Leadership Development Program: Come. See. Do. Learn.

March 29, 2017 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

The short version: An amazing, fully immersive, hands on, learning experience is waiting for YOU!

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE APRIL 28th. Apply here to begin in Fall 2017.

The detailed version:

When I was a freshmen in college (almost 10 years ago!) someone gave me the great opportunity to intern and learn from them, this happened again both during and post college. If it weren’t for those opportunities I wouldn’t know the things I know today nor have the privilege of leading where I am currently. I want to offer a similar opportunity for someone else out there that is curious about student ministry or ready to dive all in.

I can promise you this, you will gain more working knowledge from this program about student ministry than you will any class or book. How can I promise that? Myself along with many of my peers are products of this model. I went to college (a prestigious bible college at that) and I’m grateful for all things learned… but there are simply things you cannot learn in a classroom. Perhaps you graduated college and now you are eager to begin full-time ministry. My word of encouragement: DON’T! At least not until you have taken an opportunity such as this one to put things learned into practice. The program will save you tons of time, heartache and protect you from burnout in the long run.

This is not an internship. It’s so much more. The Leadership Development Program at Gateway Church in Austin, TX is an immersive ministry experience with mentoring and leadership training. You will do hands-on ministry and work along-side our NextGen team.

This one-year opportunity will ensure that the student ministry LDP gets both a broad overview of a NextGen team and a close look on how to operate a student ministry. This will involve hands-on learning by attending weekly planning meetings, helping run middle & high school programs, and learning student ministry philosophy from a well seasoned student pastor. If the LDP brings a certain gift/trade to the program we will do our best to utilize and empower them in that area (speaking, worship, administration, etc.) Our goal is that after this experience, you will be ready to find a full time staff position at a church or para-church ministry. There are a limited number of LDP positions available. The LDP opportunity is flexible in hours, a minimum of 25 hours a week is required.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE APRIL 28th. Apply here to begin in Fall 2017.

Compensation

The role requires raising support, but allows the flexibility of also having a part-time job.
Free housing with a staff family may be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
One frisbee golf disc.
Unlimited supply of jelly-bellys, your choice of flavor 🙂

What will I learn?

Assist in leading student ministry at one of our campuses.
Participate in preparing and executing Winter Camp.
Participate as an adult leader on a summer GO! Team.
Assist in recruitment and training of volunteers.
Have a weekly presence on local school campuses.
Be an active mentor for at least one student.
Learn the unique complexities and opportunities of student ministry.

Desired Qualifications/Skills

Must be an active, committed Christ-follower.
At least one year of college or work experience outside high school.
Must have basic computer skills.
Has a passion to serve, interact and be around MS/HS students.
Must be teachable. This program is a learning experience! Do you have a desire to learn?

Desired Strengths/Spiritual Gifts

Leadership
Responsibility
Administration
Personable

About Gateway Church

Gateway Church in beautiful Austin, Texas, is a highly diverse culture, reaching people far from God. Our staff gets to be a part of an amazing movement making a difference in the city and around the globe, living out our values of Come As You Are, Live Connected, Be Transformed and Change Your World. If you’re a fan of ACL, SXSW, year-round sunshine, great Tex-Mex and not ever wearing a tie again, then you get us. We are a church where no perfect people are allowed and we’ve worked hard to create a non-threatening, culturally relevant environment that welcomes anyone and everyone who seek out the claims of Christ. For more information about who we are, head to www.gatewaychurch.com where you can experience our services live streamed, listen to podcasts, learn about our staff and much more.

Ideal candidates are:

College students or post-college emerging leaders
Growing Christ-followers
Have leadership experience
Open to raising support
Will be able to work 25-40 hours per week.

This opportunity is right around the corner, don’t wait too long, space is limited and our next round for LDPs won’t be until Fall of 2017! Apply now. Got questions? Just ask!

What if students baptized their friends?

November 8, 2016 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

Just a few weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to witness fifteen high school students be baptized at our high school program. Some of them were baptized by me, some of them by their small group leaders and yes even some of them by their Christ-following friend that invited them!

Recently I did a personal study on the phrase “follow me” that Jesus used a handful of times and reiterated it in different ways with his disciples. This eventually lead me to doing a three week series with our high school students on this very thought which comes to complete fruition in [Read more…]

9 cities // 14 days

June 12, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

I’ve been a bit slow to post anything as of late…things have been busy to say the least.

Currently I’m writing this at 4AM before my ride picks me up for the airport. Last week I was in Dallas, Texas with 6th graders and now bound for Mexico with 8th graders. In a span of two weeks we have 200+ from the next generation going to various cities throughout the states and around the world to serve God in various ways.

Check out the photos and follow us throughout the week to see more pictures. What these students are doing is truly inspiring for all! When I return from Mexico I hope to write a bit about short-term trips and best practices I have found over the years. What questions do you have about short-term serving experiences?

