Life of a youth pastor .

An answer to prayer – the Gateway Leadership Development Program.

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LDP1

It is my privilege to announce that on the tenth day in September in the two thousand and fifteenth year of our Lord that a leadership development program started at Gateway Church in Austin, TX! I’ve been waiting since I came on staff for this…over the past few months as this program was discussed and approved I quickly began searching for some potential LDPs that may want to spend a year learning in student ministry, as this kind of opportunity greatly shaped who I am today.

They are here now and I couldn’t be happier! Kristen Johnson (a former student of mine and current Moody Bible student) and Kelli Woody (a die hard Kamp Kanakuk counselor) will be joining the student ministry staff and volunteers for a year.

Learning will be had by all the LDPs in the various ministry areas at Gateway along with all of their managers. This will be a first for me…it seems like I’ve always been the intern or in a program but I’m excited to teach what I can and share with them in the learning experience this year.

Here’s the neatest part. One of the things I’ve been trusting God for this year and fervent in prayer was for another full-time staff for student ministry…well in some ways he gave me two. Yes, I’m still praying that we can hire another full-time staff in the near future but for now I’m ecstatic these two ladies will be joining our ministry this year.  Welcome Kelli and Kristen!

If you want to read more about the opportunity here, the door will open back up in Spring for applications for the following school year.

Get off the stage, you talk too much!

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shh2If the statement upsets you it could be a deeper conviction or perhaps I’m right. However, I’m not here to guilt trip you, but rather offer up one of the best kept secrets I have run into this past year. The method has benefited my student ministry tremendously.

You and I both know that even the most gifted and rehearsed speaker won’t connect with every student. I receive compliments and encouragement from some students while getting blank stares from others. Your audience needs different voices offering up the same truth in different tones. Just as there are a kazillion love songs on the radio, some prefer country music while others like the fat beat of a heavy rap song with a similar story…in both songs someone is stealing the girl or running off with their high school sweetheart  (I understand country music lyrics a little bit more clearly than rap…but maybe that’s just me?).

I found that asking guest speakers to take on a speaking series is beneficial to everyone involved in the equation. A couple of quick thoughts:

  • Give your audience another voice to connect with.
  • Rather than spend time on message prep that week, solve other problems in your ministry.
  • Allow a speaker/teacher to grow in their gifting.
  • Taking off a Sunday in the future will be much more possible when you share the stage with others.
  • Pastoral staff and those with the gift of teaching are selected guest speakers. BE SELECTIVE.
  • One day when you leave your position students will be more receptive to hearing from other voices…even the next youth pastor.

How often should you share the stage? The old-school youth pastor and even some modern day yp’s will speak every single Sunday. If you want to burn out and hate your job…then continue this method. Even if you LOVE speaking…your ministry needs your attention in other places other than the stage. I have done some math and it appears over the past year that I speak 40-50% of the time. That means that I am one of if not the most consistent faces on stage but not appearing every Sunday.

Getting off the stage has allowed me to recruit, train and cast vision for my leaders like never before. This year we have a full volunteer staff of almost 60 showing up every Sunday to lead small groups, greet students and serve up a meal for our high school program. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for the team of speakers I have around me that pour in their time to teach our students while I work on other “behind the scenes stuff” during the week.

In case the question came to mind. We use Orange’s Xp3 curriculum as our foundation for a teaching manuscript and small group questions. I allow the guest speaker to add their own stories and even some main points, but they have to stick to the bottom line and use the scripture given.

So, I leave you with this question: Who are you sharing the stage with?

You should tell them, “I’m not going to remember this conversation”

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fearless-selling.ca

fearless-selling.ca

 

One of the worst habit phrases you could fall into…

“I’ll get back to you.”

This phrase most often is a “nice” substitute for:

  • Hold on a second.
  • This isn’t important to me right now.
  • I’m too busy to make your priority my priority.

Now, I know you don’t mean it that way …but it can (and has) come across that way. We have all used this phrase multiple times in ministry with staff, volunteers, parents and students.

Whether you oversee a dozen people or hundreds, someone will always have a question for you to answer or a problem to solve. Here’s the ironic part, [Read more…]

The Outsider

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outside-the-loop

Perhaps you enjoy the crowd, noisy bleacher seats, and the occasional stepping into something gooey… something tells me it’s the mustard from your corndog that has now ruined your new kicks. While a seat among the crowd can have it’s perks and excitement it can also be distracting as all get out. I for one appreciate watching the big game from a leather recliner on a big screen. Sure, there might be a 2-3 second delay from real time but who cares? I get to see it all! I see the players faces up close, I can see the line of scrimmage right down the middle every single play… something no one, not even the coaches get to see. I’m completely in tune with what is going on, but I am an outsider.

