10 Ideas For Developing Leaders on Your Youth Ministry Team

Starting in January, we're going to try an experiment that will give a few people on our youth ministry team an opportunity to gain some additional training and experience in speaking "up front" to teenagers. The books our teaching team will read together arrived in the mail this week, and it got me thinking about what other small things we could do in our youth ministry that could have a big impact on developing the adult volunteers on our team. Here are ten ideas for developing leaders on your youth ministry team:

Ask others to speak/teach once a month. Whether you put together a teaching team like we're doing or you simply make sure someone besides you is "up front" once a month, handing over the teaching time to others will give them the opportunity to grow in the area of speaking.

Have a volunteer lead a game. You might be the youth pastor, but you don't have the corner on games. Ask a volunteer to lead a game or activity at your next event or youth group.

Take a leader to school. If you visit a high school campus or go to an athletic event at a school, take a leader with you.

Getting Ready for a Great School Year of Small Groups

It's July, but my mind has been on September for quite some time. One of my favorite parts of our youth ministry is our small groups, and it's been a lot of fun to see how God has used our high school small groups to grow students in their relationship with Jesus. I've learned the hard way that small groups don't just happen--they require a good amount of prayer and planning. If you'd like to launch an incredible small group ministry this fall, here are some of the things you need to be thinking about TODAY:

Ask God to provide great leaders. Being a small group leader is a shepherding role, and it requires God's gifting and calling for someone to fill that role effectively. You cannot depend only on your connections and charm to find great leaders. As you build your team of small group leaders, understand that you're not just looking for warm bodies to fill a space. Pray for each group that needs leaders, and ask God to send you people who will minister to teenagers, care for them, and continually point them toward Jesus.

7 Secrets to Being an Effective Youth Worker (and Other Youth Ministry Myths)

Next week will mark ten years since I first convinced someone to actually pay me to work with teenagers and lead a youth ministry. Since I love what I do, it doesn't really feel like it's been ten years (although some of those years felt longer than others). But in some respects, ten years is a long time--especially when I think about the fact that my soon-to-be kindergartener will be entering 10th grade in another ten years. Considering that length of time, I feel like I ought to have gained a wealth of knowledge--perhaps a treasure trove of youth ministry "secrets"--that I could pass on to youth workers who are where I was ten years ago: In their early 20s, ready to change the world, and without a clue about what they've really gotten themselves into.

Unfortunately, I have no secrets to share--unless "secret" is another word for "Really Dumb Mistakes I Made That You Should Stay Away From." But I have learned--and sometimes believed in--a number of Youth Ministry Myths that are alive and well today, but are very, very unhelpful. Here's a few of them:

There are 7 Secrets to Being an Effective Youth Worker. Or 3 secrets to a great outreach event, mission trip, or small group ministry. It's a myth, because there are no "secrets" to any kind of ministry. I've made it a practice to meet with youth pastors I really respect to pick their brain about how they lead their youth ministry and to occasionally observe them in action. When I find out their "secret sauce" for a great youth ministry, I find that they really don't have a secret at all. Usually, under the hood of a solid youth ministry is this: Solid, Christ-centered and Holy-Spirit driven leadership; compassion and love for teenagers; and a team of adult leaders who simply want to see God glorified as he transforms the lives of teenagers and their families through a relationship with Jesus. There are many great strategies, programs, and leadership techniques that can help us be more effective as leaders, but there is no "secret" to a great youth ministry (so stop trying to find it).

Stuff Volunteers LOVE

Do you like your youth ministry volunteers? Do you want them to keep serving with you? Then you'll want to get pretty well acquainted with the following list. Not sure where to start? Here are some directions: 1) Apply generously to everyone on your youth ministry team. Lather if needed. 2) Rinse. 3) Repeat.

