How To Reach More Teens Without Adding Another Thing To Your Plate

You want to reach more teens.  In fact you need to reach more teens.  You feel that burden and it’s painful because you believe in order to reach more you need to do more.

Courtesy of Gabriel Rojas Hruska/Creative Commons License

But, the truth is to do more you need to figure out how to do less yourself.  That means discipline and understanding that:

OUTSOURCING IS YOUR FRIEND

There are a lot of tasks that need to be done in your ministry.  Unfortunately, you don’t have the time to do them all on your own or the money to hire people out.  Another option is outsourcing.  Fortunately, we live in an age where there is software that will help you:

• Collaborate on projects (i.e. Basecamp)

• Organize your volunteers (i.e. Planning Center Online)

• Develop Curriculum

• Plan Games and Activities

By outsourcing it will give you the time and energy to love on your volunteers, invest in the students and develop a strong vision.  As you acquire a bigger team, then you will have the ability to do more in house.

DELEGATION IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT

Again, you shouldn’t do things on your own.  As a leader one of the most important tasks you have is investing your volunteers.  One of the best ways to do that is by giving them the responsibility to lead.

Delegation can be difficult at first because you have to fight:

• Pride: No one can do it better than me.

• Guilt: No one will really want to do it.

The truth is that there are people who can take certain tasks and bring your ministry to a new level. (For more on delegation read THIS)

SAYING “NO” WILL ALLOW YOU TO DO MORE

Your ministry isn’t designed to do everything, nor should it.  Like you it has a specific purpose and to accomplish that purpose you need to say, “No” to the wrong things and some good things.

To know what to say, “No” to you need to understand your vision, mission and values.  They will keep you focused on building a healthy foundation.  When this foundation is healthy then you can revisit some of the things you once said, “No” to and reconsider them.

You don’t have to everything on your own to do more.  It’s understanding that there are ways of expanding your capacity without overloading your plate.  Delegate, outsource and don’t be afraid to say, “No”