It was twenty minutes before showtime and I was a nervous wreck. We had just gotten news that the student who was to play Sir Lancelot in the school musical Camelot was too ill to perform, which meant his understudy would need to go on. I was in 10th grade and I was his understudy. Due to a lack of preparation I had absolutely no confidence in myself. I was done, I was scared and embarrassed, only a miracle could save me. And it did. With five minutes until showtime, from out of nowhere the sick but confident Sir Lancelot appeared and saved my day. I could go back to being an understudy.
You need confidence in youth ministry because there is so much in front of you. With only a limited amount of time and resources the pressure of leading each and every kid to Christ can be unbearable. To help you achieve your goals you need volunteers who are prepared and confident. When confident they can take on the obstacles and craziness adolescence brings. Unfortunately, confidence isn’t always natural, it needs to be cultivated through trust and love. To build confident leaders you need to:
- Cast Them Vision: If your team doesn’t know the vision of your ministry or the church they’ll easily lose sight of what needs to be done. They might come up with great ideas and a lot of heart; however, any misalignment means an ineffective team. Cast vision to your team every chance that they get. If at all possible make it a priority that they memorize it. (More on vision casting, click here)
- Be Clear With Direction: Make sure each and every volunteer knows the bottom line to their position. In other words don’t just tell them to show up and figure it out. By giving them simple and clear direction you’ll make sure they come confident in what needs to be done. For example we want our small group leaders simply praying with the teens, sharing life with them through discussion and then praying for one another.
- Prepare Them Ahead Of Time: Your volunteers have busy lives; therefore, preparing ahead of time might be difficult. Make sure you get their materials ready before they walk in the door. Find time to call, email and make sure everyone is on board. Never take them for granted and assume that they understood your initiatives right away. Build up their confidence by equipping them way in advance.
- Touch Base Constantly: Take the time to tell your volunteers how much you value them. That means shooting them a message or writing them a note. Be specific in what it is you appreciate about them. Ask how they are doing in their daily lives. Leaders who trust you are confident in knowing that you do care.
Volunteers who are confident in what they do embrace where ever you need to lead them. Give them the tools and steps to own the youth ministry so that they aren’t afraid to take on any challenge. The more leaders owning the vision the stronger you will be.
What steps do you take to build confident leaders?