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An answer to prayer – the Gateway Leadership Development Program.

September 10, 2015 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Church Planting, Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: intern, ldp, leader, leadership, stumin, youthmin

Large Group vs. Small Group

March 31, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

tug of war

Let’s play out a mock scenario. You are alone in ministry and are presented with the option to provide a dynamic large group program that dozens of students enjoy attending OR recruit and equip other leaders to provide small groups for the same group of students.

Large Group or Small Groups? And you can only choose one.

This may not be the current reality of your leadership position or church, but depending which one you choose in this mock scenario says a lot about your ministry philosophy and how you will execute that philosophy.

Perhaps you do offer both the large group program and the small group model. One of these will receive more planning this week than the other. One of these has a larger budget. One of gets more time and attention.

Why did I create a mock scenario for you? Because it’s easier to think that this is a pretend situation rather than a reality that happens every single week. Every week you will choose as the ministry leader whether large group or small group is more important. You will program for one better than the other, you will put more time and effort into one rather than the other. It may be time for you to re-evaluate your priority of large group vs. small group.

I’ve got more to say about this in my next post and announce the winner.

Filed Under: Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: budget, large group, leader, pastor, planning, small group, small group leader, student ministry, think orange, Youth Ministry

Give them time.

March 29, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

loveovertime

My most repeated request from small group leaders over the past month has been, “Can we get more time for small group?”

I love what the ReThink groups states: Love over time matters. If that’s the case, here is what I would say to all the youth pastors out there, “QUIT TAKING ALL THE TIME.” If you have an opportunity to put another leader in the spotlight, do it. Make small groups a reality.

With our student programs being scheduled to include both large group and small group time, the large group time can easily trump the small group time–but it shouldn’t. The large group time has many moving elements–games, announcements, message and worship. Just because it has more moving parts, doesn’t give it a more dominant position. When we weigh the importance of small group time vs. large group time, the actual amount of time given is your measurement. Small group leaders need time to build trust. When trust is built then students open up and relationships happen. Relationships matter the most. Relationships are the glue of our ministry.

I have been guilty of hijacking the time of my small group leaders during our large group time. Leaving your leaders just enough time to get into a quick discussion before closing in prayer is like giving them a cake and not enough time to eat it.

Give them time.

Filed Under: Church Planting, Leadership, Student Ministry Tagged With: discussion, large group, leader, small group, small group leader, student pastor, think orange, time, youth pastor

#1 advice to youth pastors.

March 19, 2014 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

advice

Last year I had the privilege of meeting Kevin Ragsdale and spending some time with him. Kevin is the director of high school ministry at NorthPoint and has been for many, many years. I toured the HS ministry and have implemented a few things learned, like providing dinner for students before the program. Kevin, full of experience, I knew I had one final question for him before ending our conversation, “What is the one piece of advice you would give to me as a youth pastor in a new church?” He quickly responded, “Don’t quit too soon.”

Those words have stuck with me over the past year, but I can’t imagine what those words will truly mean until years from now. As a youth pastor you will have too many “good” reasons to quit. Everything from budgets to a confrontation with your senior pastor. Did I mention that rally of leaders or parents that question you, or are against the way you are doing things? These are just a few reasons why we get tired in the game and giving up could be so enticing. Don’t do it.

Every hard conversation, budget dollar you spend, sermon you preach, leader you recruit, and vision casting moment… you are gaining ground and creating forward momentum. Don’t let that one thing that is currently bringing you down right now be the deciding factor in quitting your position and moving on to another church or ministry where you will face similar things. Learn to stick up for yourself, your ministry, your vision and put the time in. Keep short accounts and seek reconciliation.

What kind of student ministry would your church and families benefit from if you remained their leader for the next 5 years? 8 years? 15 years?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Church Planting, leader, longevity, quitting, senior pastor, student pastor, youth pastor

The guest group. WIN! WIN! WIN!