Stuff Volunteers Like LOVE

1. Smiles
2. Teenagers who say "Thank you!"
3. Name tags that clearly identify them as a leader (you know you have a few leaders who are in their 20s but look like they are thirteen)
4. Starbucks when they have to be at church at 5am for the mission trip
5. Information
6. A heads-up on what your message will be about at youth group
7. Thank you notes
8. Short meetings

Why We Do A Leader Retreat

Group Photo From Our Leader Retreat

Retreats are an important part of our youth ministry schedule. But we don't just do youth retreats; we also have an annual leader retreat. It's become an significant part of caring for the adult leaders who care for our students. While we limit the retreat to just one night, it's definitely not a cheap budget item. Here's why we have made it a priority the past four years:

It's a gift. Retreats are fun and refreshing, and not just for teenagers. By providing a short retreat for our leaders, we communicate that we care for our leaders. It's a weekend where we can care for our leaders by helping them relax, focus on their relationship with God, and shoot guns together (we live in Utah, so it's a pretty common pastime). By making it free for our leaders, it's a very nice "thank you" present.

Video of the Week: Mark Driscoll, "Serving is Awesome"

In light of my post this week on finding people to serve in youth ministry, I thought this was a great video to share. I love Driscoll's language about treating the church like a hotel and not a home, and I think it's a great picture to use when teaching or preaching on the importance of serving within the church body:

Stop Looking for Volunteers

Credit: Creative Commons (zigazou76)

Early on as a youth pastor, "looking for volunteers" was always a struggle for me. I'm not one of those guys that can convince people to do just about anything or a salesman who can make an all-night lock-in seem like a weekend in the Riviera. So, I was always on the lookout for volunteers, and often became frustrated when I had a hard time getting enough adult volunteers to come on a retreat or just have a weekly youth group meeting.

Somewhere along the way, I came to realize that I was approaching it all wrong. I had been looking for volunteers, people whom I could convince to give up some of their time so that we could have a youth ministry. And when my initial "pitch" didn't convince enough people to volunteer, I would (embarrassingly) at times resort to other tactics, such as guilt, to get the job done. That, I now know, is an awful way to get the best people to volunteer in youth ministry.

Dear Youth Pastor: My Volunteers are Too Involved!

Note: If this is your first time reading "Dear Youth Pastor," please read this post first.


Dear Youth Pastor:

Not too long ago, my senior pastor came into my office to let me know about a new young couple who had relocated to our town and had recently become members at our church. He explained that they were both interested in working with teenagers, and had led the youth ministry at their former church before they moved. My senior pastor thought they would make great leaders and asked if I wouldn't mind meeting with them to talk about adding them to our volunteer team.

Well, we met. And they became leaders. I knew it would be trouble from the start. The first few weeks weren't so bad. I did my best to keep them busy with jobs like organizing the snacks in the church kitchen and cleaning up after the decorate-your-friend's-face-with-ice-cream-toppings game. But then I went on vacation. Since none of my other leaders ever really stick around for more than a few months, I asked this new couple to lead youth group for the two weeks I would be out of town. It was a complete disaster. When I came back, they were energized, said they really enjoyed serving, and asked how they could serve more and give more time to our youth ministry. They even offered to lead youth group once a month so that I could have a week off from having to prepare a lesson!

If I don't do something quickly, I'm afraid they are going to take on more responsibility and become more involved. What should I do?


Sincerely,
Worried in West Haven



Worried:

Your concerns are well-founded. Much trouble has been caused in youth ministries through the years by well-meaning volunteers who don't understand their place in youth ministry: to clean up messes and make sure teenagers don't break any rules. It sounds like your new leaders are really excited and energized, so you have a lot of work ahead of you. Here are a few things that will help you along:

Assign them tasks that keep them away from students. If they want to help, by all means, let them help! Find things for them to do that don't involve a lot of contact with students, such as setting up games or running the sound equipment. You need to be careful on this one, though. It sounds like they might be the kind of leaders who will try to mentor students during such tasks by asking one or two to help them, so watch out for that sort of thing.

Avoid meetings of every kind. When you meet together with your leaders, chances are they might be encouraged by your time together, and rejuvenated enough to keep serving. Over-excited leaders will begin to lose steam if they can't connect with you to discuss any issues they might encounter as leaders or to simply ask for advice.

