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Josh GriffinMore Posts Caring for Leaders in the Summer

As we’ve already discussed, summer is a chance to change up your student program; why not let it be a chance to change up how you care for your leaders as well. This summer we’re trying some new things, and bringing back some time-tested classic ways to encourage and care for our leaders. Here are a few of both!

Kick it off with a BBQ.
Nothing says “You’re important to me” like a double cheeseburger fresh off the grill….unless you have ribs, too. By now your summer is in full swing, so take an evening to relax, eat some tasty food, and love on your volunteer team. They’ll need the encouragement to make it through the rest of the summer schedule!

Think about a ball game.
A while back we did a big tailgate party with our leaders and bought them tickets to a baseball game. Pick a great night (with fireworks) and if you’ve got the chance, spring for tickets for their whole family as well. Everyone makes sacrifices when a parent serves in youth group—give them all a ballpark dog and a seat in the upper deck to say thanks.

Host a coffee drop-in.
As you care for leaders in the summer, consider this one: Drive-By Coffee. You bring your MacBook and work from Starbucks for the bulk of the afternoon and let all your leaders know if they drop by you’ll buy them a drink. In our experience most will stay for maybe 10-15 minutes, so you can get in a ton of relational time as well as crank on a few emails in between. Of course, you need to be prepared for the awkward leader who decides to hang around for the majority of the afternoon!

Have some end of summer beach/pool fun.
Summer has been incredible, so why not pull everyone together for a little fun poolside? Maybe break out the grill again or just do s’mores at the firepit. Forget any formal program; just circle everyone up at the end of the night to share highlights, favorite moments, and stories that are destined to become legendary in your ministry for years to come.

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.

Add Comment June 29, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Put Your Best People In Your Biggest Opportunities

Whenever ministry goes through a growth spurt there are opportunities to grasp. It might be a mission project, a chance to create a community event or even start a new program within the ministry. The pressure falls on you as a leader, because after all that’s what leaders do, they lead. But, does it really need to come down to you?

A practice that leaders need to embrace is putting your best people in front of your biggest opportunities. The tendency is to put our best people in front of our biggest problems; however, all you are doing is setting them up for doom. Putting your best people in front of your biggest opportunities will not only extend the capacity of your ministry but also give you the freedom to focus on areas where your attention is needed. It’s a form of delegation and sharing the burden, but will only pay off if the right people are in the right places. But, who are they? Do they even exist in your ministry? Who are these best people that need to be placed in front of the big opportunities? They:

Are Trustworthy – You know that they will give you brutal facts and hard truth. If they disagree they’ll share that with you in public while showing you support in public. They are someone you know who will not mislead you.

Go Above And Beyond – If they see something before you they’ll initiate on it. They aren’t meeting your expectations; but going above and beyond. You are constantly surprised by how much they pour into you and the ministry.

Do Not Worry About Failure – They love the risk because they know big changes come from big ideas and decisions. They know failure is just another step in the journey and they trust that God will lead them forward. Because of their faith they are not concerned with what others think.

Are Servant Leaders – They are pastoral by nature because they care for the team. It’s not about them; it’s about setting the team up for success and glorifying God. A servant leader looks at what’s best for the ministry before what’s best for them.

Moving someone who is a great leader from one area of ministry to the next can be intimidating. There is always a little risk associated with a transition like this, that’s why you need to be open and clear with what you want them to do and know. But, by moving your best people into the biggest opportunities in your ministry you create growth. Your capacity as a leader will grow because it’s no longer up to you to manage the many different areas of your ministry.

What are the other qualities of your best people?

Chris Wesley is the Director of Student Ministry at Church of the Nativity in Timonium, MD. You can read more great youth ministry articles and thoughts on his exceptional blog Marathon Youth Ministry.

Add Comment May 28, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: 5 Ways To Encourage a Smooth Transition to High School

One of the most difficult, yet important, times in a student ministry is the moment you transition students from the middle school ministry to the high school ministry. In a matter of weeks, an 8th grade student goes from being the older, cooler, more mature student to being the young new freshmen. This transition can be scary and is often a difficult one; it’s easy to lose students as we try to transition them from being an active middle school student into being an active high school student. Because a healthy junior high ministry will promote a healthy high school ministry, we do a few things to encourage students as they make their transition from middle school to high school.

High School student leaders. As a part of our middle school ministry, we encourage some of our older high school students to attend some of the middle school retreats as leaders. Whenever we have high school students leading on retreats, the relationships that are built between the two groups is incredible. And because of this, there are healthy relationships built with high schoolers and some natural promotion of high school events and programs.