March 14, 2014 by Chris Parker 6 Comments

guestgroup

The picture you see here was our guest group last week.  At our program we always start as a large group and then break out into small groups.

When everyone breaks for small groups, we invite all guests and the friend that brought them to hang around for the guest group. We make it special, offering ice cream… what would you do for a Klondike bar? Go to guest group!

After the guest attends the guest group at least twice, and they want to continue showing up to the program, I transition them into a small group. This will eliminate those who just visit once or are unsure if they want to participate in your church program. It is difficult for the small group leaders to gain traction when new students are popping in all the time. Here’s the other really cool part, I encourage the student pastor to host the guest group. I get to meet every student that comes through the door this way, they hear our vision for them being here, and they don’t feel invisible or glanced over! WIN! WIN! WIN!

I host the guest group in the large group space. This eliminates transition time or having your guest adjust to another room or setting. Asking easy generic questions is the way to go. Keep things surface level, share the vision of your ministry and what you hope to offer them, perhaps ask one or two questions pertaining to the message.

What do you offer your guests?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: church, follow up, guest, guest group, large group, leader, small group, student ministry, student pastor, visitor, youth pastor

Empower them!

March 3, 2014 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

braveheart460

A good leader demonstrates great abilities. A great leader empowers the abilities within others.

If you do not learn this and act upon it you will be consumed by details and will be stuck right where you are at. Once you have reached capacity of what you are able to handle and I’d argue well before that, you need to learn how to extend your ministry to others. Learn how to give it away.

I am fully capable of calling and talking with all the parents represented in my ministry, and perhaps once a year I may attempt to do that. With 17 small groups, and around 175 students representing 350 parents I cannot simply pick up the phone and make a personal phone call. This past weekend I passed out our current rosters and made the ask. I asked each small group leader to call down the list of names represented in their small group and help spread the word about our summer mission trip opportunities.

Instead of calling 350 parents this week I intend to send one email and let those closest to the students call the parents, the small group leaders. Yes, I am leveraging the leadership I have… so that my entire team can carry the weight of responsibility we have been given.

When you empower those around you, there is more buy-in to your mission, more attention given to where its currently needed and you are less likely to burn out! Work smarter not harder.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Church Planting, delegate, empower, leader, student ministry, student pastor, youth pastor

Can two baptize one?

February 20, 2014 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

baptism

Last night was awesome.

As stated in my previous post about Young Life and my desire to partner with them… I had texted a few of their leaders yesterday and one responded by saying he was attending our churches baptism last night. Arriving at church I was introduced by one of my students to the local high school’s YL leader. We chatted for a bit and then discovered that we together were baptizing the same student! It was beautiful picture of the church and campus ministry partnering together to invest in the life of the next generation.

Our students need more than one positive influence and voice in their life. How can you cheer on those other positive voices that are outside your own independent church.

I hope to see this happen many more times in “our” ministry together reaching students for Jesus. What’s holding you back? How can you partner with your local school’s campus ministries. Do you have similar experiences to share?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: baptism, baptize, campus ministry, church, leader, nextgen, small group, student ministry, young life, Youth Ministry

Church & School – Build the Bridge! (DIY9.10)

May 15, 2013 by Chris Parker 1 Comment

blueschool-hallwayThis is in response to a former article I wrote on DIY Student Ministry. This is the ninth of ten areas that I’m covering in this series.

Nothing says, “I want to be in your world” more than a visit to the student’s school. Whether it be for lunch in the cafeteria or sitting in the student section at a football game – when you approach the school you approach where they do most of their life. Now before I get into this, we must make an observation…some schools are open and some are closed, meaning some schools will let you and your volunteers into the building for lunch with your students while others will not. There are some loopholes. Some campuses would like to make you think they are closed…start asking questions of where they need help or how you can meet with an individual student. The administration may start by asking you to fill out a volunteer application or have a written letter on file from the parent of the student you are meeting with.

