Test...test...is this on?

This post also appears on the Youth Cartel site.

If you've been in any sort of leadership role you will know the reality of being evaluated. It's happening constantly. Parents are looking at you to see if you are trustworthy as a voice of reason in the life of their child. Teens are wondering if they can trust you with who they really are. Volunteer leaders are hoping they can find a faithful cheerleader who supports, encourages and cares for them as they invest their life in the lives of others. And while tests can sometimes help us evaluate the good, the bad & the ugly, at other times I wonder if they simply get in the way of our goal of defining meaning and purpose behind the ministry activity we are seeking to measure.

Over the years that I've been involved in youth ministry as a student, a volunteer and now a paid youth worker, I've discovered that there are 3 predominant themes that permeate the evaluation process from both a programmatic and personnel perspective.

1. Personality
2. Passion
3. Performance

Here are some thoughts on how each of these themes burrow their way into the evaluation process.

Personality - This is perhaps the most contentious aspect of evaluation. It's also the most subjective. Every person in the world possesses a unique personality and make up. Some personality traits are more endearing than others. Different environmental factors can enhance or detract from natural personality quirks. But at the end of the day, some people are going to like you as a leader and others aren't. And they base a lot of their assessment on whether or not they can understand or interact with your personality.

It's important to remember that the way you are wired is the way God intended you to be wired. As Creator, we must trust that God doesn't make mistakes. We aren't asked to be perfect like Jesus, we are asked to follow the way of life that He modelled for us. Perfection is unattainable for us as humans, and therefore we should never seek to personify it. Yes, we can grow in our understanding of ourselves and others, and in our ability to love one another, but we must recognize that we are intentionally flawed and yet still worth knowing and being known. As such, we cannot lament about different aspects of our personality that naturally connect us with people while disconnecting us from others.

Evaluation that is based solely on personality is always subjective. Sometimes it really is about you, and there is nothing you can do about it. Live into who God has created you to be while asking others to love you in the same way. If you hit an impasse in evaluation, you may have to embrace the reality that some personalities will never get along and it may be wiser to move on than to continue trying to create hope or change.

Passion - Passion is most easily defined as burden or hunger...although I do think the word suffering is appropriate to use at times. Passion asks the question: What drives you to move forward? Passion is also contagious. As people interact with you, are they experiencing our passion or are they questioning it?

Having passion doesn't mean doing more or working harder. Sharing your passion means learning to communicate what drives you forward to lead the way you are wired and to do what you do as a leader. If there are questions about your passion, it may be because people don't understand your personality, or it may be because what you are saying and what you are doing don't link up.

If you have passion, it should be seen through what you do and heard through what you say. Sure, we all have our off-days, but is it our passion that drives us to move forward or something else?

Performance - While personality may be the most subjective element of evaluation, performance seems to be the most convoluted. The typical North American church defines success based on the bottom line reality of what is most easily measured (attendance, budget & income vs. expense). We've created different metric systems to try and bring clarity to our performance, but in doing so we may have unintentional creating recurring ripples of chaos that detract from the true goal of our leadership efforts.

It's easy to say that performance should be defined by obedience and faithfulness. But how do you measure it? I will say this, if you are performing well according to whatever contextual metric is in place, questions about your personality and passion become less frequent. But if the opposite is true, questions about both become increasingly prevalent.


If these three elements are in play throughout the evaluation process, where does that leave us in our quest to evaluate and even define success? What do you think?

Sex Trafficking - An Industry Affecting Your Teen Girls

I spent time in SE Asia last summer, working with organizations that combat sex trafficking. It was an intense experience where I saw both the best and worst parts of humanity. I played volleyball with girls recently rescued from brothels, watched men flirt with children in the bars of Bangkok and was offered sex for a ‘good price’ while walking down the street. As I witnessed the horrors of sex trafficking and the courage of those trying to stop it, I was taken on a rollercoaster of disgust, sadness, inspiration and hope.

Needless to say it was a relief to leave behind the bright lights of the sex bars and the bustling brothels of SE Asia for clean and quiet Canada. Flying back I expected to come home to see Canada how I left it- spacious, friendly and free of traffickers. However, SE Asia had trained my eyes to identify sexual exploitation, so upon return to Canada I started seeing it here too. 

