Are you recognizable to the average attendee at your church? If someone needed a youth minister would they know exactly who to walk up to?
One of the reasons we struggle to:
Is because no one has a clue as to who we are. Your presence and approachability is essential to the success of your youth ministry. It not only maximizes your impact, but creates a loving and relational culture. That type of environment is why people will come back to your church.
To maximize your presence and approachability:
Every weekend the majority of people who belong to your church come through the doors of your church. By standing in front of the door, opening it and greeting people you’ll increase your exposure exponentially.
You’ll go from a name, to a smiling face (smiling is really important) to a person people enjoy seeing on the weekends. If you are too busy to be there all weekend just start with one Mass.
Doesn’t matter if it’s a parent, teen, volunteer, coworker or a significant leader in your parish, face time matters greatly. The reason it matters is because people want to know that their lives matter.
Go out and get to know the people in your parish on a personal basis, and share your story. The gestures might be small but the impact is huge.
Your effort to get to know others will pay off when you have to:
Because people will want to return the investment you’ve made in them.
It’s one thing to acknowledge another person but to get to know their name is key. Now, if you are like me, memorizing names is difficult. But, there are a few tricks I’ve learned to help me improve.
TIP #1: When you first meet shake their hand and while you hold it say their name. (I.e. It’s awesome to meet you Peter…)
TIP #2: In that initial conversation try to get to know three unique things about that person that’ll stand out and write them down.
TIP #3: Towards the end of that conversation make appropriate physical contact (i.e. hand shake, hand on the shoulder or elbow) and say their name one more time.
The more you get to know the names the more you will appear personable and approachable.
As you increase your approachability you’ll find that people are willing to work with you and follow your lead. And that’s because you’ve built trust into the relationship. People will trust that you care about them and that will speak volumes.
What have you found works with maximizing your presence in your parish community?