For a long time I would just take something successful and try to duplicate it in my ministry. Whether it was a game, message or piece of furniture I would try it out. If it was successful it stayed, if it wasn’t I banished it from my memory. I wanted a strong ministry, one that was bringing teenagers back to church, I just had no clue when I was heading in the right direction.
Youth ministry is a wild adventure and it’s easy to get lost in the day to day details and lose sight of the long term planning that needs to happen. To be successful over the long haul you need to build systems and structures that work towards the vision. Why does your youth ministry exist? What is it doing to serve your church and community? To answer those questions you need to go deeper. To go deeper you need to:
- Keep Record of Your Steps: Keep track of the journey and you’ll appreciate the work that goes into it. When you appreciate the journey you make it easier for yourself to endure the hardships. It not only gives you something to reminisce over, it allows you to share your story with others heading on a similar path.
- Seek An Objective Source: You should never do youth ministry alone. Surround yourself with people who will be able to see your ministry from a fresh set of eyes. An objective source is someone (Or a group of people) who isn’t afraid to tell you when you are off. They are also someone you are willing to listen to, no matter how bruised you are by the situation.
- Analyze Success: When something goes wrong we tear it apart to figure out what happened. When something goes right, we celebrate it and forget about it. It’s important to analyze success because it will give you wisdom on how to create future programs and systems. Knowing why and how you succeeded is the key to continuously being successful.
- Turn The Wheel Then Tweak: In order to build a healthy and successful youth ministry you need to be persistent. You might not get the numbers you hoped for the first time around. You might have forgotten a key component to your program. Do not get yourself down, instead keep moving forward and make adjustments along the way.
A successful youth ministry does not occur overnight. Stop expecting immediate results in all areas, instead take the time to grow it stronger. You just need a clear vision and the persistence to move forward. Trust that God is walking with you and is hoping that you are successful durning your time here on earth.
How are you strengthening your youth ministry?