I was fresh out of college, in a big city, far from anyone I knew and just starting out in my first ministry. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I had been given some great knowledge from my classes, but now it was time to put that knowledge to practice. I needed help from a veteran youth minister, but I did not know where to find it. Then one day, while I was talking to the cashier at a local Christian bookstore, he asked if I was a youth minister. Apparently the types of books I was buying gave me away. He invited me to the next meeting of the area youth workers network.
I was both excited and nervous as I drove to the restaurant to meet the group. I was excited because I was hoping to find a network of youth ministers that I could connect with. I was nervous because I did not know any of them, was fresh out of college and (if I’m completely honest) was already intimidated by them. A great thing happened that day – only one other youth worker showed up to the meeting. His name was Scott and I am so grateful he was there.
From that first day until the day I left that area, I was able to collaborate with the other ministers in the area. I believe there are a few main reasons why this network was so effective and I think they will be the same ways your network can be effective.
1. Combining resources.
We held numerous city-wide events over the years, hosted by the network (not by an individual congregation or ministry). Every ministry involved shared the responsibility for making the event a success. No church hosted two events in a row or provided every volunteer needed. And because the local Christian radio station was involved with our youth worker network, they helped us promote events and provided some prizes. The network had a shared bank account, which meant no individual youth ministry was in charge of keeping track of the finances for an event.
This combining of resources made it possible for there to be multiple city-wide events during the year, since no individual ministry was taking care of every aspect of any of them.
2. Selfless attitude.
None of the youth ministers networked in order to gain students into their ministry. We would talk about students (usually not even using names) and situations during the meetings. Youth workers would offer insight, advice and a listening ear to anyone who might be struggling through an issue. We shared a lot of ideas and tips – attending a network meeting was like attending a one hour youth ministry training seminar.
There was also no self-promotion among the youth ministers. As much as was possible, we did not share numbers from our youth ministries. (You cannot get completely away from someone knowing statistics about your ministry, though.) We avoided language like “we only had ___ at youth group this week, so please pray students start coming back.” Each youth worker was there to simply help each other reach more students in our community.
3. Prayer.
Every meeting was started with prayer. We opened up the floor for prayer requests, updates and praises. We prayed for students, parents, families, people in the community, people in our congregations, and each other. Now, I realize including prayer is nothing new for a youth minister, but I think it can get easily overlooked. When you are part of a youth worker network, there are numerous “business” items to handle at each meeting. Add to this, the fact that each youth worker only has a limited amount of time to spend at the meeting and the stage is set to overlook prayer.
As I think back on those times I drove to a meeting with a heavy heart, I am reminded of just how much those prayer times meant to me. I always knew there were going to be youth workers who understood my situation and who would pray for whatever need I had. This comfort/encouragement was worth more to my ministry (and my personal health) than anything else the network provided.
4. Shared goal.
As I said earlier, the youth workers within the network all shared the same goal – to see students’ lives transformed by God. Because of this, each youth worker wanted to see every event/concert/retreat reach as many students in the community as possible. There was no fighting or arguing over the vision of the network. Even the differences we had doctrinally were left out of the equation when it came to collaborating. No youth worker pushed a certain doctrine at an event, especially from stage. These details were left for the individual groups to discuss within their ministry/group while at the event or afterward.
Working with other youth ministers is not always easy. You might have differing philosophies on how to run a youth ministry. You will have differing doctrinal beliefs. Your ministries will be different sizes. Your relationship with your church’s staff and your volunteers will be different. But none of these differences should hinder you from collaborating with the other youth workers in your area.
My involvement with this youth worker network happened despite the fact that I was the only youth minister from my denomination in the group. When I first joined, I was one of the youngest, least experienced members of the network. But I was always treated as an equal. Of everything I miss about my first ministry, this network is at the top of the list.
You need to be involved in a youth worker network. And more importantly, you need to strive to help make it the best network anywhere.
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I love it when the Body of Christ networks well! So glorious.
Awesome! Thank you for this post! My full-time job is youth ministry network and I really appreciate this thoughtful piece. You should ask if the National Network of Youth Ministries (http://www.youthworkers.net) might publish it in their quarterly magazine!
@stephen it makes a huge difference, doesn't it.
@travis thanks for your kind words.
I met many fellow youth workers in town when I went to the local high school's "Christian Club" for the first time a few years back. What's occurred since then has been amazing.
This is a great post and I'll have to blog about it soon.