh, and while you’re there, don’t for get to subscribe. Now, on with the show.
Traditional small group training isn’t a bad thing, but we will have to exceed tradition to make caring leaders. What does traditional small group training look like?
Chad: I don’t think there’s enough training. Most small groups leaders are not trained enough. Some ministry’s have a once a year, once a quarter and small percentage have monthly training.
There are many models of small groups in a youth ministry context
Sunday school
break out application groups on Wednesdays
landing small group
recovery small group
Have you clearly identified you small groups purpose within the context of the overall youth ministry. We all have to land their first. If we do not know what a small group win is, how will leaders know what a win is?
If we do not know what success looks like, how can we train our small group leaders to succeed?
Traditional training looks like helping a leader navigate a 30/45 minute time slot. The next level of training requires us to look over the training topics over the past year and notice the topics we’ve been teaching on and what does this narrative say about what is on our hearts?
Note From Paul: This is great advice! Stop what you’re doing and make that list. What does this list reveal? Does what you’ve been teaching lead you to win you desire? Does your training match the values you want your small group leaders to have?
Typical training focuses on how to teach your lesson, how to prepare for your lesson, etc and this is not bad, it’s necessary, but you cannot expect that teaching on teaching tactics makes small group leaders more effective at creating more caring relationships. Teach on tactics, get tactics. Teach on caring, get caring.
How to teach a lesson is only part of caring. If you say defense wins championship but are always teaching offense, there is a disconnect between what you believe and what you are teaching.
When we say, “We want you to care about students”, I’m not sure we are clear about that and I’m not sure many youth pastors know what they are wanting when they ask this of their small group leaders.
Paul: I am picking up what you are laying down, Chad. While you were talking, I write word Becoming down. How are we, as youth pastors, becoming more caring towards our leaders? Are we spending time with them and are involved in their lives? Are we modeling to our small group leaders what a caring small group leader looks like.
Paul: What are some new ideas you’ve been thinking through when it comes to training small group leaders to become more caring.
Chad: A lot of the small groups I am talking about, the focus is seems to be disciples who make disciples, but as I look over my own life, I can’t point to single lesson where I can say, “I learned this from Rodney.” Real discipleship is through authentic relationships and this is what I remember about my grandfather, who just tight me through just siting on the couch with me and listened to me.
I think we think of caring in the context of hardship. If a kid goes through something we are there to care. Equally important are the moments where our kids are succeeding. Are we there when a kids comes off the stage from their first performance. Are we there when that kids is coming off the field with sweaty shoulder pads from their first game ? This makes all the difference and impacts the dynamics of the small groups our leaders lead.
The leader who spends time with students, outside the 30 minute meeting, gives the small group leader the permission to push hard with the questions they ask. Instead of asking a question and getting crickets, you can press a little more because you’ve spent the time in a kids world beyond the small group meeting.
Note from Paul: Look at your calendar? What is the next event one of your young people has? If there are no events on their, call your kids and ask there for their football schedule, the date of their play, their next band competition or science fair.
Chad: This is why having a great adult team is so important. If you, as a youth worker, are attempting to get into the world of all your kids, you are going to fail miserably. There will never be enough time.
Quick Tip from Chad: When I talk to youth workers, I encourage them to ask the churches they are applying to ask them what their expectations are. If that applicant does not think they can meet those expectation they should not take that job.
Quick Tip from Chad: Ask a kid for their football schedule and ask that kid, “Which is the most important game to you?” That’s the game you want to be at.
Quick Tip From Paul: When I would meet with my team, I would not go through a list of tasks to see if they were being done or not or busy work that needed to be done, I would say, “Tell me a story about you and student you’ve recently been trying to minister to.” If they tell me a story, that tells me they are getting it and are making time to get into a students world.
At this point, Chad tells three great stories of small group leaders who demonstrated care and have made an impact.
Note From Paul: Where can you ask a kid to be a part of your normal, every day life?
Note from Paul: If the story that Chad tells next does not have you rolling on the floor, you haven’t been doing youth ministry long enough.
What are some final tips for those who may be thinking about starting a small group ministry or have one and are thinking about revamping it?
