Youth work with vision

Youth Ministry with Vision

Table of Contents

Element 1: The Power of God

• A healthy youth ministry needs spiritually healthy staff

Element 2: The Mission

• The five missions for your youth ministry
• Why a clear mission statement is so important and how to write one
• How to communicate your mission and lead by example

Element 3: The Target Audience

• Identifying the spiritual developmental stage of young people

Element 4: The Events

• How to reach the neighborhood youth (evangelism)
• What keeps worship-attending youth (worship)
• Caring for the church youth (fellowship)
• The training of "active" youth
• The challenge of core youth (ministry)
• Five characteristics of intact youth events

Element 5: The Process

• Use a visible process to share your plan

Element 6: The Values

• Define and communicate key values

Element 7: The Parents

• Collaborate with parents for family-friendly youth ministry

Element 8: The Staff

• Find the staff your youth deserve
• How to help potential staff become leaders

Element 9: The long haul

• How to handle pressing projects and time constraints
• Positive discipline
• Initiating change

In the book, answers are given to the W questions:

• The assignments reveal why your work exists
• The target audience defines who you want to reach
• The events define how you want to achieve your goal and accomplish a mission
• The process makes clear where you want to take your youth in their spiritual growth
• The values state what is important in your ministry
• The power of God determines when growth will happen

The book builds on 9 elements to bring to bear in youth ministry:

Element 1: The Power of God

A healthy youth ministry needs spiritually healthy staff

A healthy youth ministry begins when we take seriously the almighty power of God for our lives. Today's youth ministry training often over-emphasizes how to do the work of God and neglects how to be a person of God.

A healthy youth ministry doesn't start with great ideas, but with a solid foundation of spiritual workers. That means having staff and leaders who wholeheartedly trust in the power of God.

Our concern must not be to please people, but to do God's will. We must refocus on Him and ask for His will. When we trust God, He gives us the power to do His work.

Three points to becoming a youth worker who trusts God:

• Know God's power through personal humility: God doesn't need an agenda to work, He doesn't even need me. God is the one who brings about change. When good things happen, we need to recognize that they happen by God's power, not by our performance.
  When we seek applause for our work, it's easy to lose sight of God's power. We need to give God the glory for His work. We may be able to put on a great program and guide youth along the way, but it is God who is at work.

• Submit your abilities to God and allow Him to work through you: In all that we do and have, we must submit to God. We may sometimes come to certain limits of our strength or knowledge. Yet it is comforting to know that the responsibility for the work of God is also with God. Therefore, He also gives us the necessary strength to do His work. We must let him work through us.
  
• Focus on being a child of God before doing God's work: Instead of trying to please everyone, we must learn that our lives must first and foremost please God. Doing God's work is not as important as being a disciple of God. God cares more about ourselves and our spiritual health than the track record of our youth ministry.
  The following phrase is incredibly important to our lives: "You can never do enough." Doing God's work must never become more important than being God's child. God's power in the lives of workers is the cornerstone of a youth ministry that works.

Youth ministry is hard! It is full of temptations and problems, and God's power is all we have to combat those problems. When we rely on His strength, we give Him room to act. Our fruit only grows when we stay on the "vine."

Element 2: The Mission

The Five Missions for Your Youth Ministry

The most important question in youth ministry is, "Why does your youth ministry exist?" This question must first be answered in order for us to do the right thing. Every church is driven by a conviction, whether consciously or not.

An intact youth ministry must be built on the five Original Christian mandates. These five mandates can be gleaned from the Greatest Commandment passage (Matt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20)

The five commands are:
Worship:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart."
Service:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
Evangelism:
"Go to all nations and make disciples of all men."
Community:
"Baptize them."
Discipleship:
"And teach them to obey everything I have commanded you."
If the five commissions become the reason for what you do, then
your work will bear fruit.

We can have different opinions about how to implement these five commissions, but we must always remain clear about what God has called us to do.

A look at the five commissions in youth ministry

• Evangelism:
  We need to share the good news of Jesus with people who do not have a personal relationship with Him. To carry out this mandate at the program level is difficult. Evangelism must become personal and a lifestyle. For this to happen, it is very important that the leader leads by example. Growth should not depend primarily on missionary programs, but rather on missionary youth.
• Worship:
  The church exists to worship God. Worship includes not only praising God with songs, but also other elements such as prayer, the sermon, the collection, baptism, silence, and the Lord's Supper.
• Community:
  When a person comes into a personal relationship with Jesus, they are welcomed into the community of believers.
• Discipleship:
  This is the process by which people grow more and more toward God in their thoughts, feelings, and actions; it is a lifelong process. Healthy spiritual growth can only occur under very committed spiritual leaders. You have to keep sowing and watering faith.
• Serving:
  Serving is showing God's love to others by meeting their needs and supporting them in their lives in Jesus' name. God has equipped every believer with special abilities for this outreach, and it's about discovering and using those abilities.

It is now ultimately a matter of striking a balance between these five commissions so that no one commission is over-emphasized at the expense of others, or is ignored altogether.

To summarize the five mandates for the church, we use five key terms at Saddleback: Mission, Membership, Maturity, Collaboration, and Worship. For youth ministry, we have chosen other terms: Reach, Connect, Grow, Discover, and Honor.

Why a clear mission statement is so important and how to write one

If staff don't know why they are doing youth work in the first place, they will quickly lose motivation. The five missions need to be communicated over and over again through a clear and understandable definition. This gives youth work a purpose and a clear direction. People then know why they should get involved.

With the five mandates, the question of "Why?" is answered and the question of "How?" emerges. The "How?" may change because it needs to be adapted to the situation, whereas the "Why?" remains unchanged.

When employees understand the goal and they approve of it, genuine enthusiasm can emerge among them as well. You will have more success if you explain your purpose to people and work with them to discover and articulate the five missions for the church. Get your team to read this book so that your shared vision will bring about a result.

Together as a team you can work out the definition of the commission. Although the five mandates come from God and are unchanging, the language used to express them can vary.

Pages 59-60 and 71-72 give examples of what the statement might be. However, it is important to formulate your own statement.

How do you define a definition?

• A definition should be simple: it should be stated in one sentence so that it is easy to remember.
• A definition should be meaningful.
• A definition should be action-oriented: Use words that convey movement (verbs).
• A definition should be compelling: it should trigger change.

After your team has submitted a few drafts, you'll need to work through them and synthesize them into a single sentence. Once the statement is formulated, it's important to show it to others and ask for their advice.

The best time to release your statement is when those around you are themselves in a mood of change: January, when the new year begins and everyone is expecting a change, or after the summer holidays.

The best time to post your statement is when those around you are in a mood for change themselves

Staff must support the mission one hundred percent or face change.