The clean and quiet subtlety of sex trafficking in Canada can be quite deceiving but when you know the signs of the industry it is as blatant in Canada as the lights of Bangkok’s brothels.

So how can you train your eyes to identify the sex trafficking industry that your teens could be caught up in?

1.     Look for the Demand – An industry exists when there is a demand. As unsavory as it is, this industry exists because there are people who pay money to sexually exploit children. It is the one of the most lucrative criminal industries in the world, and with today’s advancement in travel and technology every small town and every large city is affected.

2.     Identify Vulnerability – Are there teens vulnerable to being trafficked in your community? Although every teen is vulnerable there are some factors that increase teens risks including: being female, aboriginal, a new immigrant, having a history of abuse, living in poverty or having addiction issues.

3.     Tip of the Iceberg Indicators – Like most sexual crimes, sex trafficking often goes unreported. Despite this, it is still valuable to look for reports of such instances, remembering the number of reported cases represent a small fraction of actual cases. Ask the questions:

Is there recognition that sex trafficking is going on among my teens' demographics? Are there statistics acknowledging the problem? Are there reported cases? These would be indicators representing the tip of the iceberg.

Being able to acknowledge sex trafficking in Canada is the beginning to being able to stop this horrific crime. My next post will help you to identify if a teen you know is being sexually exploited.

JANE GALBREATH

Jane is a theology graduate and social work student, living in Saskatchewan. She spends her summers leading international youth mission teams. She has is passionate about empowering young women to serve God particularly young women struggling with trauma and mental health issues. Jane has been a victim of sexual violence so she knows the heartache, shame, strength and courage it takes to face being a victim. Jane is a blogger and advocate for other females who have been victims of sexual violence because she knows that it is possible to not only survive but to come out the other side strong. After many years of healing Jane comes to you from that place! For more information and to visit Jane’s blog click here for  Hope For Her

Certain Uncertainty

I live right by the Fraser River and drive parallel to its banks on my commute. It's a beautiful drive, with a stunning view of mountains and forested hills, leading down to the powerful currents of the murky river. But being near to a river located in the green-and-grey climate of British Columbia means I am often driving in a fog. This fog can become so thick that I can barely see a few feet ahead of me, particularly at night. I am rushing into the unknown, and even though I am familiar with the route, I am often anxious with the feeling of driving in the blind.

Seth Godin wrote this the other day about our inability to see ahead:

Unpredictable isn't precisely the same as random. We can certainly make dumb choices, we can suffer from being unprepared, we can be the victim of bad judgment too. The essential thing to remember, though, is that every project is the work of a thousand generations, of decisions leading to decisions, of the unpredictable outcomes that come from human interactions.

I suppose it struck me because while the immediate future seems fairly certain (I will go brush my teeth and get ready for bed upon completing this blog post) and our eternity is secure in Christ, (I preached about our certain hope for the future this past Sunday), it's the not-so-distant-but-not-particularly-close future that makes life uncertain and unexpected.

I never expected to be married at age 21. But I was.

I never expected to move to Arizona. But I did.

I never expected to have two books published before the age of 30. But here they are.

I never expected to move to Canada. But here I am.

Life is unpredictable, but it's not random. Which brings me to two practical thoughts about how to live in this unpredictable life:

1. Remember that my choices matter. My present-day decisions will have consequences and cause ripple effects, ones that are vastly unpredictable. Good or bad, wise or foolish, my choices matter. They lead to outcomes that go beyond the direct action.

2. God is in control. Even when the future, immediate and otherwise, is presently uncertain, God is still calm and ready. So perhaps I should be less surprised when I find myself surprised, and less worried when I find myself anxious about the unknown. It's unknown to me. It's not unknown to Him.

Even when I am driving into the fog, there is a God who sees clearly. I am still learning to trust Him.

This post originally appeared on The Mayward Blog here.

Joel Mayward is a pastor, writer, husband, and father living in Langley, British Columbia. He’s been serving in youth ministry since 2003, and is currently the Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at North Langley Community Church. A writer for numerous youth ministry publications and author of Leading Up: Finding Influence in the Church Beyond Role and Experience, Joel writes about youth ministry, film, theology, and leadership at his blog, joelmayward.blogspot.ca.