First, make sure you know what your primary goal is for your small group.
Second, always build your small group leaders bigger than what you need it to be to accommodate growth, and to facilitate changes you need to make. Always build so you won’t get into a scrambling mode.
Note from Paul: In sports terms, I call this developing a strong bench. We are always in recruitment mode.
If you want to grow, how many kids can you effectively disciple? How many more leaders will you need to make sure all kids are being effecitvely discipled?
If you say, currently, we can effectively minister to 30 kids. My question would be, “What happens when the 31st kid walks in?”
Third, language is important. What are you telling your small group leaders you expect form them? If you are telling them that all you are asking is that they teach a class for 30 minutes on Sunday, that is all you will get.
If you cast vision of caring for the kids not only in this church, but in your community, those are the leaders you will attract.
Quick Tip From Chad: Cast vision to the leaders you want, personally and not leave it up to a bulletin announcement. Those are two different kinds of people. Invite people into what you want them to be and not just what you need.
I want to thank Chad for joining me on the show you can catch up with him at
We’ve all been there. Our dreams give way to the 9-5 and we get stuck on repeat for weeks, months and even years. Then, one day we begin to dream again and ask “what if?”
These four questions are meant to break the life traffic jam we seem to be stuck in and help us clarify what we really want out of life. There are many versions of these questions, but these will be a good start to get your head in another space for a while.
If money weren’t an issue what would I do with my time?
What really bothers me or breaks my heart?
What make me pound the table in frustration or passion?
I hate this question, because I have to choose between the truth or a lie or a half truth, which is also a lie. Since leaving my full time youth pastor gig to travel and speak more, I had a great summer run. I did some coaching, speaking at camp, and speaking at youth groups. I enjoyed all of it.
If you asked me at the begginging of this summer, “How it going?” I’d tell you all about what I was doing with pride. Today, two months into my new journey, if you asked me, “How are you doing?” I’d be less excited because there’s less work which means less money, but I’m trying to change that.
What adversity is revealing in me is not pretty. Entitlement is as much a killer as bitterness and un-forgiveness because it beats on your soul like a boxer’s body shots. Everyday I think, “How come I’m not working more?”, “What’s wrong with me?”, “How come I can’t pull this together?”.
When you’re young, you have the advantages of youth; time, resilience, and optimism. Sadly, as we get older, we lose all of this. Time is short, we’ve been through a few things, and we become jaded by our experiences. I want to change that and I will.
I love the work I do. I love helping youth workers solve problems. I love speaking, I love writing a blog post that could encourage and change someone’s perspective. I love being honest (sometimes too honest) because honesty requires humility. Humility has to cast aside entitlement to bring any advantage to the table.
This is how you answer the question, “How’s it going” when it’s not going great. You answer humbly, You answer with “I’m working hard”, “I’m trying new things” “I’m exploring new options” “I’m not getting everything I want, but I am loving the process.” and “How can I serve you?”
This process of being an independent is teaching me that it’s ok to answer the questions I receive honestly, and humbly. If I do not, I’m fooling myself. I’m trying to love every no I get now because I know the yes that is coming will be greater than all the no’s put together. Do I deserve a yes? No. I earn the yes.
To some, being a follower of Jesus has some entitlement baked into it. We think we deserve certain things or should leverage our relationship with God to get what we want or quote scriptures to remind God of what He owes me. That’s not a disciple of Jesus, that’s someone who tags along and hopes to get fed, like the 5,000.
I can deal with others asking me “How’s it’s going?” because I can fool them. When Jesus asks the question, there is no hiding, He already knows. For me, it takes greater humility to be honest with God than others because, in my mind, “failing” Him, is a far greater loss. I don’t care what others think of me as much as what God thinks of me. God has done for me more than anyone else could or will, and my gratitude expresses itself in becoming the best model I can be of His Kingdom so others may know Him.
The thing is, God doesn’t care if I become a great speaker, coach, or writer. He just wants me to be his son. When he asks, “How’s it going?” there is no undertone of disappointment or patronizing. He asks because He really cares.