In order to implement the definition and build a purposeful youth ministry, it takes a really good leader who has a lot of dedication, perseverance, and leadership. Leaders have to make tough decisions and find the courage to do what is right. That's why they're not liked by everyone.

How to Communicate Your Mission and Lead by Example

In many ways, the implementation of the content of this book depends on your role as a leader. The demands on a leader are high in order to build purposeful youth ministry.

You must constantly communicate your vision and mission. People need to understand the five missions and get behind you for the youth ministry to gain strength. Continuously explaining will help your staff see and keep the goal in mind. It's wise to remind your people of God's mandates for youth ministry at least once a month so they don't lose sight of them.

On pp. 67-68 in the book are some examples of how to communicate the commission.

The best way to start is to memorize the five key words. Review the statement definition and change the words if necessary. You may even need to change the wording a bit to make it clearer.

Consider how much time you will commit to each of the five assignments; in the week, in the month. Make the five assignments priorities in your life and think about what you spend your time on.

If you live your assignments as a leader, you will pull people with you and not have to push them. They should and will follow your example. Leaders model important values and set a living example of what their assignments say.

Align the event with the five orders to pursue your goal. Each program should correspond to at least one order and appeal to a specific target audience.

Element 3: The target group

Identify the spiritual development stage of the youth

In addition to the mission, it is also important to be aware of the target group in which you want to implement the five missions. With target groups, one must look at the differences in spiritual development. Some still need basic knowledge and others need to start living out their nurtured faith.

You have to be careful not to try to cover all five orders with one program.

So there are two questions to ask before planning an event:

• What specific mission do we want this program to fulfill?
• Who do we want to reach with this program?

There are at least five different types of youth:

• the non-Christian youth
• the newly converted Christian
• the young person who knows a lot about faith but is rather apathetic to our work
• the young person who is growing in faith
• the spiritual leader

These different audiences exist and have different needs, whether we want to admit it or not. When we recognize this, we can be more effective in responding to young people.

In Saddlebackchurch, the target groups are clarified with a concept of five concentric circles, which they call the "devotional circles":

• Neighborhood: These are the young people who live in the village or district and do not yet know Jesus.
• Worshipers: These young people come to the youth service.
• Congregation: These youth come regularly, have made a decision for Jesus bypass into a small group.
• Active Members: These youth are serious about their faith and living it out practically.
• Core: These youth share their faith with others and participate in youth ministry.

These circles help identify the target audience and communicate the goal of youth ministry, which is to reach out to youth from the community and bring them closer to God. The point is not to judge and pin down youth by affiliation, but to identify where they are in their development so that we can best support their growth.

After you've identified your potential audience, ask yourself, "What are the interests of each group?" The clearer the picture you have of each group, the easier it will be for you to relate to them.

As each level requires a deeper commitment, you will find that the group gets smaller and smaller as the level of spiritual maturity increases.

This is a very normal element of the maturity process.

The key word with the potential audience is potential. The teens you have may fall into different developmental stages; that's fine. What's important is that you have teenagers, because that gives you the potential to bring them to the core. You don't have to start developing all five groups at once. Intact, purposeful youth ministry doesn't happen overnight; it takes time.

Now that you know the five missions and have identified your potential target audience, you can ask, "What event fulfills the five missions and reaches our potential target audience?"

The formula that answers this is:
Potential Audience + Order = Program

Example:
Neighborhood youth + mission of evangelism = New Year's Eve program

Pages 89-90 in the book show more examples.

Additionally, one must note:

• the orientation of the church
• the available time of the staff
• the number of adult helpers
• the resources available

Element 4: The Events

How to Reach Neighborhood Youth (Evangelism)

For a young person to come to faith, sometimes quite a lot has to happen. For example, a contact with a Christian, an invitation to a fellowship event with other Christians, further contact with Christians, a youth service, etc.

Not everyone comes to faith and not everyone comes to faith in the same way. As a youth ministry, our goal is to reach youth and lead them into spiritual growth. But that doesn't always work.

Evangelism is not a program, it is a process:
Youth ministries that truly reach church-detached youth see evangelism not just as a good idea, but as an essential part of their ministry. If evangelism is to be a priority, then it must not be reduced to just a program. Evangelism is not a program, it is a process, namely the development of a person.

Our goal is not to invent extraordinary events, because we cannot compete with the world. We can, however, provide content that changes lives (the Word of God) and solid relationships that we care about. The world can't compete with that with all its entertainment.

Evangelism at Saddleback Church involves three elements:

• The development of a basic evangelistic understanding
• The constant challenge to actively evangelize
• A worship service that young people love to bring their friends to

Evangelistic youth ministry expresses a conviction:
In Matt 9:12-13, Jesus says he came to call sinners, not the righteous. Our job is to invite the outsiders, not coddle the insiders. Many youth ministries are super at coddling their "insiders" and lousy at reaching the outsiders.

To fulfill the Great Commission, there must be a common basic evangelistic attitude among all involved. Everyone must understand that it is our responsibility to share the Good News with others wherever we go.

Evangelism is hard work. Non-believers are critical and do not accept our methods and message as easily as believers. Evangelism is also difficult for young people. They fear rejection. Evangelism is further difficult because of the enemy. Satan doesn't want people to find Jesus and he does everything he can to make sure that doesn't happen.

Evangelistic youth ministry needs workers who truly love young people and enjoy being with them. They need to have a heart for teenagers. It also takes staff who model an evangelistic lifestyle. If the key person in a church does not model an evangelistic lifestyle, then the volunteers and youth will not either.

Youth do not need to preach in public, but they should live evangelistically by developing a desire for their non-believing friends to find God, praying for them, and inviting them to appropriate events (evangelistic).

Friendship evangelism can look like the following steps:

• Tell your friend at an appropriate opportunity that you believe in God
• Invite your friend to an appropriate event
• Tell your friend why you believe in God
• Tell your friend how you became a Christian
• ask your friend if he or she would like to get closer to God

You can give these five steps to young people on a small card that they can carry with them. On the back of the little card, it can have five lines on which he or she writes names of five non-believing friends for whom he or she wants to pray.

What keeps worship-attending teens (worship)

Do you have a worship service or other event that your teens can easily bring their friends to? If so, then this worship service will appeal to both Christians and non-Christians. Such a service doesn't have to be awkward.

Worship is not just singing songs, but should be an expression of our love for God. This love is expressed through praying, singing, sharing the word, testimonies, giving thanks, and hearing the word of God.

The style of youth worship is intended to eliminate the prejudice that church is boring and out of touch with the times.