3 ways to avoid living in the past.

May 12, 2016 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

The glory days.

I remember back in 6th grade I had hit my prime on the football team. I racked up 26 touchdowns that year, I thought I was headed to the NFL. Then I stopped growing and oddly enough stopped being good at football. Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive that season, but that’s not going to happen and I have to live with the fact that it’s a different season of life and no matter how badly I wish to be in the NFL it’s simply not going to happen, I need to focus on what I can do with the gifts and strengths I have now.

We hear senior pastors and youth pastors reminisce about the good old days when they had 500 students show up for a camp way back when or people bring up what happened when “that” person was on staff. Or perhaps they hang on to “one of the best moments ever in our church was when…”

The past. It’s a slippery slope. The longer we live in the past the harder it is to strive for the unseen success of the future.

A mission/vision statement should be able to tell us if we have done our job in the past and keep us focused on what we are chasing after next. Strategy will shift and morph along the way with culture to help accomplish the said vision, this part can be frustrating for those that like consistency and to some point you do indeed need consistency to have the necessary traction to move forward.

So, how do we stay focused on what’s next rather than dwell on what was? Here’s 3 thoughts. [Read more…]

Small Group Leaders: Listen before you lead.

April 29, 2016 by Chris Parker 2 Comments

I stood in the courtyard after church one Sunday and saw something that every youth pastor dreams of seeing. The services were over (yes we dream of that haha!) yet an entire middle school boys small group was still hanging out…with their leader. They weren’t “meeting” as a small group, just talking with their leader…not throwing a football, not playing tag, not making farting noises…though this happens most of the time. In this moment theses students were relationally engaged with their leader, looking up to him, and incredibly fixed on him.

What was different about this leader than many of my other leaders? Sure, he was “cool” but even still there was something different in the way these boys just continued in conversation beyond service letting out.

After doing some digging I came to find out that THIS SMALL GROUP LEADER IS A GREAT LISTENER.

He didn’t show up to tell them how to do life better. He didn’t show up to punch a volunteer clock. He certainly didn’t do it to feel better about himself. He wanted to hear, know and empathize with these middle school boys. No doubt, it worked. These boys opened up in a way that I didn’t see other boys opening up. Because these boys knew their small group leader cared more about them as a person rather than pushing an agenda the listening became mutual.

Many small group leaders and even youth pastors are trying to figure out how to “make this small group work” because the kids are way off topic, always making jokes, not respecting the leader, etc. We try to implement rules for the small group, come up with behavior agreements, and even get parents involved to help reinforce the idea of authority. I suggest we begin with listening. If our students/kids are feeling heard I strongly believe they are more likely to listen to the leader during and more importantly AFTER small group is over.

2 things when considering strategy.

April 28, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

Yesterday I attended a Jon Acuff breakout here at the Orange Conference in Atlanta, he talked about strategy. It was short and sweet, and to the point…with the ~~occasional~~ jokes of course. Jon has a great way of weaving authentic truth into his entertaining messages. I walked away with two nuggets of truth I’d like to share with you.

Strategy forces you to acknowledge the limits.

Many times we believe that the sky is the limit. And guess what? As leaders we are guilty for aiming at the sky. When we don’t hit the sky we’ve been chasing after, we feel as if we have failed. It’s time we consider our strategy and understand it has limits. A strategy encompasses a unique DNA that “should” help us better focus on what we are saying NO to. The word NO can be interpreted as a bad word, an uncomfortable word or even discouraging about what you can’t do. However, when we learn to say NO to good things we will begin to understand what it looks like to acknowledge our limits. This will help us remain faithful to our strategy and execute the desired outcome.

Bigger isn’t better, better is better.

I’ve had the privilege of touring many churches over the past few years. Some with bigger buildings, bigger youth groups, others with bigger budgets and bigger staff. What have I learned? Bigger isn’t better, better is better. The high school ministry I lead is actually historically smaller than back in the hay-day when it was huge. Nonetheless, I’m told often by past leaders, previous students and current staff that our ministry is healthier than it ever was before. Our team has worked hard to put a Christ following adult if not two in the life of every teenager. When you do that, things get better. We also shifted the mentality of not just getting students plugged into a program, we wanted them to be part of something greater. 50% of our students volunteer in the church on Sunday mornings, this helps make our church a better place and gives the student a place to belong in the church beyond high school program. If you are considering simply program attendance you will miss it. Bigger isn’t better, better is better.

Watch Orange Conference LIVE here!

April 27, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

This week is going to be awesome! What am I looking forward to the most? Glad you asked. The people. There are over 8,000 ministry leaders here who give much of their life to the next generation. The amount of influence in this place is awesome. I look forward to exchanging learnings, failures and successes with other ministry leaders. Want to learn with us this week but couldn’t make it? No worries, check out the LIVE feed here or come back for updates.

