Is Your Youth Ministry Ready to Grow?

One of the most important decisions any youth ministry needs to face is how to plan for growth. Let’s

be honest, It’s a nice problem to have, but you need to temper any excitement by making sure that you have well laid plans.

You might be a sole youth worker and you’re ready to make your first hires. Or you’re a solid, established youth ministry team thinking about adding a new on sight or off sight location. No matter your size or ambitions, here are a few tips to help you plan to expand.

Ensure God Wants You Grow
Expansion is not only a matter of growth, it’s also a matter of stamina, time, commitment. If you’ve got the fortitude – just like when you were starting out, you’ll be in for some long days – then you need to ensure that you and your youth ministry are ready to grow. It starts with you being honest before God. “It’s not about you. It’s about God!” - Rick Warren. Before you embark on a new journey, you need to know exactly what kind of shape you and your youth ministry is in. Essentially, you need to develop an entire ministry plan with full SWOT analysis in order to successfully chart your new path. That takes time, will, and, most importantly, a healthy balance sheet that is both spiritual and physical.

Be Prepared to Spend
We all know it’s true that you have to spend money to make money. But you have to spend your budget smartly. Consider consolidating your budget resources: spiritual gifts of your ministry team,volunteers, finances, recruitment, students, parents, and the church leadership team. That way you can track all of the resource categories that you can expect to surge as you start to walk this new journey.

A Few Good People
It can be the hardest and also the most rewarding part of ministry – hiring and managing your team. (Yes, you do hire volunteers) But the people who come on board with you are key to your success, especially as you grow. You will need to have processes and policies for dealing with mundane stuff such as vulnerable protection, volunteer role descriptions, expectations and benchmarks. You don’t want to spend your valuable time on these details, but they are very important to your people. Also, software solutions are easily accessible; Evernote, Google Drive, Google Calendar, are great places to start keeping your team organized.

Making Your Move
Do you need a bigger space, either for an office, lounge or gathering room? This may be the most formidable part of your expansion plan, and will entail a lot of site visits around your facility, negotiation with others staff/program leaders. Especially if you’re considering expanding to another part of your facility. Remember that you need to choose the best location based on the needs of your ministry, not just your wants. Off sight might even be something to consider. Creativity is your greatest asset in making your move. Surround yourself with 2-3 creative people and 2-3 people who have the spiritual gift of faith and see what happens. 

If your youth ministry is growing, it’s a sign that God is using you and those on your team – and feeling positive, even celebratory, is perfectly natural. But it’s also important to understand that growth is a disruptive force. A period of significant growth will impact every single aspect of youth ministry – which is why you need to adopt a strategic mindset. Ask youself, “Is my youth ministry ready to grow?” If so, the time to plan is now.

@jeffsmyth

coordinator of community initiatives - scarborough

youth unlimited (tyfc) 

Urban Mission Experience: REMIX

I have been involved with REMIX for many years as a youth pastor and now on the teaching team. This is a weeklong urban mission experience that could help you in one of these ways:

1) summer camp staff training

2) students experience reaching out for the first time (Jerusalem, Judea... Acts 1:8)

3) overseas mission team prep and training before you leave.

June 29th - July 4th in Toronto!

• 20 Years
• 5000+ Teens
• 350 Youth Groups
• Local Focus - Global Impact

This should be your missions trip in 2014!

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

REMIX is a week-long interactive and hands-on urban mission experience designed to equip, train and inspire young people to 'centre their lives within the mission and message of Jesus'. Each REMIX participant will receive in-depth training each day, be engaged in afternoon mission opportunities throughout Toronto and be a part of large group celebration gatherings each evening.

The following is the outline and flow of our week at REMIX:

• DAY 01: ENCOUNTERING God's Love
• DAY 02: MEETING people through Jesus' eyes
• DAY 03: CARE through listening and learning
• DAY 04: CONNECT with God's community
• DAY 05: SHARE God's truth
• DAY 06: FOLLOW Jesus' Mission
• 
  

On Shepherding - 4 Traits of a Pastor

Photo Credit: Reza Vaziri (Creative Commons)

I was having coffee with a good friend recently, and sharing about the frequent complexities that come with a life in ministry. We closed our time with prayer, and as he prayed for me, he spoke words of vision and imagination, picturing a shepherd wading through deep and murky waters ahead of the flock behind him. It stirred something in my soul that evening, and the image has stuck with me.