We get caught up in the game of youth ministry. We are overwhelmed with whether or not students are coming back, parents are on our back about why we are eating pizza yet again, and still we are frustrated why others just can’t see how much we have going on. We are stuck in a loop of the same people, doing the same thing, week after week after week. You know the saying, “If you keep doing the same thing expect the same results.” So, are you tired of the same results in your youth ministry? Let me present to you one person that could help you greatly, the outsider. [Read more…]

5 reasons you should leave your church and go to another one.

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Different-Churches

Ever wonder what meetings are like on the other side? At a different church? How have they already solved the problems you are currently having in your church? Take a closer look at the churches around you. What appears the same on the outside could be very different on the inside. [Read more…]

Relational vs. Informational

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microphone-town-hall

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”                                    -The Way of the Shepherd

Putting processes over people can be a threat to your ministry, and I’ve been guilty of it. Naturally, we enjoy relational time over being talked to or informed by a single person. When there is relational time involved people make a connection with those they are talking to and are able to contribute to the relational aspect. When receiving information or being talked to, many shut down because it’s a one way street they can’t turn onto, they just have to sit at the red light awaiting staring at the traffic of information until the relational green light flips back on and they can once again engage with those around them.

I do my best to find a balance for my leaders. I try to start every meeting with a conversation starter that will help the leaders exchange personal experiences in life so that they can connect with each other. Although this is true I do my best to make the conversation starter tie to the thought or win for the day. I also ask them to rotate through different leaders so they can get to know some that they might not know so well.

My leaders look forward to connecting with each other every week, I don’t have to ask them to be on time to a meeting anymore. They show up expecting to have some relational time accompanied by some information for the week.

Do you simply hold the floor when it comes to talking or do you create a space for the leaders to engage relationally with one another?

Are your leaders equipped?

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astronaut

When we launch a new leader into a small group, it’s just another day in our world. We forget too often that this is not just another day for this new volunteer. For this new leader, it could be the equivalent of  launching an astronaut into outer space, asking them to embark on a foreign journey. This journey will undoubtedly have unexpected turbulence and certainly new ideas and concepts never encountered before along the way.

A question I ask myself often, “If I were a leader or volunteer in my ministry, would I feel well equipped for my role?” And the answer I sadly give myself sometimes is, “no”.  When this reality sinks in for any of your volunteer or leader roles you need to troubleshoot, problem solve and strive to equip or you are going to lose this volunteer you worked so hard to recruit.

Leaders and volunteers step out of youth ministry every year for various reasons, but a big reason that I continually hear from not just my own ministry at times but from others as well, “I just didn’t feel well equipped for my role.” Wow. We worked so hard as a church to recruit this person we just had to have in this serving role and now they are walking out the door after 6 months of volunteering their time. They head back to warming pews during sermons as we eagerly look to “fill the gap” that volunteer left behind.

It’s your fault. No, not all the time but most of the time you can attribute someone’s reason for leaving because they didn’t receive the continual training, encouragement, and guidance they needed during their season of serving. It may not be your role to do all the equipping but it is your responsibility if you are the leader of the ministry.

We are always refining and re-thinking the way we equip our leaders in my ministry. I want to make sure a new leader is very well equipped and educated before stepping into a small group setting, but it shouldn’t stop once they start serving…they equipping should be tailored to the leader.

In the same way an astronaut would use various equipment from mission to mission, your small group leaders need various means of support and tools for the various groups and ages that they work with. It starts simply with a conversation and a few questions for those you lead to see how you are doing in this area, starting with the one for yourself “If I were a leader or volunteer in my ministry, would I feel well equipped for my role?”

 

Stop what you are doing and start preparing right now.

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plan-ahead

I can’t stand something not being done with excellence. Whether it be a t-shirt design, advertisement, an event, or a church service. I hate sloppy stuff. It shows that someone didn’t care enough to put the right amount of time into the project or they cared too late in the game.

In the church world Sunday is always coming and time doesn’t seem to be slowing down for any of us to accomplish more during the week. If you are stuck in a week to week schedule (only setting sights on this coming Sunday) then you will miss the greatest potential for your leadership and your ministry. Being a church or ministry that is prepared for it’s future will determine not only how successful this coming Sunday is, but how you actually spend your time to prepare for this coming Sunday.

I sometimes fool myself to thinking I work harder or smarter under pressure. Fast approaching deadlines seem to light a fire underneath me. When I kick into hyper-speed or try to accomplish too much in a small window I can be laser focused on my big project but small details can be missed. Sure, we can accomplish the task at hand on time and say it’s done, but is it finished with excellence?

Allow extra time to complete the project. You are bound to produce a better product.

Here are a few personal examples:

  • My team starts planning for our upcoming Winter Camp 5 months out.
  • We begin discussing sites and doing pre-trips for mission trips 5 months out.
  • I try to line up guest speakers for Sundays 1 month out.
  • I have had multiple series and small group questions set for every Sunday 6 months ahead.
  • Ideally, I have my message done one week before and already looking ahead to the next one.
  • Set monthly reminders on my phone for what I should be thinking about for the next month.

Work ahead, it pays off. If you are behind, what can you stop doing and start preparing for now?