Answering the hard questions about how our journey is going, honestly, is difficult, but I’m doing my best to answer it honestly, with humility, from all of those who ask me.
I want to be transparent about what the process looks like when you chase your dreams or follow your heart and maybe leave some breadcrumbs along the way so others can find their way through.
There’s all kind of ways to spend your next 30 minutes
take a nap
listen to a podcast
watch 4 or 5 Youtube videos
Watch a Disenchantment episode on Netflix (don’t judge me)
But none of those things are going solve a problem you have or stir up the creative juices you need to help your career or ministry move forward.
You may not be aware, but I’m a youth ministry coach. Many youth workers think this type of service is a waste and I could’t agree more, if it was any other coach. Coaching seems like a long investment to get to a solution we need right now. That’s why I developed 30 in 30 coaching. We waste no time and get to what you want to talk about and by the end, you’ll walk away empowered at the end of our time.
Books can coach us, podcasts can coach us, the internet can coach us, but there is something about another human being caring about the work you’re doing that makes a difference. I have 30 years experience in youth/church ministryand I care about practical things being done in supernatural ways.
So, if you enjoy duck taping your ministry together with random pieces of knowledge, have at it. If you want to spend time in FB Groups crowdsourcing your strategy, go right ahead. But, if you want someone to care about you, your mission and the future of your youth ministry, take a look at the 30 ways I can help you in 30 minutes.
I can help you
plan the the next quarter of your youth ministry
with that big idea
brainstorm ideas for that lock in
develop a discipleship strategy
cope with ministry issues
use your gifts and talents more effectively
show you how to recruit more staff
put together a youth leader handbook
up your game in social media
develop a small group strategy
just listen
pray through an important decision
give an effective altar call
crush your next message/sermon/talk
deal with difficult or weird kids
get your pastor to listen to that crazy idea you have
develop your leadership style
navigate tough topics in your ministry
dream
breath
disciple new believers
create a killer camp or retreat
update your resume
prepare for your next interview
teach you how to slow down
how to enjoy Sabbath
train up student leaders
invest your time for maximum effectiveness
conceptualize an outreach strategy
write your own lessons
There you go. Now, choose one, head over here to get started, I’ll contact you about what time is best for you and we’ll jump right into what you want to accomplish.
Some people run from adversity and others run into it. – Gary Vaynerchuk
Adversity: from Old French adversite, from Latin adversitas, from advertere ‘turn toward.’
Most fo the time, I look at adversity at adversity as that thing that won’t let me have what I want. It stands in my way. It opposes me. But adversity has a plan.
Before I share what that plan is, we must remember that adversity is not respecter of persons. If you are alive, adversity has targeted you.
Being young (under 18) has it’s adversity. You can’t go where you want. You have to answer to authorities. You have a curfew. When we’re young we think this is real adversity. Reality collides with out natural “need to be free” instinct.
Getting older has it’s adversity. Whether it’s the 9-5 job, the terrible boss the real relationship, the marriage, the finances, health issues, etc. Adversity has no limit.
Senator John McCain just passed away. The Senator from Arizona fought in the Vietnam War and was shot down, captured and tortured for six years. Still think what you have is adversity? Most of us will never know this kind of adversity and, before we complain about our daily annoyances, we should remember what other’s are going through and find some perspective on our “adversity”
There is the daily life adversity and then there’s real adversity such as having a handicap, living with mental illness, suffering though a debilitating disease. And yes, these kinds of adversity have a plan as well.
It’s not whether if adversity comes but when, and what are we willing to do about it. What will our mindset be when adversity comes to our doorstep? Let me offer some approaches to adversity that will turn the tables on your troubles.
We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity – Barbara De Angelis
I love the phrase “challenging adversity”. We should meet our adversity head on rather than try to avoid it. We should run into it rather than away from it.
We don’t have to let adversity, of any kind, steamroll us. We don’t have to hang our head and just “take it”. We can fight. We can do battle. We can tell adversity, “Not today and not on my watch?”
Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity – Og Mandigo
One of the ways to challenge our adversity is to look for the upside. Adversity weighs on us physically but weighs on us mentally all the more. The mental toll of adversity can take us out of the game much earlier than we’d like. We have to face the mental onslaught of quitting, berating ourselves or worse.
Committing to finding the seed of triumph in our adversity is proactive. This mindset challenges the notion that adversity is a bad thing. We not only need to look for the triumph in adversity, but the seed of truth in it as well.
The seed of truth is what adversity is revealing about us. The quickest way to see if something will hold air, water, etc, is to pressurize it. If the container blows or springs a leak you know the container wasn’t made strong enough.
Adversity offers us a chance to see how we perform under pressure; it shows us our weaknesses, which is not fun but it is profitable.
All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. – Walt Disney
If Joseph, from the biblical story of the technicolor dream coat, had seen the adversity that would come (beaten, thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, accused of rape, thrown in jail, etc.) I wonder if he would have run away from it or run into it. Maybe we should be glad that we don’t know the adversities that will come our way.
In the end, Joseph said to those who sought him harm, “What you meant for evil, God turned it for good”. Adversity will come, but it’s outcome can redeemed.
The human soul needs adversity if it’s to grow.
Job, a man who experienced adversity at a whole other level said,
“You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2:10
Mindset: Adversity comes from all kinds of places a fallen world, the devil (ur adversary) and yes, with God’s permission.
Here’s a last bit of advice, when adversity comes, don’t go through it alone.
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Proverbs 17:17
Nothing noteworthy has ever been accomplished without faith mixed with adversity. Run into the adversity, not away from it.
Oh and that plan that adversity has,
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
The plan, if we let it, is to make us mature, complete, not lacking anything.
Yes and No. Numbers are always part of the equation if numeric growth is part of the vision. Youth Ministry is about relationships, the depth and feh quality of those relationships do not have to be hurt by paying attention to (not focusing on) the numbers.
In carnally minded leadership, it’s about money and image (pride) not numbers. More kids, at least in the leadership’s mindset, should mean more families which = more tithes which = success and bragging rights . Lack of numbers = lack of money and it makes some people worry. So, youth pastor, do your job, only better.
In healthy, spiritually minded leadership, numbers are treated as an indicator not a goal. They ask, “What can we do together to reach more/keep more?”
That’s a simple description of two ways to look at numbers. The hard work begins when we stretching our souls to come up with some real solutions to the issue of numbers or lack thereof. Here are 13 strategies to combat the numbers albatross around your neck.
Ask what success means
Someone has to decide. Your Pastor, your board, the committee owes you a clear, concise meaning of this word so you can either shoot for it or decide the expectations are too unreasonable.
You must also determine your personal success. What does it mean to succeed in ministry and make your work ethic match your definition.
Do everything you know how to do. Research. Coaching. Reading. Etc.
No matte who your leader is, no matter how compassionate and laid back they are, shrugging shoulder is not an acceptable answer to, “What are you doing to grow yourself?
You’ve heard it before, Leaders are Reader or Leaders are Learners, etc. the question is, how much are you investing in yourself? Are you reading the books that will help you understand your issue? Are you listening to podcasts? Are getting some coaching?
How do you spend your time? Playing Fortnite for six hours or working on yourself, praying, and strategizing to get ahead of the game and make yourself and the ministry better?
Examine Your Current Strategy
What are you currently doing? How can you tweak it? What is working and what is not? These are important questions and if we’re not asking them, we will only get more of the same if we double down on things that do not work.
What have been key outreaches you’ve done and what made them successful? How long ago? Culture changes and what worked last year may not work this year.
Define Expectations With Your Leadership
There are written and there are unwritten expectations with every job. leader only expects you to stick to he job description. The job description is the starting point. Expectations change, they just forget to tell you.
At your next review, ask, “Has any of your expectations changed since I was hired? How can I best fulfill those?” or “I think those expectations are unfair in our current ministry climate.”
Define and re-examine your expectations.
What Does Your Discipleship Look Like: Education vs Action
If you are only educating your kids on how to be a a disciple, this may be part of the issue. It is in the practice of he gospel where disciples are made. How much education and how much practice are you giving them?
