4 Steps To Set Up Your Ministers For Success

It started out as frustration and quickly turned into resentment.  My expectations as a leader were not being met.  People weren’t performing the tasks or doing them subpar.  After sharing this disappointment with a youth minister friend he was quick to point out that I was a part of the problem.

Courtesy of The U.S. Army/Creative Commons License

I had expectations, but I wasn’t doing anything to set my team up for success.  Instead I assumed that they would just pick up their roles and responsibilities naturally.  I learned to set them up for success you need to:

REMIND THEM WHY THIS MATTERS

Your ministers need to be reminded constantly why the sacrifice of time, energy and even money matters.  To drive home their purpose you need to:

• Revisit the vision and mission.

• Talk about your target audience.

• Constantly connect it to their spiritual journey.

A huge part of their success is determined by their emotional buy in.  Find ways of motivating them over and over again that their role is essential to discipleship making.

GIVE THEM TOOLS NOT JUST CURRICULUM

Handing your leaders a set of questions or a manual is not good enough.  You need to make sure you give them the tools to:

• Carry on a conversation.

• Connect with parents on the outside.

• Approach tough issues like teens who are hurting.

• Handle disruption and dominating teens.

Giving them tools to interact and grow relationship will give them confidence.  When they have confidence they’ll be able to take their role in ministry to a new level.

PROVIDE CLARITY

A key to success is clarity with communication and expectations.  If you want your ministers doing certain tasks at certain times with certain people you need to be clear.  That means:

• Repeating instructions until people tell you to stop.

• Checking in with the team on a regular basis to cover expectations and values.

• Creating mid level managers who will help you reinforce clarity.

When everyone is on the same page the team is stronger.  Whenever an issue pops up you’ll be able to tackle it together.

LISTEN TO THEIR NEEDS 

Your ministers will have needs in order to succeed.  It could be anything from a pack of pens to dealing with a disconnected parent.  Either way you need to find ways of asking, “How can I serve you?”

Listening to their needs isn’t just about giving them what they want, it’s about showing them that you are invested.  A minister who knows that you have their back will build trust.

Your ministers are a huge part of your ministry’s success.  When you set up your team for success you build confidence, community and your ministry becomes a movement.