If you’re at #OC16 and want to stay connect this week hit me up on Twitter.

The power of the prop.

March 23, 2016 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

“That was a great message.”

“I get it now, that was super helpful.”

“I will never forget when you brought that up on stage”

I get these kinds of responses from students and leaders after a message when I use a prop.

The power of a prop can completely change the message for someone.

A prop is necessary. There are a variety of learning styles out there. The most popular styles include auditory, tactile and visual. When you speak to a group on a weekly basis and all you do is speak you are catering to a portion of the audience that connects well to the auditory learning style. What about those that are tactile and visual learners? Props are necessary for these types of learners. Recently I’ve told my middle school speakers that they need to use at least one prop in their message. I believe we are connecting more with students in this way.

A prop is memorable. I remember when I was 12 years old my pastor speaking on Matthew 7:3 – “”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” I’ll never forget when he pulled a 2×4 out from behind the pulpit and started walking around on stage speaking with it at eye-level as if it were coming out of his eye. This prop has stuck with me for 17 years. When I think about judging people, I think about the 2×4 I’m carrying around myself before I say anything. You never know how far a prop may carry into someone’s future.

A prop creates anticipation. When a student walks into a room and sees a cardboard box on stage they react, “Hmm. I wonder what that’s for?” The speaker begins his/her message and the audience knows at some point they will reference the box. The prop keeps the audience engaged and suspended in wonder of when and how the prop might be used.

Jesus used props. Who better to learn from that Jesus himself?! He knew that his audience had things around them all the time that would illustrate and reinforce the main ideas He would teach. A cup of water, a loaf of bread, a stone, a mustard seed. He took things that people completely understood to help them understand a greater truth. When we use props to reinforce what Scripture says we are teaching the way Jesus taught.

How often do you use props to illustrate your messages?

What’s one of the most memorable props you’ve seen used to illustrate a message?

REMINDER! PRICE GOES UP TOMORROW FOR OC16

March 17, 2016 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

As a youth pastor I found that my best practices come from those who have been where I am headed. Discussing the current opportunities and challenges that come with leading in the church today is one of the things I look forward to the most at the Orange Conference. I believe that the Orange Conference could be the biggest bang for your buck if you work with kids/students or oversee a staff that does. (senior leaders/pastors)

THE PRICE GOES UP TOMORROW // REGISTER TODAY!

I value strategy…it’s one of my strengths. Attending the Orange Conference is one of the most strategic things I believe you could do for your ministry. Arriving in Atlanta is kinda like arriving at Grand Central Station for youth ministry, it’s a massive hub that we all have in common but there are different trains to board for different destinations. Perhaps you want to learn more about small group leading…they have a class for that. Or perhaps you are trying to blend a kids and students ministry into one common vision and become NextGen, they have classes for that, or maybe you just simply want to become a better leader, they have a class for that too. The possibilities are endless on what you will learn, who you will meet, and how your church will benefit from this.

Be strategic. Get to the Orange Conference. I’ll see you there.

Make a list and check it twice. Event planning in ministry.

December 23, 2015 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

We have 325 kids/students and 100 adult leaders registered for 2016 Winter Camp. Each year we are growing in attendance by 20%…it’s really fun to watch this thing take off!

Four months ago we launched registration for our winter camp. On August 23, we offered up a family BBQ and open house where parents could hear the vision from our NextGen team and meet their child’s small group leader. As a bonus, incentive, bribe…we promised a promo code to all that attended. This promo code would be good for $25 off of the camp price.

It worked. Really well.

Parents and students showed up in droves, we had almost 1,000 people show up. We had a short program that was jam packed with high energy music and a compelling vision moment from our NextGen pastor, Kenny Conley.

Our team made a decision this year to be finished with “camp stuff” before Christmas. Well, with a few changes on our staff team and one being out with a baby for a few months we slowed down a little bit but we almost did it. In reviewing our project plan we are 85-90% there. We will come back from our week off of work ready to knock it out, but most of the heavy lifting is finished!

When you decide to aim for a due date on any project take this into consideration:

Pick a reasonable due date. If it’s something as big as a camp start planning 5-6 months out.
Work as a team. Assign tasks and sub-tasks to each person on your staff or volunteer team.
Each task or sub-task has it’s own due date to keep things moving along.
Check-in weekly. Pick a time each week to review the checklist, where are you stuck?
Keep this updated in google docs where others can see progress or lack thereof.
Assign one person to be the project manager. This naturally can be the boss/supervisor but someone else on your team may be a better fit because of how they are wired.

My next post will be a step by step checklist with tasks and subtasks that should be helpful for any camp/retreat.

Life of a youth pastor .

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