Aim of the Jungschar

Goal

• Win children for Jesus (evangelism) and help them grow in faith (discipleship)
• Reach children where they ARE, where their needs and life issues are!
• Enable and encourage children to be missionaries themselves
• Encourage children holistically to become resilient and responsible members of the community and society
• Help children discover meaning and joy in life

What do I expect from a good leader?

Brainstorming: qualities of a leader:

• Authority
• Caring
• Model
• Ability to organize
• Responsibility
• Leading the way
• Fairness
• and much more! = High standards
  

  = Great demands on me as a person: my commitment, character, gifts, skills, knowledge ... decide what happens in my work and how.
  The personality of the leader is more decisive for the Jungschar work than the program!

  But BEWARE, no pressure to perform! Remember your identity in Christ:
  It is not what you perform that determines who you are - it is who you are that determines what you do. So too with leadership.

General principles

Leadership under God's guidance and on God's behalf

"Leadership" is not only an issue in the church or in the youth group - everywhere in the world, in management and business, in educational professions.... capable leaders are in demand and being trained.
And it's interesting how many of their leadership principles are already in the Bible!!

When we Christians speak of leadership, however, one thing fundamentally distinguishes us from them: we count on GOD.

The special thing about "spiritual leadership" is the knowledge of this fact:

Beyond all human authority is still the authority of God.

The Bible testifies to God as the Creator of the entire universe, made visible by the fact that He directs the history of the world and guides the lives of individuals. To him, as the ultimate power, every human being and every authority is responsible and accountable in all that they do.

Whoever is a "Christian" in the biblical sense, however, does not feel this "power" over him as a threat, but as an assurance of security and safety. He knows that his life is not aimlessly at the mercy of a blind fate: it is under God's protection and direction.
He can trust, in all the hardship and suffering of this world, that no human being, no matter how powerful, will ever have the last word: Nothing gets out of God's hand or sight.

And that is why, as a Christian, I can never see my leadership responsibilities in youth ministry as independent of God. God has entrusted me with this responsibility for the children and I must see my leadership position as a service to God and to them.
My main task as a Jungschar leader is to live and lead in dependence on God and to always check my ministry for the necessary foundations for this (see below)!

Leadership as a "learnable technique"

The ability to lead is not innate in any human being - even if type, temperament and talent play a role. It is not "all of a sudden there", but is something that emerges, grows and needs to be constantly reviewed and developed.
For good leadership there are certain techniques that can be learned. It therefore has to do above all with knowledge, skills and attitude.

• Knowledge can be acquired through information and learning (e.g. courses, books,...).
• To acquire skills practice is necessary - for many areas of leadership mere knowledge is not enough (e.g. rhetoric, motivational skills, overview ...).
• Attitude is a matter of inner attitude and conviction - changing this is harder than expanding knowledge and practicing skills!

Our attitude towards children determines what they become:

Do I see kids as "problem cases" or as "hopefuls"

?

In my opinion, attitude is the most important of the three areas. Because an attitude of love and compassion makes up for many a mistake and "faux pas."

"Structure"

The classic "pyramid structure" (leader at the top, below him, in hierarchical levels, the staff) is now long outdated. It clarifies direct responsibilities, but not what exactly is going on between the various people...
The organization would be better represented as a circle, from the center of which the leader is able to oversee contexts, to act in all directions, and to advance the most diverse concerns.

The prerequisite for this is a good relationship of trust with his directly assigned managers!

Important Characteristics

Hope and Vision

"It was the 'seers' who had the strongest and most lasting influence on their respective generations
. Men who saw more and further than others: Men of faith, for to believe is to have a wide vision." (O. Sanders)

He who would lead must not stop at his present horizon. He must see more and farther than others.

This applies to:

• Our procedures, methods and arrangements:
  Always check beforehand what effects they will have!
• Our view of the children we are dealing with:
  Develop an eye for the possibilities that lie within these people.
  "Foresight includes optimism and hope" - important prerequisites for positively influencing others.
  This includes:

Decisiveness:
At the "seeing" alone it must not remain, it must also be done something.
See collect examine decide act.
No leader can afford to delay due decisions out of convenience or excessive caution.

• "Usually an honest but wrong decision is better than none at all" (O. Sanders).
• Courage: "Courage is found in those who are fearful but refuse to surrender" (O. Sanders).
  
  

Discipline

This is a quality that can be learned. It is a prerequisite for developing or fully utilizing other leadership qualities.
We need discipline towards ourselves (self-control and self-overcoming, working on my personality...) as well as towards outside authorities (God, main leader, co-workers,...).
This means

• that I, as a leader, should not shy away from uncomfortable situations. I may shy away from it, but I should work on overcoming myself and jumping my own shadow.
• that I must never ask anything of the children I lead that I would not be willing to do myself!
  
  This is how John Dawson puts his "simplest definition" of leadership:
  "Someone who goes first."

Can fail

If I, as the leader, am to go first, it does not mean that I have to do everything myself or can do it better!
My job is to see the skills in others, mobilize them, and keep track of everyone's activities.

BUT, above all, no leader should be expected to be perfect (neither by himself, nor by others). To err and fail is human, therefore disappointments are bound to happen if I want or need to maintain the image of invincibility!

"We cannot wait until we are complete to lead people."

(J. Dawson)

Humility

Humility is a biblical principle that is among the most fundamental of faith in Jesus. It was most impressively taught and lived by Himself.1
Jesus did not live primarily for self-promotion or profit. But rather for obeying God and serving people. He spoke out against the typical human, tyrannical style of leadership and put the emphasis in the extreme opposite:

"Kings rule over nations like tyrants, and those in power oppress whom they can. But just so it must not be with you. Whoever wants to be great should serve others, and whoever wants to be first should submit to everyone.
Even the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come to be served. He came to serve Himself, and to pay with His life for the deliverance of many people from the power of the evil one." (Mt.20:25-28)

Humility, however, is not to be confused with self-loathing, self-mortification, or the pathological addiction to please everyone. Against this, Jesus' sovereignty and authority, with which he confronted the very religious leadership of Israel at that time, speak clearly.2
The sovereignty with which he allowed himself to be mocked and wronged was never a sign of weakness or insecurity, but of his inner greatness: he was so sure of himself and his authority that no outside attack could harm him.

This made him one of the greatest role models for leaders:
He who is sure of his authority and greatness has no need for demonstrations of power, self-congratulation and self-justification. He can even afford to put the needs of others above his own desires.

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Source reference:

Content: ABÖJ, EK 2001 / IS

Title image: Clipart courtesy of Verlag buch+musik ejw-service gmbh, Stuttgart - www.ejw-buch.de