When you're on vacation, don't ask them to help lead youth group; simply cancel it. From your letter, it sounds like you need to understand a key principle of youth ministry: youth ministry doesn't happen without you, the youth pastor. Make sure you've got a hand in everything that goes on in your ministry. Not only will that stop volunteers from meddling, but it will keep you right where you belong: at the center of your youth ministry.

I hope this helps, Worried. Hopefully, you'll be back to running YOUR ministry on YOUR terms sooner rather than later.

Best,
Youth Pastor


Dear Youth Pastor is a public service to the good people who read this blog, and letters are published every Thursday. To ask Youth Pastor a question, just email him at DearYouthPastor@hotmail.com.

Recruiting Youth Volunteers: Breaking In New Leaders

Credit: Creative Commons (spDuchamp)

It's Volunteer Week here on the blog. Monday, I covered how to ask someone to be a volunteer on your youth ministry team. Yesterday, it was the interview and screening process. Today, we'll talk about how to get your new volunteers off on the right foot.

The first couple of months of a leader's time on your team can make the difference between a volunteer who completes a year of service and cycles off the team, and one who will become a long-time teammate that you can count on year after year. Admittedly, this is the step that's been a weak step for me, and I've had to be very intentional in helping volunteers get started on the right foot. Here are a few things I've found helpful:

Have a short "trial" period where leaders simply spend time getting their feet wet and observing the youth ministry. When new leaders come on board, I usually ask them to simply join us at our Sunday morning large group gathering to observe what's going on. I stress that their job is meet a few students, get an idea of what we do in our ministry, and make sure that they want to commit to being a leader. Not only does it take some pressure off of them right at the start, it also gives them the space and freedom to build relationships with students and other leaders, as well as to perhaps decide that being a youth leader isn't for them.

Recruiting Youth Volunteers: Interviewing and Screening

Credit: Creative Commons (spDuchamp)

This week is Volunteer Week here on the blog. Yesterday, I wrote about how to ask someone to be a volunteer on your youth ministry team. Today, we'll cover how to interview and screen a potential leader.

This is the step most youth pastors neglect or skip over. Many youth workers are good at "gathering" and getting people to be on their team. Many are good at caring for and equipping their team once they've got their leader in place. However, far too many leaders are added to our teams without so much as an interview or even a background check. If you're going to build a good team, you need to make sure you've got the right people on your team. Once you've got someone who wants to be on your team, how to you get to know them so you know they'll be a good fit?

They key to interviewing and screening potential volunteers is having a clear process for doing so. Even if you're at a small church and have five volunteers, you need to have a set process for bringing a new volunteer onto your team. Who reviews the application? How many references do you require? Who oversees the background screening? Who ultimately "signs off" on the potential volunteer and allows them to officially become a leader? It's important to have these details in place so that interviewees will know what to expect of the process and how they become a leader. In our ministry, the process goes like this:

Recruiting Youth Volunteers: The Ask

Credit: Creative Commons (spDuchamp)

While I'm always happy to welcome new people onto our high school ministry team, the spring semester is the time when I tend to focus a lot more time and attention on building and adding to our team. I've found that it's easier to recruit and meet with potential volunteers in April and May than it is in July and August when people are on vacation and I'm gearing up for the fall semester. If you tend to find yourself scrambling for volunteers just before your fall kick-off, you might try carving out some serious time in the next month or two to recruiting new leaders to add to your team.

This week, I'll dedicate a few posts to recruiting volunteers and building a great team. It's an area I've had to grow a ton in, and I've done so mostly through learning from my mistakes. Today's post is dedicated to how to ask people to serve on your team. When I got my first staff position as a youth director, I had no idea how to build a team and ask people to give their time volunteering with students. Here are a few things I've learned:

Ask people (including students) who they think would make a good leader. I don't know everyone in our church, and even when I worked in a small church of 150 people, I didn't know everyone even then! Don't limit your pool of potential volunteers to people you already know. Ask people you trust--including students--who they think would make good leaders. You might be surprised at the names you get. Every spring, I ask our current leaders to give me two names of people they think might make a good addition to our team. As our team has grown over the past couple of years, we've had a lot more diverse of a team than if I did all the recruiting myself. We even have a leader who has single-handedly recruited four other great leaders to be on our team in the year and a half she's been a volunteer. Cast the net wider by asking others to help you identify potential leaders.