Dual role volunteers. There are a few volunteers that spend time volunteering for both the middle school and high school ministries. This is great as it provides some familiar faces as students make the jump from one to the other. Because of the comfort of having a leader that you already know, I also try to make a point to join our high school team on a couple of retreats throughout the year.

Encourage 8th graders to make the jump now. With our 8th grade students they are able to start doing high school activities as early as May. I do everything that I can to encourage our students to start trying out the high school stuff and continue to encourage them as they come back and tell me about their experiences. As much as I will miss our 8th grade students, I want them to try out the high school ministry significantly more than have them stick around the middle school ministry.

Allow hesitant students more time. Sometimes students really don’t want to make the switch. While eventually we will have to force them to make the switch, we allow our 8th grade students to do any high school or middle school activity all summer long. It’s a special perk that only 8th grade students get because they can pick and choose the best of both worlds. We do this for the students that need a few extra months to make the jump to the high school group.

Keep the door open. It’s sad to see students leave the middle school ministry. But it’s exciting to know the incredible experiences and faith growth that they will experience in the high school ministry. I make it a point to always welcome our high school students into the room. It’s a great opportunity for me to continue the relationships that I started in middle school and also it makes the high school students appear less scary to the much smaller, less hairy middle school students.

RJ Grunewald is a middle school pastor who also has made a few apps for the iPhone. He blogs his thoughts about youth ministry, technology, and theology at rjgrune.com.

Add Comment May 26, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts How to Tell Students You’re Leaving

This one is tough: How do you tell students you’re leaving the church? There’s no easy way to break the news, but here are a few ideas to consider when you’re in this situation.

Tell your inner circle first.
Gather up your key volunteers and break the news to them first; no doubt some of them will be disappointed, discouraged, or even frustrated/angry, but they deserve to hear it from you first. They trust you, so they trust God’s Spirit in you, but leaving is difficult on everyone—and it will be especially challenging for them. Take in the moment, share in the tears, and give them the privilege of hearing it from you and first.

Tell the rest quickly.
Don’t make those faithful few carry it for too long—plus, once it is out there word travels extremely fast. Have a resignation letter/statement already prepared and work with your leadership to figure out the appropriate channels for distribution.

Prepare for a few common questions.
It wouldn’t hurt for you to think ahead of a few questions you might experience in a follow-up meeting or conversation. A few things that we’ve been asked:

Why are you leaving?
Do you love them more than us?
So what’s the real story behind you leaving?
I feel betrayed by your decision. Can you help me understand how God led you to leave us?
What’s going to happen to the youth group without you?

Understand the real pain your students are experiencing.
You may be excited about you departure, but before you deliver the news, understand the genuine pain this causes many of your students. You are leaving. You are leaving us. You are leaving me. You’ve had months to process it, but they’re hearing it for the first time. Let them process the news, too, and be prepared for tears, anger, and confusion. This is a great chance to show grace under fire.

Give words as your parting gifts.
Instead of giving into the temptation of taking shots when you leave, work hard to give words of affirmation and belief to the students, volunteers, and church as a whole. If the church chooses to honor you for your time serving the church, turn it back on them and praise them for doing the work of the ministry that will long outlast your tenure.

Help them follow Jesus, not the youth pastor.
Sometimes students get this confused, so point them to Jesus every day while you serve and continue to point them there as you leave. When we follow a human, only one thing is for sure: We are going to be disappointed.

Any other words of advice/experience to share with those that are about to tell their students the news?

This post was written by Josh Griffin and Kurt Johnston and originally appeared as part of Simply Youth Ministry Today free newsletter. Subscribe to SYM Today right here.

3 View Comments May 17, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts 3 Ways to Fight Gossip in Your Church

One of the responsibilities of each of us is to protect the unity of the church. At times, youth workers are put in difficult positions where we have the opportunity to listen to gossip, agree with critical spirit and add to the problems that are brewing beneath the surface of any church. Be a part of the solution, here’s what I think are some trench-tested ways to make sure

Fight gossip with praise
If you hear criticism directed at a specific person, immediately turn it around with praise. When someone identifies a weakness, speak directly to one of their strengths.

Point them back to the person it is about
Without hearing too much, you can usually see that a person’s venom is directed toward someone specific. Gently nudge or firmly direct them to the person they should be talking to, not you.

