I remember the excitement of the first month of being a full-time youth minister. I had so many ideas of how I was going to evangelize the world and raise up a new generation of sold-out Jesus-freaks. With my YOUR FIRST TWO YEARS IN YOUTH MINISTRY by Doug Fields in one hand and my coffee mug in the other, I felt excited to begin building my ministry. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that you can’t just build a ministry and expect everyone else to immediately be on board. I quickly realized that criticism (and sometimes constant criticism) was going to be something I would have to deal with. Here is the reality: In ministry, not everyone is going to like the decisions you make. Actually, in ministry, not everyone is going to like you. As harsh as that may sound, it is a very important reality that all ministers need to know. You are going to get angry emails from parents. You are going to have students who actively work against your plans for the ministry. You are going to have church leaders and pastors who don’t agree with you. So here are a couple of things every minister needs to remember when dealing with criticism and conflict. 1. DON’T BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE I wish someone would have told me at the beginning: experiencing criticism doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you.When I was first met with criticism, I thought it was my job to make everyone happy. I jumped through as many hoops as possible in an attempt to make every student, leader and parent happy. You will never make everyone happy. Nor should you. Some of the people who are criticizing your ministry are actually wrong and just want their way. Remember that. To follow the people-pleasing path is a quick slope downward toward burn-out. ...Continue on Youth Specialities Blog
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Got to be apart of an awesome conversation with some friends from Youth Specialities. We discussed the importance of volunteer training in ministry. This was a really enjoyable time of just being real about the struggles of training volunteers and also gaining insight into how to best equip leaders for ministry success.
After being in ministry for about 5 years, I began to wonder why the team I was building wasn’t working the best. I was confused why my volunteers were not as excited as I was. I felt like I was doing everything and they were just hanging out with their back against the wall. I decided to meet with a handful of leaders and really ask them what was going on. I quickly began to realize how beat down and burnt out my leaders were. Many of them loved volunteering and working with the teens in my group but they felt like week after week they were just being dragged through the mud.
Years later now, I have learned my lesson. Here are five things we need to do in order to lead volunteers well in any area of ministry. 1. LEADERS NEED TO COMMUNICATE AND SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONSLeading a ministry can be chaotic. And many times you are just happy to see volunteers showing up so you can begin to order them around to fix, clean and set up whatever it is you didn’t get done. However, volunteers have chaotic lives to. They have just come from a stressful day at work or home and as much as they want to help, they also want to know what is going on. This is why I not only make it a point to have a “detailed” schedule for every ministry event, but I talk over that schedule with leaders before the event. ..... Continue on Youth Specialities Blog It was one of those nights again.
Youth group was a disaster. The students were not motivated to be serious. The leaders were frustrated. I had a hard conversation with a parent about a student’s issues. By the end of the night I was exhausted. I remember sitting with my wife and saying things like, “if the harvest is so ripe then why do I feel like I am beating a shovel in the dirt” and “I feel like I should cancel youth group next week.” If you have been in youth ministry for any amount of time, you have most likely faced these seasons of struggling. You have faced these times where it feels as though you are pushing a boulder up a snowy hill. These times can be isolating and exhausting. Many have even quit ministry as the pressure for success became too much. But the call of ministry was never supposed to be this easy picture-perfect life. The best ministry did not just appear. If you are experiencing a trial in your youth ministry, be open to the lessons God may want to teach you through it. If you are struggling right now in ministry, here are a couple of things to think about, try, and remember. I strongly believe these 5 things will help you in creating a spiritually healthy environment in your ministry..... Continue reading at YouthGroupCollective.com Here is a list of some of my favoriate worship songs from the past year. Some of them predate 2016 but nonetheless these are the worship songs that have been speaking to my soul over the past year. They are in no particular order and there are of course many songs I could put on the list, but these songs are the most meaningful to me. Please enjoy!! Like, share, and comment your favorite 2016-2017 worship songs. 1. What Beautiful Name by HIllsong Worship2. I Surrender by ALl Sons and Daughters3. The Lion and The Lamb by Leeland/Bethel4. Your Love Awakens Me by Phil Wickham5. Here's My Heart by Lauren Daigle6. Jesus We Love You by Paul McClure/Bethel7. Pieces by Steffany Gretzinger/Bethel8. Trust by Hillsong Young and Free9. Resurrecting by Elevation Worship10. Here As IN Heaven by Elevation Worship11. Only Your Love by Kari Jobe12. God With Us Bryan Torwalt/Jesus Culture1. AirZOoka |
AuthorMy name is Andrew May. Archives
June 2017
CategoriesAdamDorband.com |