The longer I am a pastor, the more I appreciate the position's origins. Pastor means "shepherd." God gave some to be pastors for the church, to equip the people for service and ministry so the body of Christ would be built up and have unity (Ephesians 4:11-13). Shepherds take care of the sheep, the people God has entrusted to their spiritual care. While the metaphor of people being "sheep" isn't particularly kind, the image is nonetheless fitting. Sheep are slow to move, skittish, easily given to wandering into danger and going along with the crowd. We all act like sheep at times. It's why we need a Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd calls others to be fellow pastors over the flock of His church, little shepherds who walk in the ways of the best Shepherd.

Here are four ways being a pastor in ministry is akin to the role of a shepherd:

Shepherds guide. Shepherds lead the way into good pastures. When the flock doesn't seem to want to move from their comfortable position into more fertile ground--"We've always been here! We don't want to change! What's wrong with the way things are?"--the shepherd patiently and loving guides the flock to where they don't want to go, but where they need to go. They have good intuition, and are willing to make the tough decisions that others won't. Good shepherds--and leaders--guide people into pastures and postures where they wouldn't otherwise go.

Shepherds protect. A good shepherd goes ahead of the flock, wading through deep and dark waters, through overgrown brush, and checks open fields to make sure it's safe enough to cross without attack. If conflict or danger approaches, most sheep are skittish and react impulsively, often causing more harm. The shepherd is the one who courageously confronts the conflict and protects the sheep, both from the danger and from themselves.

Shepherds are present. Good shepherds are with the sheep. They aren't running far ahead or avoiding the flock, though they are leading and guiding the flock where they need to go. Shepherds are present; they know the sheep, and are known by the sheep.

Shepherds sacrifice. In their protecting and guiding, shepherds are prone to injury. Being a shepherd is a fairly thankless and tiring vocation. The sheep need care and love and guidance and protection, regardless of how the shepherd may feel in a given moment. The good shepherd leaves the ninety-nine other sheep to crawl down craggy cliff walls to bring back the stray sheep who has fallen.

Being a shepherd is a tough vocation. It is often exhausting and heartbreaking and uncomfortable and frustrating. It's also a beautiful and worthy calling, partnering in the gospel with the Good Shepherd as He guides the flock into life-giving pastures and quiet waters, restoring our collective souls.

Who are the shepherds in your own life? Send them a word of thanks and encouragement today!

(This post originally appeared at The Mayward Blog)

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.

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.

Manic Monday

OVERFLOW

Moses raised another objection to GOD: "Master, please, I don't talk well. I've never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer."

GOD said, "And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn't it I, GOD ? So, get going. I'll be right there with you—with your mouth! I'll be right there to teach you what to say.” - Exodus 4:10-12 (The Message)

Do you ever wonder why God chose you to work with teenagers? Have you questioned whether you have what it takes, whether or not you’re relevant enough to relate to them? By yourself, you’re not. With God, you are.

God wants the grace, love, and truth he poured into your life to overflow into their lives. On your own you are not

enough; with God’s grace you have way more than enough. With God’s help, Moses, who was not very good with words and who got tongue-tied, confronted Pharaoh and led the Israelites out of Egypt. If God can do all that, he can use you to share the great news of God’s love with teenagers.

Life Coaching
What concerns do you have about your ability to relate to teenagers?


How has God shown himself faithful to be more than enough fo your needs and the needs of your students?


