Vision and strategy are key to important to your ministry. But, even if your vision is clear and your strategy is solid it can still be derailed by one thing: YOUR ATTITUDE.
Courtesy of mertie./Creative Commons License
Youth ministry is a grind and sometimes that shows. It’s okay to be human; however, when a bad day becomes a pattern it can become a reason people stop investing in your ministry. To make sure your attitude doesn’t become a problem you need to guard your heart from:
Youth ministry is hard work and it can feel like there is little reward. While there is truth behind that feeling you cannot let it eat you alive or else you will build resentment.
To battle the feeling that the world owes you remember that there is a sacrifice to ministry. That means asking God for humility and changing your focus from What I deserve! to Who should I serve? Invite people into your life to remind you.
One of the reasons youth ministers burn out is because they have a hard time saying, “No.” When you overload your plate you spread yourself thin, which means you cannot focus on what’s important.
To help you prioritize make sure you spend time focusing on the few things that only you can do and delegate the rest. After you determine what’s most important build a team and create a calendar to keep you focused. (Check out this video HERE to help you know what’s most important)
We all do it and that’s okay as long as you are looking to other ministries for inspiration and not excuses. If you are always looking at other ministries and saying…
…you are accomplishing nothing. Change your heart by praising what others are doing. Reach out to their youth ministers and learn from them. Avoid the comparison trap.
While you are an awesome person you cannot be the only person that makes your ministry happened. If you find that you are the only expert in the room then your ministry will fail.
A successful youth ministry is focused on Christ and built with a team. As a leader you need to surround yourself with people smarter than you. Build up leaders and make sure you are constantly replacing yourself.
The more you can guard your heart the more you can make sure you focus on what is important. Make sure you are doing that by:
Remember you are not alone, reach out to others if you need to and make sure you are connecting with Christ. Youth ministry will always be a battle but the fight is worth it. You can do it.
[reminder] What else do we need to guard our hearts from? [/reminder]