Four elements can help to create a worship service that is sensitive to visitors:

• A comfortable atmosphere
• The fun element
• The participation of the youth
• An understandable message

1. A pleasant atmosphere:
The mood in school or teaching is often negative, tense and characterized by performance. A church service should spread a distinctly positive atmosphere as a counterpoint to this. As long as young people do not feel comfortable in their environment, they are not receptive to God's Word.

A comfortable atmosphere exists through:

• Timely music
• Adult and teenage staff greeting people coming in
• Photos depicting fun scenes from youth ministry hang on the wall
• The seating is arranged to be inviting

Two generally applicable rules:

• The Ten-Minute Rule: The design of your group room should be finished at least ten minutes before the first teens arrive. This will give you time to greet the teens. The young people should enter a friendly room. There can be music playing in the background, photo collages on the walls, and so on. The greeters should be young people and not adults. They should try to start a conversation with the visitors.
• Make sure there is appropriate physical contact: touching can be awkward because mt knows how the other person will react. But any kind of appropriate touch, like a handshake, is okay. As a leader, you can go around the room before the service and try to personally greet as many young people as you can.

2. A worship service needs a fun element

Some young people think that church, and by extension God, is boring. Having a great time in a church is therefore the best way to destroy this prejudice. We need to create an atmosphere that is fun and enjoyable.

3. A worship service needs the participation of youth

Youth need to be involved in worship and in all youth ministry. When we design a program for youth, we always ask ourselves, "Is this something the youth could do?" So for example, a drama, a video, a flyer, music, etc.

One way for youth to get involved in our church is to join one of our many staff teams. We try to make these teams an easy entry point for getting involved. We don't use a template to see where he is spiritually before he is allowed to join. If he is not yet a Christian, we trust God to discover him as he helps along. For example, if band practice begins with a short devotional and prayer, he will learn more about God than if he simply attends a church service and then goes home. It's not supposed to be about perfect teenagers, it's supposed to be about every teenager having the opportunity to participate if that's what they want.

4. A worship service needs an understandable message

Because the worship service is attended by Christians and non-Christians, it is important to bring a spiritual impulse that challenges both. God's Word is true and therefore it is relevant to everyone. So we can talk about the needs of young people using the Bible as a resource.

Visitors watch and judge the preacher all the time and wonder:

1. Can I trust you?
2. Do I mean anything to you?
3. Do you know what you're talking about?

Give your message a creative title:

The question is, "Why should I listen to you?" A creative title can spark interest and get you instant attention.

I like to use "How to" titles because they automatically promise to be interesting because it says I can learn something for life.

Examples:

1. How to be attractive without being good looking (Gal 5 - Fruit of the Spirit)
2. How to find love when you feel like you suck
3. How to perform heart surgery on yourself (hard-heartedness)

Invest time to make your sermon titles creative, interesting, and engaging.

I always choose fixed themes. For example, I ask myself, "What does the Bible say about friendships?" I do the same with topics like temptation, family, sex, peer pressure, strong language, and so on.

Craft an introduction that sparks interest:
A good introduction is the most important thing to pick up the youth right at the beginning and win them over to your message.

Such an introduction can be a story, something experienced, something current from the news or a joke.

Simplify your message:
Speak in simple language, use stories, memorable images and comparisons. Don't try to impress or lecture young people with your knowledge. You must also be careful not to pack too much knowledge into one input. Most of what you say will be forgotten by the young people. Therefore, you should simplify your messages into one key message.

Use understandable Bible passages:
Use an understandable translation, because if young people don't understand the language of the translation, they will lose interest.

You can project the Bible text or verses you use in the front so the youth can read along.

Give the youth a brief written summary so they can follow along with you:
Give the youth a slip of paper with the main points of your sermon and a cloze to fill in so they can get into the message. They can also take this note home and will be more likely to remember the sermon again.

In the book, an example is printed on p. 121.

Provide practical helps:
At the end of the sermon, you should get practical hints about what to do now and how to do it. In order for the sermon to come to fruition, you need to show the young people action steps. Creating these steps is usually the hardest part of putting together a sermon.

Take time to prepare:
If you want to incorporate the ideas above, take time to prepare, because it will have a positive impact. Without good preparation, you will lack depth and clarity.

A program for worship-attending youth: The Saddleback Model:

1. Band starts: The band plays a song at the beginning so you can gather yourself inside.
2. Greeting with a fun introduction: The greeting is best done by a young person. The introduction can also be done with a fun game where everyone has to join in or only individuals come forward.
3. Introduction: If it fits, we show a short clip from a movie or a TV show and try to incorporate it into our topic later.
4. Theatre Play: The theatre group can perform a play that leads further into the theme. The preacher can refer to the anspiel.
5. Worship: Longer worship section now follows. Non-Christians probably don't sing along, but they watch the others very closely and listen for the words in the songs. For visitor-oriented youth services, the songs should be played by a good band so they don't sound awkward. Worship songs are not a must for a service that is still in its infancy.
6. Youth Experience Stories: Almost every time, one of the youth shares something from their life that they have experienced with God. It is encouraging to hear over and over again how God is working in the lives of the youth.

Caring for the church youth (fellowship)

While the worship service has the goal of attracting and engaging large numbers of youth, the small groups have the goal of nurturing the spiritual growth of the church youth.

If we want youth ministry to grow, we need to care about church youth. That also means helping them grow in their faith. Youth grow by having a trusting relationship with one of their youth workers.

Community is more than just being together and talking. Fellowship also includes sharing (1 John 1:7), the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:42), praying together, teaching, and deep relationship with other believers (Gal. 2:9). This is best done in a small group where a sense of belonging is created. In a large group, young people can hide well; they can't do that in a small group.

A youth leader cannot take care of all the youth. But when the youth are in a small group, the small group leaders can take care of the youth and guide them. This also makes the youth feel important.

While we can only share the gospel in worship services, we can also share life in small groups. Sharing life is one of the primary roles of small group leaders. In small group, people know each other, they know about each other's fears, strengths and weaknesses. In the small group, a familiar atmosphere is established where young people can speak their minds and not feel inhibited.

Small groups make personal application of faith possible. Young people hear a lot of sermons, but often can't apply the message until it is explored in depth and discussed once in the small groups. Small group is where it gets personal.

By revealing oneself in small group and sharing successes, difficulties, and questions with one another, everyone can take more responsibility for their lives. The next time in small group, people share about what experiences they've had.

Values in a Small Group:
It is important that the small group leader is aware of what the values are in their small group. This allows a group to grow and the same thing applies to everyone. Established values allow you to be aware of what you want and don't want in a small group.

