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Skill Building for Leaders of Youth Ministry: Part II - Organizational Skills
by Anand Menon
Organizational skills can make the difference between an average youth ministry and an exceptional one. Here are some functional skills needed for ministry with youth.
- Planning. A good youth ministry requires sound planning and efficient implementation.
- Gatekeeping. In order to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to participate in discussions and other activities, a leader may need to monitor a situation, making sure that some youth (or adults!) do not dominate while others are excluded. The leader can "open the gate" to those who are unsure and temporarily halt those who tend to take over.
- Providing resources. Youth leaders often need help in discovering resources that will provide sound content for youth ministry. Curriculum materials, books, videotapes, CDs and cassettes, movies, resource persons, games, drama supplies, and so forth, all need to be located. The adult leader is directly involved in providing the resources as well as suggesting sources to the youth. Learn to adapt resources to meet the abilities and interests of the group.
- Selecting and scheduling. A group that is very active tends to bite off more than it can chew. A leader can advise the group about the number of items it can handle at one time. Scheduling events on a central calendar during planning sessions will be helpful in developing an effective youth ministry.
- Training. Help inexperienced youth develop leadership abilities and participatory skills. Some areas for training are: session planning, building agenda for meetings, leading sessions, working on committees, care giving, peer counseling, asserting positive influence.
- Advising. Adult workers are not meant to be passive observers, and advising is a part of their job. Although a youth group is primarily the property of its youth members, adults are there to provide knowledge, skills, and appropriate advice that will help the group members grow as Christian disciples and make the group a forum for examining Christian values.
- Seeing the whole picture. In order to ensure a well-rounded ministry of service, worship, fellowship, outreach, and study, the youth group members must occasionally remind themselves of their reasons for being a group. The leaders are the key people in helping youth see the whole picture as they evaluate, discover strengths and weaknesses, dream, and plan. Mature abilities to observe, weigh options, keep track of plans, and evaluate in terms of variety, balance, and sound content are crucial to the group's well-being.
- Requiring appropriate behavior. For any group to function responsibly, productively, and enjoyably, appropriate behavior is required. The most desirable discipline comes from within people; it is not superimposed from the outside. Discipline is not the responsibility of the adults alone, for they are advisors, not police officers. Youth and adult leaders together, however, are often the ones who must enforce the rules and hold the youth accountable for unacceptable behavior. For times like these, be sure that the rules and the consequences have been made clear in advance. Act in a caring manner in all instances. Always explain to the youth involved why the rules or guidelines exist and why they must be adhered to. Take every instance seriously so as to uphold the expectations for the rest of the group. Also, allow for some mistakes to be made, and be willing to practice forgiveness in the deepest sense. These will be opportunities for you to model God's grace.
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Copyright © Anand Menon/Holy Spirit Interactive. All rights reserved.
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