Clearly, education does not always translate into action, but action is always followed by an education. Kids, and all other people, learn by doing. If you are teaching them how to share Christ but not giving them an opportunity to share Christ, don’t expect to much progress or growth. Where can you take the education and turn it into action. Action should be the default switch.
Its not Either/Or Its Both: Attendance and Engagement
I read a quote that said, “what matters is engagement, not attendance”. Well, and if I can channel how a former pastor of mine and how he would respond, “it may be so, but engagement does not pay the bills, not does it?”
Actually it could. We should take every opportunity students will give us to engage with them outside the youth ministry. I used to have breakfast with two freshman guys every Tuesday before school. I recently did one of their wedding and about to do the other. Neither one of these guys were big guest bringing, but they did have influence and they knew my heart for the lost.
Engagement is only one element that drives attendance; the rest is about prayer, preaching the gospel and discipleship. The outreach you put on is an opportunity to engage with lost kids but it is not a silver bullet for increasing attendance.
You can catch some of my other thoughts in the video
Paid to do versus biblically mandated
Lines can get blurred when working in a church. The line between what we are paid to do and what we ought to do. You would think they would line up but its amazing how they often conflict.
The job description doe snot say was kind of kids you should reach, so you reach all kinds only to find out your church does not want to reach those kinds of kids. When it comes to your job description and the Bible, the Bible wins.
What is your job description? No matter what says, it never reaches the veracity of what Jesus asks us to. Do your job, then do what your called to do.
What are you measuring?
“If it’s worth doing it’s worth measuring” they say. Part of the problem of gaining more kids, is that the kids we have, are not born again. They do not see the value in inviting others to youth let alone reaching other people for Christ.
Measure how many kids know the Lord.
Measure how many disciples you have.
Measure the passion level.
Measure the opportunities (reach) they have (how many homeschool, public, private, etc)
If you’re only measuring attendance, put away your measuring tape.
Don’t Use The Quality vs Quantity Argument
This is a dead end. You may have gotten into youth ministry for the quality of relationships you can foster with teens, but many of your bosses aren’t measuring that. If I was your pastor and you told me, “its not about the numbers” I would say ok, Well, the church doesn’t have enough numbers to pay your salary.” Numbers do matter.
Quality and excellence draw people. The quality of the program should play a part in whether the numbers are there. As a parent, I want to know the youth worker has a plan and that he/she is going to do everything they can to the best of their ability. Take a look around and inward and eliminate all the sloppy parts.
Don’t Let The Pressure Get To You
I’ve lost sleep over numbers. I’ve had panic attacks over numbers. I’ve gotten sick over numbers. That’s what pressure can do. If you’re anxious or stressed out, remember, you can only do so much.
There are other factors and forces, mostly spiritual, at work as to why your youth ministry will not grow, but hat’s not to excuse to give less effort.
Change Your Language
Numbers may come up in a conversation about your youth ministry, but that does not mean that’s all you have to talk about. In addition to numbers, talk about kids who are growing, kids who are having a breakthrough, kids who have responded to the message or later time, and kids who are going though a rough time and could use some extra prayers.
Yes, get around to the numbers, but share those numbers within a framework of progress. Move the conversation from numbers to people and stories.
Be Honest About Why You’re Not Growing
Nothing can start without honesty. Be honest about every aspect of the program including your leadership style, management style, and preaching/communication style. If we, as leaders, cannot be honest, how can we hope that others will be honest as well.
Be honest about challenges that exist. Nothing is worse than creating a separate reality and then trying to operate in that realty as if those challenges did not exist, it’s counter-productive.
Be honest about any feelings you may be having like doubt, disappointment, hurt, frustration, etc. Just because you’re a Christian and pastor does not mean you are not human It’s ok to feel, it’s not ok to wallow in them. Identify all the negative feelings, call them out, and then affirm that God is for you and loves you.
Be honest about the changes you must make. This may be the toughest part of this process. Once you’ve had your “come to Jesus” moment begin planning how you will make change, first, in your self, next with the program.
Ask for feedback
Once you’ve evaluated your ministry, share your findings with your supervisor/pastor but also include your suggestions how you might overcome some of challenges you’ve discovered.