Examples:

1. Authenticity: All leaders must sincerely and visibly live a life with Christ. They must be honest, and so will the participants.
2. Trustworthiness: Small groups must be trusted. What is shared in the small group must stay in that group.
3. Trustworthy in the Message: Participants must be allowed to ask anything that concerns them. No question is stupid or wrong.
4. Love for others: This means accepting each other as you are, respecting each other and letting each other finish, not talking negatively about others. No one should feel marginalized or inferiorly respected.

Make it easier for group leaders to do their job. They need to be able to invest their time in relationships, not preparation. So you need to prepare the small group material for them and give them questions to discuss in the group.

You should start with general questions so that the group can warm up and then move on to more specific questions. At the end, it should always be about practical application. Try to give your small group leaders more questions than they need, then they will have a choice.

Educate small group leaders in some basic skills, but don't bludgeon them with theories. Give them some basic ideas and let them learn through personal experience.

You can also give them some ground rules to keep in mind. You can take five minutes at each leader meeting for one rule.

Examples:

1. Don't be afraid of silence
2. Show that everyone's opinion is important
3. Don't think you have to have the right answer to everything
4. Keep the group on topic
5. Don't move too quickly to a new question. Ask, "Does anyone else have anything to say about this?" Prioritize dialogue, not answering questions
6. Don't try to dominate the conversation
7. ask God to give you His eyes and ears

If you are the contact person for the small group leaders, then you should spend the most time with them. Every minute you invest in the leaders becomes a multiplied minute with the youth. As small group leaders grow, they will care for their teens even better.

The education of the "active" youth

Young people get to know a lot about the Bible, Christian dogmas and theology when they grow up in a church. But they also need to learn how to really live out their faith and grow spiritually. Otherwise, information about the Christian faith remains only on the surface. Some may go to many church events, but they do not deepen their relationship with Jesus.

The task of helping Christians grow spiritually is a difficult one. In addition to a variety of methods, there are the unique growth patterns of teenagers to consider. Young people respond to spiritual input very differently, which means you can't design a one-size-fits-all discipleship program that will resonate with everyone the same way.

The basic rule or definition of discipleship is, "Helping teens become more like Jesus."

Until growth is evident, it may take six months for one and six years for another. That's why our approach must always be personal and include a relationship with them.

With Jesus we see the following: He trained his disciples (teaching) and lived with them (relationship). But in addition to teaching and relationship, he did something else, he systematically prepared his disciples for his absence. If we rely only on teaching and relationship, then we are raising young people to be dependent, rather than equipping them with the necessary skills for spiritual independence and self-reliance. Young people need to practice spiritual habits in order to not be dependent on the leader.

So discipleship happens through the following relationship:

1/3 teaching and training
1/3 independent spiritual habits
1/3 relationship

Developing Spiritual Habits:
If young people are to remain in the faith throughout their lives, then they must develop consistent habits for spiritual growth. Thus, spiritual habits will sustain the faith of the youth even in hard times.

Practicing habits happens best in the small groups where the youth feel comfortable and the group leaders can better encourage the youth and give them tools for their development.

Now you also have to define the habits you want to practice. At Saddleback Church, they have defined the following six habits:

1. Spend regular time with God praying and reading the Bible
2. Having and maintaining responsible relationships with other Christians
3. Affiliate with the "body of Christ," that is, the church, as a whole
4. Understand the principles of giving and tithing
5. Memorize key passages of the Bible
6. Reading the Bible on your own initiative

The question for us is, "What habits are important for lifelong spiritual growth?" Each youth ministry must answer this question for themselves and define the habits they want to instill in their youth ministry.

Now the question continues, "What tools can help my youth develop the skills?" You can't expect youth to read the Bible if you don't show them how. Tools such as a Bible reading plan can be purchased or they can be designed for the youth themselves. When you put something self-written in the hands of young people, they see it as a gift, noticing the heart behind it.

Further, you have to keep encouraging young people to develop good habits. You can do this with a monthly letter or mail, for example.

Before giving the youth the tools, you need to consider the following:

1. No youth wants all the materials at once; they are too overwhelmed otherwise.
2. It is financially costly to create and/or purchase aids.

In the book, an example of implementation is given for each of the six habits above.

The Challenge of Core Youth (Ministry)

Many teens enjoy it when they get to help out somewhere and discover their gifts as a result. Sometimes it's harder to convince church leadership that teens can help out than it is to motivate teens to do so.

Teens of all stages of spiritual development can fulfill the commission of service. Thus, it is not necessary to go through all the stages before someone is allowed to help out. It is important to integrate teens into church life and a church ministry.

Youth are not simply the future of the church, but they themselves are the present church, just like all other believers. We should encourage young people to be involved today rather than waiting for them to grow up first. Nowhere in the Bible is there a minimum age requirement for service in the kingdom of God.

We need to explain to young people that they are created to be involved. There are many scriptures on this (see book p. 168). They also need to hear that God has gifted them with many gifts. They are most likely to discover their gifts when they begin to experiment with different tasks.

You can also offer a class to help young people learn about their passions, their gifts, and their personalities. This can be a gift test or Willow Creek's D.I.E.N.S.T. seminar. This is a way to help them find a place in the church that fits them. You have to continue to care for the youth and accompany them in their ministry. It may take several attempts before a youth finds a suitable ministry opportunity.

Leadership Team:

To be part of the leadership team requires even more dedication and dependability than participating in a service. Not everyone has the time or meets the necessary requirements. Someone who is on the leadership team is also expected to be a role model in youth ministry. God has high standards for His leaders. In Eph. 4:1 Paul says, "I, who am in prison for the Lord's sake, exhort you to live lives worthy of the call that went out to you."

Jesus gave his disciples a picture of leadership that should be our standard. In Matt. 20:25-28 he says that whoever wants to be great with us should be a servant. A leader is there to serve others, not to exert power.

If we want to put people on the leadership team, we need to set a high standard because God Himself has high standards (e.g. 1 Tim 3). Leadership is not for everyone. Being a spiritual leader has great importance. With high requirements you secure a stable foundation. A solid foundation will also result in healthy growth. Possible requirements can be seen in the book on p. 178.

You can also create a staff contract to be signed by the youth who want to be involved in youth ministry or even join the leadership team. Such a contract can be seen in the book on p. 180

Five characteristics of intact youth events

Intact programs

• Must put relationships first
• need new ideas
• need strength regardless of personality
• need a support system that works and
• Clear about their goal and potential audience

1. Put relationship first:

Positive relationships are key to growth in youth ministry. Relationships are the best draw. They make it possible for someone to come to an event because of the relationship, not the event.

Youth ministry should be a ministry with the youth, rather than a program-oriented event for the youth. Programs are important, but only after relationships have been developed.

Youth also need relationships with adults who care about them. It takes people who care about the youth and invest time in them. They will appreciate it.