When you get into a student’s world at school, you will better understand the crowd you are trying to reach on a weekly basis. If you lose touch of this, you diminish your effectiveness as a student pastor. You might as well be teaching an empty hallway.

When I was in Chicago the campuses were closed but I was able to apply for a mentor program that allowed me to get on campus and meet with students that needed help thinking through the process of going to college. This allowed me to see some of my students but also meet students I didn’t already know.

Here in Austin it’s a little bit of both, it’s actually not even consistent within each school district. I had a regular habit of visiting the closest school this semester until things got ridiculously busy. One thing I quickly discovered was that my HS group of 60 students represented 16 different high schools in the Austin area. Knowing that I barely had the time to visit one school, I knew that do-it-yourself student ministry would not have the impact that these students and schools needed from the church. I currently have one HS volunteer visiting (going through the application process) the school I was visiting and one MS volunteer visiting a MS just down the road. Slowly but surely I hope to get more of my leaders and volunteers to help build the bridge between the church and school.

Here are some ways to get started:

  • Do a prayer walk. Pick a Saturday morning, invite your volunteers and walk the campus asking God to open doors (literally) for you and your team.
  • Just do it! Try to meet with one of your students with lunch. Make sure to check-in with the office.
  • Schedule a meeting with the principal, let him/her know that you and your volunteers are available for anything that they may need help with.
  • Go to the games. Students love to be supported, make a sign, paint your face, make it memorable!
  • Send a gift basket their way with a card in it on teacher appreciation day.
  • Offer to plant flowers or do landscaping to make the campus a more enjoyable place, see if the garden center in your town would donate flowers and plants to this.
  • Recruit specific volunteers to be the liaison for a specific campuses. Get this team together in the late summer to strategize and set goals for the school year. Talk about what success looks like.

How have you made a presence on your school campus? What is your success story of partnering with a local school?

This is in response to a former article I wrote on DIY Student Ministry. This is the ninth of ten areas that I’m covering in this series.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: austin, bridge, chicago, church, DIY, games, hallway, high school, leader, middle school, prayer walk, principal, school, student ministry, student pastor, stumin, turf, volunteer, youth pastor

Supply Run! (DIY8.10)

May 8, 2013 by Chris Parker 2 Comments

shopping-cartThis is in response to a former article I wrote on DIY Student Ministry. This is the eighth of ten areas that I’m covering in this series.

I’ll make this one short and sweet. You don’t need to do all of the shopping for your ministry. There are plenty of leaders and parents out there that are willing to swing by the store for you, just ask. Get away from do-it-yourself student ministry by delegating to others, allowing them to be a piece in the process of pulling your program or event together. Bringing others into your supply run outings can bring great benefits.

ALWAYS

  • Ask another leader or parent to do your supply run.
  • Encourage leaders to take students with them, it’s a great time to build community.
  • Have a supply list prepared, more time is wasted in the store if you don’t have a list.
  • Understand your method of payment and how reimbursements work at your church, be up front with your leaders/parents and make sure they get their reimbursement.

IDEAS

  • Amazon Prime – Free two day shipping on most items, delivered right to the church. Eliminates the time and money spent on an outing to the store.
  • The dollar store…hidden treasures await you and your students.
  • Old stuff in your youth storage space, you haven’t used this stuff in a year. Get creative with supplies you already have or bring back an old game.

Subscribe to lifeofayouthpastor in the top right corner of this page, pass the homelink on to friends that might benefit from these postings. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: DIY, leader, list, parent, shop, shopping, student ministry, student pastor, stumin, supply run, volunteer, Youth Ministry, youth pastor

Are you prepared for the attack?

December 27, 2012 by Chris Parker Leave a Comment

water-leaking-through-the-ceiling

Perhaps the best time to buy or rent a house is after a storm. A heavy storm. You can see where the house leaks, where it is weak and vulnerable to the attack of the elements. It’s a full house here in NYC and after the big storm last night this truth is all too fresh for my wife and I – we woke up to standing water in her parents basement.  Thankfully, everything is okay and after many loads of laundry and a few laughs we are getting ready for the day.

