F O R S T A R T E R S

f r o m D o u g F i e l d s

TRENCHE SI N T H E

YOU T H LE ADER T RAINING ON T HE GO

TRAINING on the GOWhat’s the perception of your

youth ministry from people

within your church?

Personally, what kinds of

things—negative or positive—

do you say about your youth

ministry?

Diane is overfl owing with positive buzz for our youth ministry. She is a small-group leader and attends all of our camps and retreats. Because Diane loves her ministry to students and enjoys serving in our ministry, she naturally talks about it to those around her.

This made a huge difference when our youth group planned to take a trip to the mountains. All the details were planned, but we were short two volunteers. Thankfully, Diane had “connections” and recruited two more volunteers to go on the trip with us. The two leaders whom Diane invited did a great job, had a great experience, and eventually became involved in our ministry—all because Diane created a positive buzz and lived out her passion for youth ministry.

You can help generate a positive buzz about your youth ministry in many ways. Th e fi rst and simplest way is by speaking highly of other leaders, students, parents, and the ministry’s overall direction. Share with others the impact your ministry is having on lives, and remind them that God is at work and doing amazing things in and through the youth ministry.

Why is this important? Because it’s easy for a negative word to bring down a ministry or contribute to a negative perception. I don’t mean you should hide the negative or cover up your ministry’s weaknesses; I simply mean that negative comments and careless words can create damage that can take months or even years to repair.

Th erefore, speaking highly of your ministry needs to be part of your ministry’s culture and not an occasional event. I ask my volunteers to help create a positive perception because I want them to be vital contributors.

Regularly generating a good buzz about your ministry can only bring about encouraging results. One of the benefi ts is the eff ect it can have on potential youth ministry volunteers; it can become a very powerful recruitment tool. I’m guessing your youth ministry is one of the 99.9 percent that need more volunteer help. Right? Well, your positive voice can lead help to the team. When you continually talk about how much you love serving on the team and being a part of the “youth ministry family,” others will want to be involved with it as well. Since I’m the lead youth worker and youth pastor, they expect to hear it from me. But they don’t always expect to hear it from my volunteers.

Another benefi t of being positive is that students will want to be involved with your ministry. Youth ministry can be intimidating for students, especially if they’re new. But if they hear positive things about your ministry, they’re more likely to take the risk and check it out.

Speaking highly of your ministry also encourages those who are currently involved. You communicate value when you speak well about their accomplishments, gift s, and impact on lives. Too many people hear about their weaknesses before they hear about their strengths. Affi rm other youth leaders by taking the time to brag about them to everyone in your church. By speaking positively about them, you’ll refuel and refresh other volunteers.

Also, your commitment to speak highly of the youth ministry will help stop gossip. If you’re telling people what good things are happening (fi rsthand), negative gossip (hearsay) fl oating around the church will be replaced by the truth. A lot of gossip comes from false assumptions or misinterpretations of what people see or hear. However, if you and your teammates are committed to telling the good stories from your ministry—every chance you get—most gossip will be stopped before it has a chance to spread.

One of your many jobs as a volunteer is to create a positive buzz. When you make a commitment to get the positive word out, you’ll fi nd that ministry gets better and your team becomes more enjoyable. You’ll also fi nd your students picking up on the positive buzz and copying your behavior (and that’s a good thing).

C R E A T E M I N I S T R Y B U Z Z ( O F T H E P O S I T I V E K I N D )

MA K E I T P ER SONA L

CONNECT to God’s Word

Permission to photocopy this handout granted for local church use. Copyright © Doug Fields. Published in Youth Leader Training on the Go by Group Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 481, Loveland, CO 80539. www.youthministry.com and www.simplyyouthministry.com

T O T H E PO IN T

T R Y I TGet the word out about your youth ministry. Take some time to generate positive buzz by involving your church family in the good news that’s happening in your ministry.

• Send a monthly e-mail to the youth pastor or lead youth worker. Let him or her know what’s happening in your specifi c ministry to students, explaining what you’re doing with students and describing a life-changing event you’ve experienced. Don’t just focus on numbers and activities—share stories about the great happenings with students.

• You might also ask the lead youth worker to highlight one of your students in the church bulletin or on the church Web site. Take the initiative and write it fi rst so it can be easily edited and posted.

• Get caught saying positive things about your ministry.

• Highlight your youth ministry or those working in the ministry through everyday conversations.

• Be on the lookout for potential leaders and students, and share positive stories.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my hear t be pleasing in your sight , O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” —Psalm 19:14

• Spend a couple of minutes evaluating the

language you use to talk about your ministry.

• What does your language communicate to others

about the condition of the ministry?

• Take a moment to offer up the frustrations you

have about your ministry to God. Then spend time

thanking him for the positive elements of your

ministry.

Write a response and prayer to God here….

C R E A T E M I N I S T R Y B U Z Z ( O F T H E P O S I T I V E K I N D )