Don't invent activities to involve teens in your life; rather, plan them into the activities you already have.

Adults need to:

1. Be role models: During our time with teens, adults are role models. Youth see and hear what the adults do and say and they remember it. Adults are always role models, whether they like it or not, good or bad.
2. Be Authentic: One of the characteristics of good youth workers is their authenticity when they are with youth. They are not afraid to show their weaknesses and reveal how they are doing. In this way, youth gain courage to get back up after a mistake and move on.
3. Expressing Acceptance: Teens need to be loved and accepted. What he does doesn't have to be accepted, but he needs to be accepted as a person.
4. Help relieve stress: Students are stressed! Pressure to perform, poor future prospects, competitiveness, peer pressure, leisure time stress are all things that cause stress. Young people need to be able to relax. For this it needs community without having to do anything.
5. Challenging Spiritually: When we develop relationships with teens, we also earn the right to be listened to when we talk about spiritual things. When we have developed a relationship with a young person, we are also allowed to ask them without hesitation what their relationship with God is like.

2. Events need new ideas:
If we know where we want to go (fulfilling the five mandates) and who we want to reach (target audience), new ideas will help us design more effective programs.

There are many books with suggested ideas on how we can use. We need to look at new ideas from the point of view of the five orders.

3. Events must be strong regardless of the people involved:
A good youth ministry must also have strength beyond the person of the leader. When the leader leaves, the youth ministry must not peter out. The youth ministry is only as strong as the team.

To become better leaders, we must:

• Share responsibility: delegating does not mean dumping work because you don't have time yourself, but involving others in the work and encouraging them in it.
• Planning for absences: When the leader is away for a while (e.g. holidays), it becomes clear whether the youth work can exist without him. The youth work must be able to function without the leader.
• Provide for new generation: A leader must start to follow and train other leaders. This is the only way he can also ensure that the youth work continues without him.

4. Events need a functioning supervision system
Every youth should be supervised by someone. His absence should be noted by someone. In case of youths and also staff members who go AWOL once, the leader should ask what is going on and how they are doing. In a large youth ministry, the small group leaders need to be concerned about their people.

5. Events need clarity about their mission and target audience:
In an intact youth ministry, there should never be a question about why the ministry exists. Both the mission and the target audience should be known. The staff are the blood of the youth ministry and need to be informed, that way they will also support the youth ministry.

Element 5: The Process

Now that you have defined the mission, the target audience and the events, it helps you to make the whole process visible. This is possible, for example, using a baseball field where you run from "base" to "base" until you reach the finish line and score.

The pictorial representation of the game of baseball as a developmental process is linked to the five circles of devotion. It shows the potential audience's position in their spiritual development.

A more detailed outline is shown on page 204 with 18 opportunities around the field.

When young people recognize their position in the process, we can encourage them to take the next step and attend an event tailored to them to further their progress.

Around this "baseball field" the various events can be arranged to represent the process for spiritual growth. This process should be communicated to the youth as a pictorial representation.

With each of the four "bases" there is a course that the youth can take. These courses are described on pp. 216+217 in the book.

On pages 205-213, there are 18 different events described that Saddleback Church conducts.

A developmental process cannot guarantee development as planned in everyone who participates. Mere participation in the events does not automatically mean growth.

Element 6: The Values

Define and Communicate Key Values

If you want to build an intact youth ministry, you need to spend a lot of time with your leadership team discussing what values are important to you. The values need to be strategically planned and carefully chosen to impact the youth ministry.

The shared values bind the youth ministry together; they show what is important and should be lived out in that youth ministry.

The values are developed by the staff together so that they are also shared by all.

A good way is to make up a play on words with the values so that they are easier to remember.

Example of Saddleback Church:

The word "Relationships" represents the values in that each letter is the first letter of a value.

R elavant relationships
E rmutation
L ache and celebration
A ntake
T ransparency
I ntensive youth involvement
O rientation to the outside world
N umerical growth
S piritual growth
H eimat feelings
I ntimacy
P rofessionality
S trategic care

In the book, the values are still briefly explained individually (pp. 225-229).

Once you have chosen and formulated the values, you have to make sure that they are also known in the youth work so that they come to implementation.

The leader must exemplify them and thus be a role model. Every value can be exemplified.

To be able to check the values, so that you know if they are making a difference, you need to ask yourself questions; for example, through an evaluation sheet. For each value, you can formulate a few questions. An example can be found in the book on p. 236

Element 7: Parents

Collaborate with parents for family-friendly youth work

A youth ministry is more effective when it involves families. Families have a tremendous impact on youth. If we plan to serve youth for the long haul, then we must honestly plan to serve their families as well. A youth and family ministry takes a long time to develop.

It is often the case, however, that neither youth nor parents even want such an inclusive parent-teen youth ministry. Many youth only know youth ministry divided by age group.

A family-friendly youth ministry is based on several steps that build on each other and lead to a focus on the family. These steps range from requiring little time to being time-intensive.

1. Create a Teamwork Mentality:
Once, a prerequisite is that youth leaders recognize that parents are not their enemies.

Three main influences work together to help a youth grow:

God expects parents to take primary responsibility for the spiritual maturity of their children. The youth worker can only help with this, but must not take primary responsibility. Of course, the youth worker's responsibility becomes greater when a youth comes from a church-distant family.

So the youth worker's job is to get to know the youth's parents and maintain contacts with them. He has to invest time in them. He can learn from them and also ask them about their fears. The growing independence of children to their parents worries many parents.

The youth worker must also respect family priorities. Parents often decide how many nights a week their children can go to events and when they need to be home.

If the youth worker wants parents to support youth ministry, he or she should also be an advocate for their values and rules.

2. Keep communication going:
If you want to attract parents to your team, you need to communicate. Parents like to be informed in advance about events. Send parents an info letter (monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually) in addition to your event schedule so they are in the know about what is going on. An example of such a letter is in the book on p. 247.

As a general rule, the earlier parents know about the date, goal, and cost of an event, the better.

Take every opportunity to rave to parents about their kids. Tell them what you appreciate about their child.

One of the ways to keep parents on your team is to present yourself and your work in a professional manner. That way, you show that you're someone who knows what they're doing. Professionalism also includes behaving appropriately around parents.

3. Find resources for families:
One way to build a family-friendly youth ministry is to provide resources such as books, magazines, and videos on parenting topics. Your outreach shows your interest in families.

But since the youth leader can't always draw on parenting experience himself, he can network parents more with each other so they can benefit from each other. One can make a list of who has something to say on which topic. That way, you can refer those concerned to parents who have experience with it.

4. Facilitate Families Learning:
A family-friendly youth ministry offers training opportunities for parents who have questions and want to learn. Find mature parents who are willing to share their experiences with others.