Prayer
Lord, you made me and you know me better than I know myself. Fill me up until your love, your power, your grace, your truth, and your presence overflow through my life into the lives of students I work with. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jeff Smyth was a youth pastor from 1996 - 2009 and is now working with Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC). Jeff is married to Heather and they one of the most energetic boys in the world. Jeff is also a loyal fan cheering on the Blue Jays & Canadiens.
You can connect with Jeff online: Jeff Smyth Blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+

Chocolate Advent Calendar

Do you remember opening a chocolate advent calendar when you were a kid? I do. I loved getting that calendar each year. Today, many of my friends are giving their kids the much desired "Lindt Advent Calendar".

Yet the Advent story is still missed by many families in our churches. Our family this year is going through a story for Advent each day. We are making this an intentional priority for our family. We are going to be setting aside 20 minutes each day, beginning the fourth Sunday before Christmas, to light candles, read a devotional for that day, and pray together.

Advent. Adventus. Ecce advenit Dominatus. Behold, the Lord, the Ruler, is come. Reaching back two millennia to the birth of the Christ child and forward to his reign on earth, the tradition of Advent is a threefold celebration of the birth of Jesus, his eventual second coming to earth, and his continued presence in our lives here and now. God in our past, God in our future, God in our present.

History of Advent. 
It started with people going hungry to purifyl themselves and prepare themselves for holy living. A fast, we call it, and such a fast was ordered by the Council of Saragosa in A.D. 381. For three weeks before Epiphany (a feast in January celebrating the divine revelation of Jesus to the gentile Magi), the people were to prepare themselves by fasting and praying. The tradition spread to France in 581 by decree of the Council of Macon, and to Rome and beyond thereafter. Gregory the First refined the season to its present form in about 600 when he declared that it should start the fourth Sunday before Christmas.

Fasting is no longer a part of Advent in most homes and churches (though it wouldn't be a bad idea for some). For us, Advent means taking time each day, for the three or four weeks before Christmas, to centre our thoughts on Truth Incarnate lying in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. It's a time of worship, a time of reflection, a time of focus, and time of of family communion. In the midst of December's commotion and stress. Advent is a few moments to stop, catch your breath, and renew your strength from the only One who can provide true strength.

What advent traditions do you remember or do now with your family or ministry?

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

On our recent family vacation to Las Vegas we were blessed to see a few shows.  One was the Jabbawockeez (that I wrote about last week) and another was MJ Live – a tribute to Michael Jackson.

It was a great show, made even more entertaining by the fact that the performer had a hole in his pants (right where you don’t want a hole in your pants) for the first-half of the show.  My family and I marvelled at the actor’s physical resemblance to the late “King of Pop” and needless to say, his vocals and dance moves were spot on.

The entire audience loved it.  In fact, screams of “We love you, Michael” cascaded throughout the theater.  In retrospect, I sure hope they know they were watching an impersonator.  In a nice ironic twist, the actor’s name is actually Michael.  But I digress.

When I speak to young people about image and imitation, I talk about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.  That is, when someone copies you, generally it’s because they want to be like you.  I then go on to share stories of my kids and how they flatter me (good, bad, and ugly) but imitating me. 

But regardless of good, bad, or ugly, I know that I am not the BEST example to my kids all the time. For that example, we all need to look towards another loving Father: that is, God. And in imitating God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, lies our challenge as Christians: to be the face of Christ to everyone that we encounter.

Wouldn't it be cool if every single person that we meet walks away thinking to himself: “Man…what is up with him? Where does he get that sense of joy and love from? Whatever it is…I want some of that!” Whether our family and friends are churched or unchurched, the way that we carry ourselves is a true form of evangelization.

Now that I think about it…it’s more than being the face of Christ. It’s being Christ-like completely. Compliments like “you’re awesome,” or “you’re a good friend,” or “you look great,” or "nice haircut" pale in comparison to the one that says: “You were Christ to me.”

That’s what I often tell people: the essence of being a good Christian is BEING, and not necessarily DOING.  After all, we are called human beings and not human doings.

Yes, imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. 

God doesn’t need to be flattered.  But He does need to be imitated.

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

How In Sync are You?

While vacationing in Las Vegas, we went to see “MUS.I.C” featuring the first winners of America’s Best Dance Crew, the Jabbawockeez.  Unsurprisingly, it was an amazing show and my entire family absolutely loved it.

