Giving youth pastors the tools they need to make and shape disciples.

Defining The Wins In Youth Work

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For very one victory you hear me share about our youth ministry on Instagram, or any other social media platform, there were 10 hours of work,  prayer , relationship building, humbling, planning, designing and more. Ten hours, by the way,  is not a magic number, its just my number and I am trying to shorten it all the time. 

If I were to vlog about those 10 hours every day, you would see a lot of boring video of me reading, thinking, praying, texting, writing, making phone calls, meals with students, and lots of alone time.

You may get more wins in a shorter time because your process is different than mine and because social media is letting that happen for you. Right now, it may take you longer to get to the win and that’s ok.

Your job is to first define the win. What does winning in your youth ministry look like?

Next, calculate the current time it takes you to reach that win.

Finally, figure our ways to shorten the window of time to reach those wins

Our youth group is smaller now than it used to be. I struggle with that. God has been weening me off the hype to be a little more homey but the ratio is the same. I search for the win, because no matter how small the win is, the win matters to God.

Jesus pointed out the woman who gave all she had in a few small coins, he pointed out the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, and he pointed out small children. All wins in the big scheme of things.

If you  are struggling to find the win today, put in those 10 hours and then look for the small wins, they will come. It may be

  • a new guest attended your program
  • a new message or bible study you crushed
  • a kid who uses their talent for the first time
  • a kid who prays out loud for the first time
  • an outreach that reaches more kids than you thought

These wins don’t happen by accident. It requires work and prayer. Neither by itself will accomplish very much.

Several of the big wins we want will take time,

  • a kid who receives Christ
  • a kids who is called to ministry ministry
  • a kid who is delivered from pornography
  • A kid who works through their depression
  • A kid who receives a call to ministry

These will take hundreds of hours and possibly a few years. To see these kinds of big wins, you’ll need persistence and patience in God, yourself, and others. Do you have that kind of time?

Your Turn

What are the small wins you see today?

How long are you willing to hang in there to see the big wins?

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