As a youth worker, you probably know more about youth culture than most parents and can keep them up to date on the latest trends.

Parent meetings can also be useful for parents to share about their problem and questions regarding parenting. Even if you do not have any experience yourself, you can organize the meeting and lead the conversation. These meetings also show parents that they are "normal", as other parents have the same problems.

5. Include parents on your team:
Including parents on your staff team can be one of the wisest moves you can make as a youth worker. These parents are a unique channel of communication to other parents because they see youth ministry from an inside perspective. They can also serve as role models for youth.

Element 8: The Staff

Find the staff that deserves a youth

A youth ministry without adequate staff can never work, but a youth ministry with a surplus of good staff we always have potential.

Three principles:

1. You can do it; you just can't do it alone
2. God has the staff; you just have to find them
3. Youth deserve workers who serve, not followers who control

It's a constant cycle of seeking, finding, training, building, and spurring on. The more good workers you have, the more youth will grow spiritually, thus increasing attendance.

You can't do it alone!
Many youth ministries fail because youth leaders try to do everything themselves. The biblical principle of encouraging co-workers is found in Exodus 18:17-23.A good student-teacher ratio is 5:1.Youth without co-workers are like sheep without shepherds.

Youth leaders fail because they try to do everything themselves.

Youth leaders fail because they try to do everything themselves

A five-step plan to find staff:

1. Think about your view of leadership: the attitude should not be, "I desperately need someone to fill this void." No fruitful ministry will come from that. Rather, the attitude should be, "We need staff to thrive." It's about nurturing young people and discovering their gifts.
2. Dispelling Existing Stereotypes: When asked what a youth worker should be like, there are a lot of qualities, but hardly anyone covers them. Two qualities are really of great importance: love for God and a heart for youth. So a wide variety of people can be involved if those two qualities are right.
3. Simplify your outreach opportunities: Not every staff member can do everything or wants to do everything. So a youth ministry needs to be made up of different teams with different tasks, where a staff member can pick an area that suits them. For example, you can have an encouragement team, a materials team, or a prayer team, all of which are appropriate for older people. A "Grab Team" is then made up of people who work directly with the young people and take care of them. The "tackle team" is made up of different teams. So there need to be teams that take care of the event and teams that take care of the young people themselves.
4. Never stop looking for potential staff: The staff themselves can help with this search. You have to keep your eyes open to spot a potential employee. Employees can be teenagers, young adults, and even seniors. There is a job for everyone. Young people themselves can reach out to older people and encourage them to get involved in youth ministry. Parents can also be considered for staff. An effective way to keep teens involved in youth ministry is to give them responsibilities within youth ministry.
5. Invite People to Your Teams: When inviting people to join your teams, be as specific and contagious as possible in explaining your goals and dreams to them. People should not simply be recruited or hired, they should be invited. This includes introducing them to the work and giving them everything they need to carry out their ministry. As a thank you, you can organize a staff party once a year. This has the purpose of thanking the employees for their support and that all employees can see each other once and further contacts can be made.

How to help potential workers become leaders

• You should see everyone in the church as a potential leader, but still have firm criteria by which you then actually choose a leader. It is crucial who you take as a leader and who you just don't. If you make the wrong people leaders, it can be problematic.

At Saddleback Church, they have a ten-step process that all potential employees must go through before they can officially join the team. This helps discover the person's strengths, weaknesses, motives, and attitude. It also helps develop devoted employees and bring consistency to the job.

Here it should be noted that Saddleback is a size where you don't know most of the church members. To that end, not only young people are eligible here, but older people as well.

The Ten Step Process:

1. Interest: The potential employee must show an interest in youth ministry.
2. First Contacts: When people approach us or we approach them, we explain our goals and desires and the steps required to become a youth worker.
3. The Youth Ministry Packet: This is shown in Appendix F of the book. It includes a welcome letter, requirements, youth ministry mission definition and values, job description, intake procedure, and application.
4. Attend an event: The person should get an idea of the future job.
5. The application: If the person is interested, he/she should fill out an application to get more information about the person. If the person is not eligible for certain reasons, they must then be told. While it is not easy to tell a person they are not eligible, it is better than taking them and then having a problem in youth ministry. There are also a few "warning lights" on p. 284 to watch out for.
6. Conversation with the youth pastor: Now the youth pastor already has a good impression of this person and it can come to a conversation where still open questions can be asked. The commitment sheet (see Appendix G in the book) will also be discussed there.
7. Prayer Time: Now both parties should have time to pray about it again.
8. The Commitment Sheet: The commitment sheet is one of the best things Doug Fields uses in his youth ministry. With it, the leader has permission to confront the staff member if they are not following through on commitments.
9. The Assignment Begins: Now the employee should begin the activity that is most likely to suit him.
10. The 30-day check-up and/or evaluation meeting: After a few weeks, there is another meeting to discuss difficulties. New employees need intensive mentoring. They need to hear that they are doing a good job and may need some tips. Even after this initial period, the leader may find that the person is not suitable for youth work or is doing the wrong job; then he needs to act.

When new people join the team, they must continue to grow. It is the leader's job to guide and motivate them.

A few tips:
- Create meaningful areas of responsibility: The leader needs to know where to place new staff, what areas there are in their youth ministry. Staff members want a meaningful task and purpose. On pp. 288-289 are also some tips for adult workers on how to invest themselves in youth ministry.

- Communicate your expectations: Your staff can't read minds. If you are the youth ministry leader in charge, you need to let them know your expectations and let them know when something changes. Staff members don't like to be held accountable for something they didn't know about. Expectations need to be communicated constantly and be in writing.

- Be generous with praise: Every employee will appreciate praise and it will motivate them further. Recognition doesn't have to be reserved for the spectacular. Praising people for their normal and ordinary deeds has great benefits. Be specific in your praise. Praise should not only come from the youth pastor, but also from outside sources such as church leadership or people in the congregation.

- Staff veterans motivate:This refers to people who have been involved in youth ministry for two years. The question is, "How can we keep him for two more years?" Here are some options:

a) Give them more responsibility: He has already had a lot of experience and can take on more responsibility. It may also be time for a new challenge, so he takes on a different job.

b) Involve them in important decisions involve them: Let his experience count. Perhaps there is an important decision coming up for which you can involve such employees.

c) Let them lead a team: Those who have been in an area for two years may be able to take charge of that area themselves. Instead of the youth leader being responsible for everything, they can hand over the management of individual areas to experienced staff.

d) Take them with you: The experienced staff can be taken to training so that they benefit themselves.

e) Send them off with praise and appreciation: When an employee quits their job because it changes something in their life, show them that you appreciate them and are grateful. Appreciation should be expressed publicly as well.