Love a refugee

February... the month of L.O.V.E. Why do so many people hate Valentine's Day? Be they single or in a relationship, so many dislike the marketing, the forcefulness or... the loneliness. But it doesn't get much lonelier then for the refugee.

Maybe we just need to change our actions so we can think of this month differently?

Leviticus 19: 33-34 (MSG) “When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own..."

This February I want to challenge you and your youth to love a refugee. After all, refugees partially exist because of our power-hungry nations' conquering actions of the past that made this world an unequal place. "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power"  ~ Abraham Lincoln

Here's a few practical ways to love an immigrant that's moved to your community:

1. Show this video to your students. It helps paint the picture of how our unequal world was created and move your students towards action:

2. Find out where in your community special services are offered to immigrants such as learning English or becoming acclimated to the community.
3. Encourage your students to befriend someone new in their school.

About me: I live a pretty simple life... trying to love God and treat others as good as myself... I epically fail at this but mercifully God loves me anyway... different cultures inspire me... the outdoors is my passion... I'm pursuing my MDIV / Masters in Counselling at Tyndale... I spent 22+ years in the skate / snowboard / entertainment / marketing / retail industry at the executive level... led the charge at West 49/Billabong for 12 of them... I've worked in youth ministry leadership roles for more years then I can count.. after many moons in the corporate world I switched to the dark side and am currently the Manager of Youth & Student Campaigns at World Vision Canada... but more then anything I love giving my heart to mentoring and helping youth! #lovelife #dreambig #keepitreal #socialjustice #jesusjustice I/T @cindymielke  facebook.com/cindymielke

On Mission and Vision.

Earlier this week I was on the panel for Blueprints (an online youth ministry training resource) and our topic was Mission and Vision.  Among the many topics we discussed were the differences between the two, how to create them, and how to maintain and evaluate them.

For me, a vision statement helps answer the question of "Where are we going?"  It defines what success will look like and describes what the impact is going to be.  It is meant to be inspirational and doesn't necessarily explain the "how". 

Thus, I believe it includes a lot of what Jason Frizzell spoke about earlier this week here in his video blog on Vision.  It can be thought of as an orientation, a long-term direction, and even a destination.

Contrast that to a mission statement which tells the reader why your organization or ministry exists.  It is a bit more practical than the vision statement from a standpoint that it starts to dip into the "how".

As an example, check out our vision and mission statements for the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry (OYYAM) that I direct for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Vision:  That all youth and young adults encounter Christ to live out lives of personal and communal holiness.

Mission Statement:  The OYYAM  exists to provide spiritual and professional formation for those who serve youth and young adults.

Enjoy this video...it's over an hour long but features insight from many prominent Catholic youth workers in North America...and me haha.

The intros start at the 7:30 mark and the nitty gritty begins as the 15:30 mark.



Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo     

The Valentine's Day Talk!

Valentine's Day Friday is just around the corner. Are you doing the Valentine's day Talk?  Check out this video and please reconsider.

There is so much you can do. Feel free to use the lighter illustration in the video. Happy Valentine's Day.

P.S. This is my first video blog ever! Your feedback and tips are most welcome. You can send them to the email posted in the video.

The Founder of the Young Woman of Power (YWOP) Conference, Alison develops programs that are designed to build girls confidence such as the YWOP PivotFWD workshop which she delivers in Calgary’s Youth Judicial System. Alison’s heart for young women is to see the statistics of violence against women decrease and to see females become counter culture/culturally dangerous by growing in true confidence. For more info or to book Alison as a speaker visit www.ywop.ca 

Vision - Orientation or Direction

We all need to know where we are going and how we are going to get there. Vision is a key element to youth ministry. In this video I share some thoughts about reframing the practice of vision in youth ministry.

What are your thoughts about vision?

About Me: Jason has lived in Calgary, Alberta Canada since 1995, and been a youth pastor since 2001. He is married to the love of his life, Bonny, and together they have three incredible children: Saydie, Cannon and Deklon. Jason possesses a desire to see youth, parents and families become who God created them to be through loving and living like Jesus. He currently serves on staff at Centre Street Church in Calgary. He loves hockey, playing guitar, writing and creating environments and opportunities where others can realize their potential in Jesus while experiencing the full life He promised to those who follow Him!