What’s Holding Your Ministry Back?

It’s tough being the leader. You need big vision and the ability to take people in the direction God’s calling you to travel. It’s not always simple, and that can be due to our own mistakes.

There will be difficult seasons in your ministry, but a good leader will prevail. They’ll know which moves to make, who to rely on and how to approach the situation. Leadership is hard but it really only becomes complicated when we:

ASSUME OTHER’S ANSWERS

Have you ever avoided asking someone to do something because you assume you know their answer? This happens quite a bit when we:

• Need to recruit volunteers for our ministry. Instead of asking someone to serve we assume they’ll say, “No” preventing any chance of a “Yes”.
• Delegate tasks to our team. We assume that people will resent us for asking them instead of believing that they’d be honored we trusted them with the task.
• Create change within our ministry. We assume people will push back our ideas instead of inviting them to a new opportunity of growth.

Instead of assuming take the risk and explore the options. While there will be periods when you assumed correctly there will be many other times you are wrong. Don’t let assumptions shortchange your ministry’s potential.

ACCOMMODATE BAD BEHAVIOR

Bad habits develop even in the most successful of ministries. They happen when:

• Volunteers show up late.
• Teenagers distract one another during your program.
• People hand in paperwork late.

Ignoring the behavior and hoping that it will go away is naive. Usually when bad habits form the best approach is to:

• Clarify Expectations
• Reward Positive Behavior
• Encourage Accountability

Motivate your team to work together and promote the best out of each other. Not only will you see bad behavior drop but efficiency increase.

ADDRESS CONFLICT  SLOWLY 

No one really enjoys conflict. And the only thing worst than addressing it is ignoring it.  When you allow conflict to sit it will only grow. It will use more of your energy, which will slow your ministry down.

Avoiding conflict will not only increase the problem but deplete your energy levels. You’ll worry when it doesn’t go away and when you finally address it there will be so much confusion clear. Address it early, while it’s manageable so that you can move on.

For more on conflict read HERE.

ACT LIKE YOU ARE ALL ALONE

Leadership is not lonely, at least it shouldn’t be. A great leader surrounds themselves with a network of their peers. As a youth minister, you need to make sure you are constantly networking with others.

Not only do you need a network you need someone who is going to help you develop as a leader, you need people who will help you focus on your faith and family. A good leader will surround themselves with people who help them reach the next level.

For more on who to surround yourself with click HERE

There will always be obstacles to the goals we are trying to reach. You just need to make sure you aren’t the root to those obstacles. Ask yourself, “What do I need to address as a leader?” so that you can take your ministry to the next level.