- Unburdened staff meeting: You can do a monthly staff meeting, where you motivate the staff and they come together in a relaxed atmosphere. Here's what to keep in mind:

a) Keep your agenda positive: Don't give the staff at this meeting too many opportunities to express grievances because that will negatively impact the others as well. Rather, ask what God has done in their area. This will set them on a positive course. Keep work talk and decisions to a minimum. The staff meeting is more of a worship service than a work meeting. A possible schedule is on p. 297 in the book.

b) Let them take the initiative: Have teams work on projects and events and give them responsibility.

c) Emphasize the priority of spiritual encouragement over continuing education: It is more important to encourage staff spiritually than to educate. Although in-service training is important, it is more crucial that they be able to share and receive spiritual encouragement. Motivated staff members make better mentors, trainers, and role models.

Element 9: The long breath

How to deal with pressing projects and time constraints

The work of a youth leader never ends! There is always one more youth to mentor, one more event to plan, one more devotional to prepare, etc. To "survive" in it, you need a strategy. Some youth leaders start out determined, but burn out too quickly. Youth need leaders who are stable and balanced and will be there for them for a long time.

It's bad, but a lot of people think of "being over-busy" as some kind of virtue. Any youth worker can be busy, but very few manage to balance the demands of youth ministry, personal needs, and time for family in a healthy way. Only a balanced life is an intact life.

You have to learn to run the race at a pace you can manage. It often has more to do with emotional energy than physical energy. If you're emotionally tired, you'll be physically and spiritually tired.

How to protect yourself from burnout

1. Act according to your age: Depending on what age you are, you think differently, act differently, have more or less energy, etc. Be considerate of your age as well as the age of your teenagers. Don't apply your adult standards to a 14 year old. Don't expect the same spiritual maturity from a teenager that you have. Teenagers act according to their age, not according to what you hope and expect.
2. You can't please everyone: It's hard to be a good leader and be liked by everyone. As a leader, sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. Leaders must learn to accept this reality or they go down emotionally.
3. Practice saying no: Learn to be comfortable even when you have to say no to wonderful opportunities. You just can't do it all. To keep yourself from burning out, you need to set boundaries.
   A note to youth leaders who are married with children: Every time you say yes to overtime, you're also saying no to your family. Although it's oddly easier to disappoint your family, it's not wiser.
4. Conflict must be faced: Conflict can drag us down a lot emotionally and we must learn to deal with it. They are a part of leadership and working with people.
5. Talk to other youth leaders: It's important to talk to someone about your difficulties so you don't feel alone and think you're the only youth leader on the planet struggling with difficulties like unproductive rest periods, uncooperative parents, or lack of skills.
6. Reliable friendships outside of youth ministry: Most of a youth leader's social contacts often come from the staff. In doing so, it's refreshing to have friendships with people who like you but have no idea about your work.
7. Get a mentor: As an employee, you're constantly giving. It's exhausting and needs to be rebalanced. A mentor can make valuable deposits into your emotional bank account. A mentor is someone who takes you seriously, understands you, listens to you, and can share good advice.
8. Keep a Day Off: If you don't have a day off every week, you're a prime candidate for burnout. I have found that skipping the day off is one of the leading causes of youth leaders giving up. Don't schedule a short meeting, don't agree to a devotional or a talk. Say no, unplug your phone. If you are married, this day is extremely important to your family. Use the day for personal, physical, family and spiritual rest.
9. Keep holidays free: Mark a time on your calendar to go away and keep it free several months in advance.
10. Let your family have a say: If you're married, it's wise to let your partner have a say in your scheduling. For example, I don't want to schedule an event on a day when one of my kids has an important play or performance.
11. Work Description and Duty Meeting: If you don't have a work description, write one yourself and ask your supervisor to confirm it or change it if necessary. If you have your job description, then ask for a duty meeting. You need to know what is expected of you and how you will be assessed. Everyone has weaknesses. If someone points one out to you, it is an opportunity for growth.
12. Control the time - or others will: Too many youth leaders allow other people to control their time. If you give people the opportunity to take advantage of your time, they will. You need to be in control of your time and use it purposefully. Leaders need to decide what is important.
13. Keep track of your time: A youth leader does not work ordinary office hours, nor does he always work in the office; he needs flexible hours. Others often don't see all that he does. He should keep accurate records of the hours he works, in case there are questions. Inform your supervisor of your schedule so you don't have to justify yourself all the time.

Determine your roles:

The first step to managing your time more wisely is to identify your different roles. I have six primary roles: Child of God, Husband, Father, Friend and Relative, Owner, and Employee. I divide my employee role into five more sub-roles: Teacher, Pastor, Administrator, Developer, Leader.

What are your sub-roles? Once you've established your roles, you can also set up your time according to them. Put your tasks on a schedule, that way you can see how much other time you have left. For each item listed, determine a realistic time frame for completion. He gives an example on pp. 388-390.

Today, I schedule a little more time for each task than I expect to need, so I can have a little breathing space in between.

I take an hour to plan my week, but save a lot of time by doing so.

Positive Discipline

Some adults have trouble not only with teen misbehavior, but with their behavior in general. There are teenagers who really misbehave. We can't stop expecting youth to behave appropriately or everything will be run. As a youth worker, you have to deal with discipline issues.

The word discipline has a negative connotation. However, the word is related to the word disciple. Thus, discipline and being a disciple belong closely together. It is about learning the guidelines and boundaries needed to succeed in life. Discipline has to do with two sides, which can be named differently: Love and boundaries; grace and truth; affirmation and improvement; support and consequences.

One model assumes four parenting styles that result from the two sides of control and support:

According to one study, the most successful and well-adjusted teenagers were those who were raised by authoritative parents. These parents did not deviate from their prescribed rules, but enforced them with love and understanding, but consistently. The adolescents who grew up with too much control or too much support struggled the most.

We create disciples through love and discipline, support and control. Looking at discipline from a positive perspective can give us the drive to use it positively as well. Some youth workers fail to positively shape young people because of their own desire to be liked. They could have a much stronger positive impact if they met one-on-one with undisciplined young people and talked to them about their lives. This is not an easy task, but we are called to follow Jesus and be spiritual leaders.

There is no growth without discipline and no purposeful youth ministry without the pillars of grace and truth.

How to balance your boundaries:

Where do you place your boundaries, your fence? If the fence is a mile away around the house, or a teenager has to kill someone before we catch on, our boundaries are pointless. But if there's an armed guard and a list of rules every two feet, then our boundaries are stifling.