Now, you don’t usually get to call upon a thunderstorm right before you sign a lease or give a down payment, but soon enough the storm will come. When water starts appearing where it shouldn’t you find yourself on the hunt for leaks, seeps, drips and drops. Finding the source to the weakness and point of attack is crucial. If you do not find the source, or the initial point of attack, you can count on that specific leak coming back with a vengeance, causing more damage than it did originally.

This is a reality that every pastor or youth worker should understand. Let me explain.

Six months ago I inherited a youth ministry. While I would not consider myself “owner” (that’s God) I do feel very responsible to be a good steward of what He has entrusted to me during this season of life.

This ministry has endured a few storms- both prior to my coming and since my arrival- and I have had the opportunity to see its true colors, those areas where it is vulnerable for attack. Now, let’s go back to this morning. My wife and I wake up to standing water. Quickly we react- find a bucket, a towel, a shopvac, anything to maintain the leak and clean up the mess. But we don’t stop there; we search for the source of the leak. Once found, would it make sense to ignore it and go back to sleep? No. After doing damage control one should repair it, patch it, and reinforce it. We need to ensure that water is not going to seep in through that crack ever again.

While water was our enemy this morning, each day every one of us face a craftier enemy – Satan.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

Whether it be people- students, volunteers, fellow staff- or a personal struggle, I guarantee that you will endure attack from the enemy on every level. Your ministry will encounter strong winds, thunderstorms, and possibly a hurricane now and again. Stand your ground. Build your ministry to be ready for the attack.

Here are a few things to keep in mind during an attack:

  • Do not inflict more damage by confusing the damage with the source of attack. I cannot be more straightforward than this: too many times we are quick to blame a person or focus on a current problem rather than searching out the source. Yes, humans do give into temptation, people say mean things, and as a leader people will follow you or rally against you. Perhaps a moral failure will cause dissension in your ministry or even a dark secret revealed will void the return of one of your all-star volunteers. We must remember that Satan is the tempter, the schemer, the one who is unseen and desires to stay unseen. He is plotting us against each other and aiming to tear us apart. Don’t forget your source of attack.
  • You determine how others react. As the leader, people will mirror your reaction to the attack at hand. What you say will be repeated and how you handle the attack will show your team how they should handle the attack. If you have to reveal a weakness or problem area to your team, do so in such a way that points back to the enemy and reminds them that you have hope for the situation. If you do not respond well you may as well pour salt on the wound.
  • Bear up arms against the enemy, be prepared with prayer and scripture. The Apostle Paul knew his enemy and was prepared for the attack. He was not content with simply sitting in defeat but rather found his strength and defense in something more than what the enemy could handle. He used divine communication to call upon the ultimate power! Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
  • Victory has been promised. Despite the attack, hold on to the hope we have. Perhaps at times I am too eternally focused, letting the present pass me by. However, there is much hope found in our future as the Church. The enemy will be defeated once and for all – we must consider him as that, a loser. Shedding light on this hope and helping your team think this way can help get you over the hump and past the situation at hand. Spanning thousands of years, your attack is one of many skirmishes on a battlefield of millions.
  • See the unseen. You must always be aware that you will often be unaware – you cannot see everything that takes place. I often pray for Elisha goggles! 2 Kings 6:17 – And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Asking the Lord for wisdom, discernment, foresight, and processing skills is incredibly important.  Pray for these things when you encounter attack or are trying to prevent one. Never underestimate the power of asking for these things.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: attack, basement, battle, enemy, leader, ministry, pastor, prepared, students, victory, water, Youth Ministry

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Hey there, my name is Chris. I wake up every morning thinking youth ministry. If you are in the same boat, then I know you will identify with me, because you also live the life of a youth pastor .

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