Begin to list the reasons there may be some pushback and answer those questions before you have a meeting.
There may also be some criticism, but take it all in and then separate what is true from what is not.
I hope these thirteen principles have, in fact, stretched your soul. I hope God works in you and through you to do all He desires. Every kid you serve is a person, not a number, but they should counted. Follow these principles and you may find yourself counting more stories, more changed lives, and yes, even more numbers.
In this podcast episode of the Wednesday @ 1 livestream, I did some spaghetti throwing at the wall about College and Career Ministry, in response to a viewers question. I share some of my ideas and what I’ve done in the past, as well some ideas offered by others. Notes for the livestream are below.
Here’s Beth’s question
I have a couple of concerns that I am trying to figure out how to tackle.
Firstly, I am going back to school in two weeks full time, and I would love advice on how to balance school and youth ministry.
Speaking of college, many of our college students are still participating in youth group. We are a small group and have never really had a college presence, but most of our high school graduates are going to local colleges and still coming to church. I don’t know how to smoothly transition our college students into a new ministry. I’ve had someone express that they would want to volunteer but nothing has really come together yet. With me coming into position quite suddenly, this is something I wasn’t expecting
Traditional Models
1) make them leaders 2) let them stay 3) send them to Wednesday service with the adults.
Myrna Cheng Meola offered these great insights,
If church resources allowed:
1) Have College aged Worship where they learn to plan with church leaders & execute/coordinate as worship leaders ( Presider, Singspiration Leader, Praise Team, Call to Worship/Responsive Bible Reader, Ushers, Tech Crew, Media Team, etc. -all of these would require some apprenticeship styled pre-training & rehearsals either via adult worship service leaders and or scheduled extra time invested sessions.) Rotate guest pastors in for sermons, if no College/Career Single Minister available.
2) Have Youth aged Worship also, where they learn to plan with church/trained college worship leaders & execute/coordinate as worship leaders. Rotate guest pastors in for sermons, if no Youth Minister available. Apprenticeship styled pre-training and rehearsals are better and should be preferred.
*Note: if musical talents are limited, use CD/MP3 music vis Media Team. Also, make sure to get copyrights for all Powerpoints and Music used -would be a great learning opportunity to show/share responsibilities with them (if/when appropriate) on how to get these worship material legally requested, pay-for, & authorized to public broadcasting use.
My thoughts
Start panning, with your sophomores and juniors in mind what college ministry will look like when they get there. Are you preparing them to lead? Are you casting vision for their future role in that ministry?
Yes, if these students qualify to be leaders, you should wrangle them to help you with events, planning the program, etc.
If you try to separate your group, make sure everyone is in on what the topics will be etc. I have failed at this at ties because there are things I wanted them to know, like how to handle money, but going from preaching every week to challenging them to save money and make a budget was just too far a stretch. They weren’t ready to adult yet.
The most successful thing I did was have the college students over to my house every other Friday night for food, board/card games and a short lesson.
I also would do series, like the Alpha video series. These are short videos with questions based on the basics of the Christian faith. I used this two-fold, I want to solidify what they already believed and how they would communicate this to those who did not know Christ.
I did my best to connect college students with the adults in our church for the purpose of ministry whether that’s working in the sound booth, taking offering, serving communion, passion out bulletins, etc. I worked with ministry leaders to help me find service opportunities for these students to fill.
Every quarter, why not let the college and career plan the youth meeting from open to close, announcements, games, message, etc. This gives them a change to plan and execute what God has put on their heart and what they think the next generation needs to hear.
College students are mission and purpose focused. They want to know what they’re good at and where they fit in the world, the church, they community etc. We have the opportunity to all these kids to try on different hats, success and fail, and a maybe get a glimpse of where God may be directing them, but it’s not going to happen in a meeting, it’s going to happen in the doing.
if you’re interested in more of my thoughts on discipleship, you can check our my book The D-Project: Stop the Meeting, Start The Movement and Raise Up A New Generation of Doers by clicking HERE
You can also watch me break it down in this live video.
