I had been joyfully co-leading youth ministry in Kitchener, Ont., with my wife, when the unexpected happened. I began to feel that God was leading me away from my comfortable place to head out into something new, unknown, and perhaps even chaotic — to spearhead youth ministry with another congregation. I was terrified to leave the church that I had grown up in, where we had seen substantial growth with a spiritually committed group of young people who made doing youth ministry every week a joy. But the feeling was undeniable — I was being called away. This other congregation had not been able to get youth ministry off the ground the way they had wanted to. Their youth ministry was in need of an overhaul.
I remembered a book I read many years earlier, If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. It was time for a leap of faith. I trusted that God had another special plan in store for all of us.
When I took the charge at St. Andrew’s, Guelph, Ont., it was difficult, at first, to plan any kind of programming with the sporadic attendance of less than five kids. The expectations were high — and my past experience so different. I realized programming wouldn’t be the starting block, so I got to work simply getting to know the kids and their families. In the meantime, I started to read up on how to get youth ministry off the ground. I picked up a book called Sustainable Youth Ministry. The author, Mark DeVries, goes into detail about the “roller-coaster” trend churches fall into with hiring youth leaders: the new “superstar” leader is tasked with the overwhelming mission of resurrecting the ministry — but generally with a limited (or nonexistent) volunteer base, and limited resources. The result: leader burn out. In less than two years the church is seeking a new youth leader and the cycle starts again. Dismounting this “roller coaster” involves crafting a vision for youth ministry created and endorsed by the church, empowering volunteers, and an appropriate budget to make youth ministry sustainable. I was hooked!
I passed the book on to others, starting the process of creating sustainable youth ministry. We formed a group (comprised of youth, volunteers, parents, session members, and the minister) to craft a vision for youth ministry, complete with a mission statement, values and achievable long-term goals (with yearly benchmarks). Volunteers were called and equipped as they found their place in youth ministry. Programs began to spring up that were in line with our values and goals. Attendance stabilized, and grew! The ministry began to unfold naturally.
While youth ministry is crazy and fun, there is an unshakable sense of shared purpose and vision in our ministry. Since beginning this process, our numbers have tripled, our programs have increased and more importantly we now have about a dozen committed volunteers.
Being called out of my comfort zone changed my life. It has been a great discovery about the nature of chaos in ministry, and the importance of creating sustainable foundations. More importantly, it was a moment of personal growth in faith. I love leading youth ministry, and am grateful for the community of faith in Guelph. It has been a life-changing experience I will never regret. I hope God finds no reluctance in me the next time I am invited to step out of the boat!
St. Andrew’s, Guelph, will be hosting the Shift Youth Ministry Leadership Conference on September 17-18, 2010. This conference is an excellent and affordable way for you to empower your volunteers and youth ministry professionals. The plenary speaker will be Mark DeVries. For more information please visit our website at experienceshift.ca or call 519-822-4772.
