What You Need to Overcome Obstacles

In my third year of youth ministry I was asked to take oversee both the middle and high school ministry.  I would like to say the transition was smooth; however, a few obstacles stood in my way.  A large one was getting all of the leaders I acquired on board with my changes.  There was reluctancy from them and I was too stubborn to figure out a way of bringing them along.  In then end I did not approach this roadblock in the most healthy way.  As a result, I lost some really great volunteers.

Courtesy of ncanup/Creative Commons License

Youth ministry isn’t easy, especially if you are getting into the messiness of a teenager’s life.  There will be obstacles when it comes to connecting them to Christ, engaging their families, recruiting volunteers and the list goes on.  In a way it can feel like the journey of youth ministry is more like an obstacle course than anything else.  To do face your road blocks successfully you need A PLAN.  That plan means:

• Identifying The Problem: You might feel like something’s wrong; however, you won’t know until you identify the problem.  This takes a lot of discernment and accountability.  It might mean accepting a few brutal truths about yourself.  A few ways you can be proactive in identifying future obstacles is by setting up a system of reviews (Click here for more on setting up reviews).  Gather this data from your leadership team and get a fresh perspective from new volunteers.  Get ahead of it before it gets on top of you.

• Embrace The Risk Involve: There are a lot of consequences when it comes to facing roadblocks to your ministry.  First, you could expedite too much energy, leaving you completely depleted.  It also might mean sacrificing good components of your ministry in order for it to be great.  Embracing risk can also mean being okay with failure. (Click here for more on how failure helps you.)

• Do Your Homework: While your gut feeling might tell you to take one approach you need hard data to affirm or correct it.  By measuring your youth ministry (i.e. attendance, investment) you can calculate the risk and understand why you need to take certain approaches.  (Click here for more on measuring your success).  Develop systems and recruit people who are going to help you do the homework so that you know how to correctly overcome obstacles that stand in your way. 

• Rally The Herd: As mentioned before facing roadblocks and overcoming anything that stands in the way of your ministry is difficult.  There is nothing you should face on your own and that’s why you need to gather your volunteers and leadership team together to take the task at hand.  Paint a vision for them of what it will look like if they solve the problem.  Get them passionate and ask them for their insight, and ideas. 

To overcome obstacles in your youth ministry you need a plan that helps you move forward at a healthy pace.  The goal in youth ministry is not only to overcome the obstacles but to come out stronger on the other side.  Put together a plan, gather together a team and lean into the tension.  God will give you what you need to grow and move your ministry.

What other steps do you take to overcome obstacles?  Do you disagree with any above?