Within minutes of sitting down (for the sake of the dance crew and the entire audience, I made sure I purchased tickets in the "Absolutely No Chance of Being Called on Stage" section) we were mesmerized by the “audiovisual story of inspiration brought to life through the harmonization of sound and movement.”

A couple of things really stood out to me during the show.  The first one was their trademark white masks.  They wear the expression-less masks so the audience focuses on their dance moves and not on their individual faces.  As well, you then focus on them as an entire unit as opposed to individuals.  Sounds a lot like something I wrote a few weeks ago in my blog “Get Over Yourself.”

The second thing is related to the first: the synchronicity the dancers displayed all evening.  I’m no dance expert (as 99.5% of my family and friends will attest to) but I did appreciate how tight and exact the routines were. 

Which got me thinking:  how “in sync” are you in your youth ministry?

1.  In sync with God.  This should be obvious but it certainly shouldn’t be understated.  We simply cannot give what we don’t have; thus the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.  Are we constantly working on our prayer lives and our knowledge of the faith?  The more we know God the more we will love Him.  And the more that young people will see God living in us and through us.

2.  In sync with your team.  As I alluded to above, the strongest youth ministries are those with the strongest teams and not necessarily the strongest individuals.  It takes a variety of individuals to minster to and with the many young people in the parish and it takes a multitude of people to be able to respond and relate to the many needs of youth. 

3.  In sync with your church community.  We speak constantly about the importance of involving young people in the greater live of the church community.  But often youth ministry is put into its own “silo”.  It might be because we have a “youth-focused” Mass or service where the majority of young people congregate.  It’s our job as youth ministers to make sure that youth are visible and involved in all facets of parish life and not just in youth-related activities.

Just a few things to think about.   Now excuse me as I go look for my old mix tapes.  I feel a good Running Man coming on.

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

Knowing Your Father

Father’s Day is always a bittersweet day for me, and this past one was no exception.  While I celebrate the blessing of my three kids, I also spend some time reflecting on my late father Larry who passed away on October 11, 2004 when he suffered a heart attack on the 17^th fairway at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course.  Not a bad way to go out all things considered...at least he was doing something he loved! :p

It goes without saying that I love Dad very much and I miss him dearly.  Every day, I feel his imprint on me whether it’s how I parent, how I don’t take myself too seriously, or how I think I’m a decent athlete.

In a conversation I had with my dear friend Megan over dinner last night, I lamented that I wish that my daughter Kayla, born in December 2007, had a chance to meet my Dad.  As she is the first Imoo girl in 75 years, there’s no doubt that he would have doted over her and likely spoiled her.  My son Jacob, born in September 2003, was barely a year-old when Dad died so at least they got to spend some time together.  And my eldest Sean, born August 2001, was the lucky one as he spent quality time with Dad playing golf, hockey, and basketball among others.

Megan and I both volunteered for an event that evening that focused on getting fallen-away Catholics to return home to the Church.  It was an inspiring night of testimony, faith, and hope.  During the evening we heard countless stories of people returning to the faith and encountering God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. 

In my evening prayer, it struck me that it wasn’t by accident that Megan and I had our deep conversation earlier in the evening.  I realized that the sadness I have for Kayla never getting to know Dad is the same sadness I feel for someone who doesn’t get to know God the Father...albeit intentionally or by circumstance.

That’s our primary goal as youth ministry leaders:  to lead young people to an encounter with God the Father.  We may do good relational ministry.  We may have awesome small group discussions.  We may model cutting-edge social media initiatives.  We may make professional promo videos.  And we may perform the most memorable skits and play the craziest games.

But all of these are for naught if we end up pointing young people to ourselves instead of to God.  It’s not about us; it’s about God.  Yet we sometimes forget this. 

It’s heart-breaking for a young person to come to your youth ministry events regularly yet not know who God is.  Not know all the great and mighty things God has done for him.  Not know how much God loves him.

Thus, let us all renew our commitment to enable young people to get to know and love God.

Before it’s too late.

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