Pay Your Leaders

We all have volunteers in our youth ministries that do such an amazing job and go above and beyond each and every week, we'd pay them if we could. Well, just because we can't give our leaders a paycheck doesn't mean we can't pay them. Here are some ways you can "pay" your leaders:

Send thank you notes. After an event or program that requires a lot of effort from your leaders, send them a thank you note. A small sign of appreciation goes a long way in encouraging and keeping your best leaders.

Don't make your leaders pay to go on trips. I know it can put a huge dent in the budget, but don't make volunteers pay to serve on overnight trips. They take time away from their family and jobs, so it makes a world of difference when you can say, "We're glad you're coming, it's on us!"

Tensions in youth ministry

Credit: comedy_nose (Creative Commons)

Being a youth pastor means that my attention is pulled in several different directions. As a youth pastor, I lead and cast the vision for our high school ministry, I counsel teenagers and parents, recruit volunteers and lead our ministry team. And then there are my other pastoral duties: preaching when called upon, pastoral care, leading special projects and initiatives. If I'm not careful, then I'll sign on to do too much, but I'll be spread so thin that I can't do any of it very well.

The same is true when it comes to deciding what our youth ministry should focus on. After all, every church and ministry has a finite amount of volunteers, time, and resources. We can't focus on everything, and so we experience a certain amount of tension, knowing that if we give our attention to one thing, it means that something else won't get as much attention. To some extent, this is a very good thing. We can't do everything, and so we need to do what we feel God has led us to do. But it's good to recognize those tensions. I'll share a few that I've noticed in recent months, but I want to make myself clear: in each tension, I'm not suggesting that it has to be one or the other, or even that a 50/50 balance is desirable. I'm just pointing out the fact that there are tensions, because we believe that we have to be great at everything I list below, we'll end up discouraged and burned out. With that in mind, here are a few of the tensions:


Deep discipleship vs. discipling many. I've heard and read this debated in countless seminary classes, books, blogs, and conference workshops: should a church or ministry focus inward on making solid disciples of those already in their church, or should they put all their eggs in evangelism and making new disciples? Of course, the answer isn't either/or, and the ideal answer is "both." But we all have limited time, people, and resources, so this becomes a difficult tension.

Video of the Week: Mykel Ramsey, Kidney Transplant Recipient

I don't remember if I've shared this before, but this is a pretty cool video of one of our Junior High leaders and administrative assistant in our office:

Building a Team: Getting the Right Leaders in the Right Places

I used to say, "If you want to serve, we've got a place for you in youth ministry." Now, I'm not sure that's so true. It's not that I'm swimming with volunteers so much that I need to turn people away. In fact, I feel as though the opposite is true; we've got some great people in place, but I wouldn't mind having quite a few more.

Other than a few situations where I've had to remove a leader for disciplinary reasons, I don't think I've ever turned away a leader. However, I have had my fair share serve for a season (a semester or a year), then quietly fade into the sunset by politely declining to continue to be a part of our team. Sometimes, that person has let me know why they are leaving.

Broken Doors Part Deux: How To Fix a Broken Door

Earlier this week, I wrote about broken doors in ministry: things that are broken, but they've been broken so long, it doesn't seem weird anymore that they're broken. It's easy enough to point out those broken doors, but how do we fix them? After all, the store by our church with the chronically broken door has tried to fix the door occasionally (in good faith, I assume), but that "out of order" sign always seems to be needed just a few days later.

I don't have a clue how to fix doors. Or anything in my house for that matter. This week, we had a leak in our basement, and I sprung to action by frantically texting anyone I thought might be able to help. When help came, I watched the action unfold as a length of pipe was replaced. I tried my best to appear I had the slightest idea of what my friend was doing as he graciously fixed the problem, when in reality I didn't. But I do know this about the grocery store's broken automatic door: whatever they have tried to do to solve the problem hasn't worked.

