4 Tricks We Play On Ourselves As Leaders

As a kid I remember the excitement of going door to door on Halloween yelling, “Trick or Treat“.  Each time I got candy.  I never had to trick someone.  And, honestly I didn’t want to.  I didn’t have time for tricks.  

Courtesy of shawncampbell/Creative Commons License

As a youth minister I still don’t have time for tricks.  But, I often find myself believing the lies and pressures that come with youth ministry.  In fact all youth ministers face the same pressures.  While each of them are unique if you fall for them it’ll put your ministry in danger.

Four tricks that take away the sweetness of youth ministry are:

TRICK #1: WE MAKE IT ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS

Numbers are important.  They are a sign of growth and help us measure the journey we travel.  But, they are not everything. How deep you go with those numbers is important.  That means looking at measuring other areas of ministry such as:

• Participation in ministry and missions.
• Offertory.
• Ratio of volunteers to teens in your ministry.
• Parent engagement in the program.

Start looking at different areas to measure so that you see your ministry growing deep and wide.

TRICK #2: WE BELIEVE THE MORE WE WORK THE MORE WE’LL PRODUCE

God’s given you and I enough time in the day to get done what we needs to get done.  It’s all about how you use the time.  If you try to push past your limits you begin to become ineffective.  

Put together a schedule where you mark your beginning and end times.  Schedule in a day off where you just focus on resting and recovering. A tired body cannot accomplish much.

TRICK #3: WE FIND OTHERS TO BLAME

When something goes wrong we tend to find others to blame.  We exclaim:

• My pastor isn’t on board.
• Parents just don’t understand.
• Teens are so inconsiderate.

While there might be truth to some of your complaints the question is, “What are you going to do about it?” Own up to the problems in your ministry by figuring out what you do control.  

• If the pastor is not on board spend time advocating the ministry. (More on getting him on board, click here)
• If parents do not understand you might need to communicate clearly.
• If teens are inconsiderate talk to them.

TRICK #4: WE TAKE ON THE ENTIRE PROGRAM

No one does ministry like you.  That’s a good and a bad thing.  While you are unique as a leader doing it on your own is insane. You need to delegate to others. Yes, the program might not be the way you want it at first, but it will grow beyond where you can take it.

Be clear with your instruction.  Pick up volunteers when they fail.  And build trust in what they can do.  When you share the burden you grow leadership and you grow the church.

It’s easy to trick ourselves into doing the wrong thing.  Take time to be with God so that you guys can discern where it is He wants to take you.  Surround yourself with people who are going to hold you accountable.  Embrace the reality and stop playing tricks.

[reminder] What other ways do youth ministers trick themselves? [/reminder]