A few principles that can help:

1. Good Behaviour: We must expect young people to behave respectfully towards themselves and towards staff.
2. Simple Rules: Carefully choose a few clear rules based on your values and use them to shape appropriate behavior that will benefit the youth later in life.
3. Make rules positive and explain their meaning: Few things are more irritating than nonsensical rules.
4. Explain appropriate consequences: It is unfair to discipline young people by measures they knew nothing about beforehand. Explain your rules ahead of time and tell them what the consequences are for disobeying those rules.
   On pp. 329-330 is a contract with rules of conduct for a field trip.
5. The Difference Between Annoying and Inappropriate: Teenagers are sometimes annoying; it's part of growing up. Not all behavior that annoys us necessarily calls for discipline, often more for understanding.
6. Minimize Warnings: Minimize the number of warnings. Repeated warnings that scream authority only show you don't have it. Warn the subject twice and then let expulsion follow. Don't let one teen's disruptive behavior ruin the whole meeting for the others.
7. Do not call youth negative names: We all know the prophetic power of words. Very literally, they create the reality they describe. Teenagers tend to act out the names we give them
8. Enforce rules consistently but without anger: Enforcing rules without anger actually involves two principles: First, enforce rules. They are worthless if they are not enforced. Second, enforce without anger. Most people start disciplining because they are angry. Instead, get going before we get angry. Stop the problem before it gets you to the point of wisdom.
9. Don't publicly embarrass anyone: We want youth to give up their misbehavior, not their face. Expulsion won't drive your youth out of youth ministry, but humiliation will.
10. Talk one-on-one: Staying on top of youth who are causing problems brings further balance to the application of rules. Be consistent when disciplining a teen and show your love and forgiveness in a follow-up conversation. Discuss the situation and explain why you acted the way you did. Tell the teen that you like him and that you now consider the matter over. Also use conversations as a preventive measure.
11. Don't be afraid to involve parents: Although we are also trusted people, there are things that parents need to know too, as they are ultimately responsible for their children. This may be the case with drug use or violence, for example.

Initiating Change

Because we humans are creatures of habit, change is exhausting and troublesome for us. Incorporating new ideas into your work is sure to bring some uncertainties and questions. A few steps can help along the path of change:

First steps to change:

1. Evaluate your motives for change: Before you jump into the process, be clear about your motives. If your motives are self-serving, then they are wrong. Youth ministry should not be about fame or balm for your ego. Your primary motivation should be your obedience to Christ and your love for youth.
2. Pray!: From the beginning, spend a lot of time with God and ask Him about His will. Ask him for knowledge and wisdom on how to proceed.
3. Make a pro-con list: Make a list of pros and cons to honestly evaluate your planned changes.
4. Seek the opinion of your supervisor: Discuss your list with someone in church leadership. Anticipate questions and have meaningful answers ready. This conversation can be a good opportunity to ask for support.
5. Involve positive staff, parents, and youth: Explain your plan to them and answer their questions. They will be the first to support you.
6. Involve negative co-workers, parents, and teens: Negative-minded people usually aren't quite as stubborn when you talk to them one-on-one instead of in a group setting. Often these people just want to be heard; often they are just insecure and just need more time and love than others.
7. Talk about "experimenting": this makes the change seem less "risky" - after all, it's just an experiment if it doesn't work out.
8. People will feel hurt: Most people don't like change and think, "We've always done it this way." Often the hard part is not the change itself, but motivating those involved. Change requires people to move out of their comfort zones and develop new behaviors
9. Smart Timing: Smart timing makes your changes come across more strategically. Three good times to make all-around changes are in January after Christmas break, in June/July at the beginning of the big holidays, and in August at the beginning of the new school year.
10. You'll get used to it: People get used to the changes over time.
11. Thank your change helpers: Keep giving your employees appreciation for the service they provide. This motivates them to keep going.

The "savings accounts" of change:

The Planning Account:
As your youth ministry grows larger, your readiness to organize must grow at the same time. The longer in advance events are planned, rooms are reserved, budgets are set, and camps are booked, the more time you will have on events for youth. For planning, the E.A.H. (=First General Aid) method can serve:

a) Outcome: First imagine the desired outcome of your event.

b) Action Plan: What do you need to do to get to the desired outcome? Make a list of all the necessary tasks that need to be done

c) Resources: What resources do you need to achieve your goal?

The Policy Account:
If you're surprised by this point, you must be new to youth ministry. The fears and frustrations associated with community politics are endless. Many capable youth workers with the best of intentions have failed because of inappropriate community policies. Your politics is the ability to get support for your work that God has entrusted to you.

Six suggestions to strengthen the impact of youth ministry within your church:

a) Get to know the system: every church has its own structure of organized leadership. Whether tied to traditions, regulations, or personalities, this system is the roadmap to decisions.

b) Discover what is important: it is important that you understand and are serious about the values of your church.

c) Become a team player: Your collaboration with other staff and groups within the church will further the development of the overall church, and in turn, your own.

d) Support the church leadership, especially the pastor: If you want support from others, you need to give some. For example, respect their schedule, invite them to your events, follow their leadership, stand behind them publicly, serve them.

e) Measure and Communicate Success: It is important to be able to determine your success and communicate it to your community. A significant role of youth leaders is to present the fruits of their labor (numbers, level of involvement, spiritual maturity, etc.)

f) Choose your battlegrounds wisely: In your ministry, there will inevitably be conflicts. Try to resolve these as amicably as possible and without unnecessary outbursts. Try to listen to and understand the other person. Note that the real battle is against the devil and not against people.

The Prayer Account:
If the power of God is an indispensable source of energy for building a purposeful youth ministry, then it is only logical that we would want to tap into that source and let it supply us throughout our lives. Sure praying for them is important, but are you also convinced that it is absolutely vital? Do you pray regularly for your youth ministry?

a) Purpose of Prayer: The purpose of prayer is to keep us dependent on and in relationship with the One who gives life. In prayer, we thank God for what He does and can cry out to Him our requests, hopes, and desires.

b) The Essence of Prayer: Prayer is the backbone of a Christian. Youth ministry needs God-renewed workers, and prayer makes you more like God.

b) The essence of prayer: Prayer is the backbone of a Christian

c) The Priority of Prayer: If, like Jesus, we put prayer first, then we will begin and end everything (every day, every meeting, etc.) in dialogue with the Father for His opinion and blessing.

d) The Potential Power of Prayer: If we believe in the truth of God's Word, then we must also believe that:

• with Jesus all things are possible
• God will take care of our affairs if we ask Him
• he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world
• we can do even greater things

Source reference

Content: Summary of the book "Youth Work with Vision" by Doug Fields from Projection J Publishing. ISBN: 3-89490-318-X, by Philipp Kurth

Image: Clipart courtesy of the publisher buch+musik ejw-service gmbh, Stuttgart - www.ejw-buch.de