How To Outsource And Adapt

As someone who enjoys cooking I love creating my own recipes.  Creating new flavors and dishes is an art; however, it’s not like I picked up a few ingredients and started cooking.  A lot of what I create is based off of recipes that I’ve borrowed and tweaked.  I had to outsource and adapt some basic recipes before I got to the point where I could create my own.

Youth ministers face the same pressure when it comes to curriculum.  The desire is to be original because when you outsource it comes off as laziness.  The reality is not everyone has the time, energy or resources to create their own.  Before you wear yourself out creating your own curriculum you need to outsource and adapt.  That means knowing:

• Your Audience: Before you outsource certain materials know the pressures and influence of the community.  What do people struggle with the most?  Money, violence, sex, amongst other things will impact what you use to teach the community.  Get to know the surrounding community so that you do not pick something irrelevant to them.

• Your Ministry’s Style: Certain curriculum is written for certain youth ministry styles.  Some are small group based, others are for large groups and then again there are resources that apply to both.  Then some resources will cater to your denomination and some might have great content but theological difference limit what you can use.  While you can always adapt, it’s important to understand some styles will require more work than others.

• You Don’t Have To Go All In: When you outsource you don’t have to commit to an entire product.  In fact some promote taking pieces here and there and using them in your paradigm.  There are also resources out there that give you just videos, just games and even message outlines.  You might not have the budget to go all in and that’s okay, there is plenty out there to choose from.

When you outsource curriculum and adapt it to your paradigm is a step in the direction of creating your own content.  One of the ways you can grow as a youth minister is by learning from other youth ministers.  One of the ways your youth ministry will grow is by learning from other youth ministries.  The resources and products are not there just to make money, they’ve been created to help the church and your ministry grow.

What resources and products do you use for your ministry?  What challenges do you face in outsourcing and adapting?