Something tells me the store management (or the door repairman they've hired for the job) doesn't really know what's causing the problem.

A Process For Recruiting and Screening Volunteer Leaders

Last week, I posted on the simple requirements I have for leaders: that they love Jesus and love teenagers. Of course, our screening process is a bit more involved than this. I take my role as the leader of our adult volunteers very seriously, and a huge part of that is recruiting and screening our volunteers. I did not know much about the ins and outs of recruiting volunteers and how to screen them when I first started out in youth ministry, and I'd be willing to bet that others have felt the same way.

Here is a brief overview of our process for recruiting and screening leaders. If you'd like a bit more information on this topic, feel free to let me know, and I'll be happy to make time for you.

1) Make contact with potential volunteer. There are several ways to find potential volunteers. I've always found that a personal touch is best. The vast majority of our volunteers are recruited by current volunteers or by me personally.

Jesus and Teenagers--What's in a Name?

This blog is named "Jesus and Teenagers," and I thought I'd share a bit of the inspiration for that name:

I'm often asked by potential youth leaders what the expectations are for an adult volunteer in our youth ministry. My short answer? Love Jesus, and love teenagers. There's also a conversation about gifts, calling, and passion. But my point is that you don't have to feel like you have any special talent, that you need to listen to a particular kind of music, or that you have to be a fan of Glee. You just need to love God and love teenagers.

Of course, loving someone requires action.

Posts of 2010: What students need from their youth leaders

Note: During the week of Christmas, I'm reposting the most popular posts on Jesus and Teenagers from 2010, as well as some of my favorites. Enjoy!

July 5th: What students need from their youth leaders (Original Link)

Note: this post is inspired by item 29 on Tim Schmoyer's "100 blog topics I hope YOU write." If you haven't already, make sure you check out his YM site, studentministry.org.

What do students need from their youth leaders? This is a question that is constantly on my mind, because I'm always on the lookout for people who can partner with us in youth ministry to love students well and point them towards Jesus. In the past year it's become more important to me. I'm still relatively new to my church, and it's a larger setting than I'm used to. In the past, I've been able to have a pretty good idea who will be an effective volunteer in our ministry because I was part of a small church. I could easily get to know just about everyone in the church just by being there every week. Now, I've found that I need to really articulate what I think the characteristics of a good youth leader are. This not only helps me identify and recruit leaders, but it also helps potential leaders know whether serving in our ministry will be a good fit for them. A large part of identifying these characteristics is simply asking the question: "What do students need from their youth leaders?"

My answer?

A passion for following Jesus. The best way to point students towards Jesus is to show them what a growing, passionate relationship with him looks like. Students need to see a relationship with Jesus lived out in the lives of their leaders. I'd take a handful of leaders who pursue Jesus as their "one thing" over a limitless budget, the coolest youth room ever, or all the youth ministry resources in the world.

What students need from their youth leaders

Note: this post is inspired by item 29 on Tim Schmoyer's "100 blog topics I hope YOU write." If you haven't already, make sure you check out his YM site, studentministry.org.

What do students need from their youth leaders? This is a question that is constantly on my mind, because I'm always on the lookout for people who can partner with us in youth ministry to love students well and point them towards Jesus. In the past year it's become more important to me. I'm still relatively new to my church, and it's a larger setting than I'm used to. In the past, I've been able to have a pretty good idea who will be an effective volunteer in our ministry because I was part of a small church. I could easily get to know just about everyone in the church just by being there every week. Now, I've found that I need to really articulate what I think the characteristics of a good youth leader are. This not only helps me identify and recruit leaders, but it also helps potential leaders know whether serving in our ministry will be a good fit for them. A large part of identifying these characteristics is simply asking the question: "What do students need from their youth leaders?"

My answer?

A passion for following Jesus. The best way to point students towards Jesus is to show them what a growing, passionate relationship with him looks like. Students need to see a relationship with Jesus lived out in the lives of their leaders. I'd take a handful of leaders who pursue Jesus as their "one thing" over a limitless budget, the coolest youth room ever, or all the youth ministry resources in the world.