Remove the repeat offender
You will be talked about. A gossip TO you will gossip ABOUT you. People that undermine others will undermine you and unravel what you are trying to build. This is always a last-resort-tough-call-no-one-likes-to-do-it but doing it once will send a huge statement on where you stand and how seriously you take this issue.

How about you – what are some other ways to help protect the unity of the church?

JG

2 View Comments May 10, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts Should We Wear Nametags at Youth Group?

Do we really need to wear nametags at youth group? We’re in the middle of refocusing on them right now in HSM so I say yes and here’s why:

Nametags say: you want to be introduced
Nametags say: everyone is equal
Nametages say: bring friends
Nametags say: I’m a leader
Nametags say: you can ask me a question
Nametags say: I know where the restrooms are
Nametags say: you expect people not to know you

What do you say about nametags?

JG

4 View Comments May 2, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts POLL: Small Group Leaders Serving at Youth Group Gatherings

Quick poll this week asking if your volunteers who serve in Small Groups also serve in your weekly youth group gatherings! In our high school ministry they are completely separate commitments, but we do have some that choose to serve at both (and we are eternally grateful for them!). How about you? Seems like most of the youth pastors I’ve talked to recently have asked for commitments to both the small group and the large group and would be interested to know what you do, and if you’re willing, explain why in the comments. Vote now!

JG

8 View Comments April 18, 2012

Josh GriffinMore Posts GUEST POST: Plan for Making Seniors Youth Leaders

This is a response guest post to this article: Just-Graduated Seniors Serving in Youth Group: Too Soon?

There are few things more exciting than getting seniors to not just to be leaders, but to really buy into the ministry at their church. That moment where they turn into more than just a consumer, and a major contributor in the lives of other students. While most churches offer serve opportunities all year, it is different when you are just out of high school and leading.

I have read things such as Sticky Faith from the Fuller Youth Institute and the tools from Orange and the reThink group – it affirms both practically and statically that if we do not plug students in, their chances of continuing in church is slim. I deal and wrestle with these same questions when it comes to seniors serving. Currently, I serve on a church staff in its Jr. High Ministry area. For us, like most, getting new leaders with the passion, energy, knowledge and skill is not always easy.

The Pros and Cons from Geoff’s original post were great – it covered the bases of what we all should be considering when we look at seniors. However, when we move from looking at the plan to implementing a plan, there can be some growing pains.

We all want something. At our church we want a balance- to maximize the pros and cut down on the cons. Then, to look at the cons that we have left and create a platform to work on it, leader by leader.

The following is our plan for leaders, It is not perfect, but it is a start.

First: Identification of these students has to start early, and we cant be the only one looking. Include veteran leaders, other staff, and maybe even some parents that can speak constructively into the ministry. The goal is to identify and develop leaders, not to limit the process by including only one view.

Second: Once you identify some students, approach them about becoming involved. Let them know what you and others see in them. Begin with sophomores and juniors by providing small ways to get them ready for the senior year. Look for time that they can spend with leaders. Invite them to fourth and fifth grade events or to Jr . High nights. The goal isn’t for them just to have fun or socialize, but will give active leaders a great chance to identify some of the “cons” in the life of the student. This identification gives us the road map of what to work on on their way to senior year.

Third: Once our students are seniors, we bring them on as sidekicks with our Jr. High Ministry. They are partnered with an established leader who serves as a mentor to them in order to fill in the spaces of their training as the year goes on. As the senior student has questions, the leader answers it. As the senior makes mistakes or worries if they are “doing things right,” they have a mentor that works with and encourages them, and continues the developing process.

Once they make it through that senior year serving as sidekick, if they passed our standards that are in place for every leader of any age, they are placed with the sixth grade guys or girls. They are watched and still trained and developed, but basically, have a senior year of more intentional training time.

As an extra bonus and something that I would really love to begin doing, seniors would work closely with leaders in our fourth and fifth grade environment. The plan would be for the seniors to move up with the fifth grades to sixth grade when they both graduate. Talk about hitting identifying, assessing, developing and great transition into Jr. High all in one!

I would love to hear the ways that you do it. Leave a comment or hit me up.

Justin Herman is the Jr. High Minister at Christ Presbyterian Church in Huntington Beach, CA. He has been in youth ministry for seven years. Justin speaks at camps and FCA meetings, writes, and is a social media fanatic. He was born in NYC, raised in Buffalo, educated in Missouri, and now lives in California. You can connect with Justin @HeyJustinHerman or Facebook.com/HeyJustinHerman.