The RENEGADE and SPONTANEOUS Nature of Youth Workers.

20 years ago working with youth allowed for a far more renegade and spontaneous approach than it does today. 
The spirit is still there but the world we live in has seriously crimped the flow of that freedom.

20 years ago we constantly made things up as we went.
We spontaneously packed cars full of kids and headed for ice cream, we sat on the roof of the church to watch fireworks, got on the phone and pulled off last minute camping trips, car rallies (really a race) with kids driving other kids, we duct taped kids to the hood of a car... and left them..., we made up games with balloons and bows & arrows....  oh, those were the days... right? 
The world has changed. Supervision ratios, release forms, approved drivers, informed letters of consent, law suits, lawyers and policy are normal and not going away. In some ways it has put a strangle hold on youth programs. In other ways it has raised the bar for purpose and effectiveness.

  
The Good:
Our church uses a personalized 'Plan To Protect' approach to everything with minors.  More than anything, it has forced us to think ahead, plan in advance and be prepared in a way that was unheard of in the past. This is a good thing! No... this is a great thing! 
The killer of 'safety policies' is poor planning and last minute planning. Let me say this: proper planning, in advance, does just as much to intensify the seriousness of purpose as it does to keep our people safe. When we think ahead, we are more likely to know where the program is going and what the desired outcomes in the lives of participants is.  Good, advanced planning should result in staying 'on' purpose and focusing in on 'why' we are doing these things. Pre-planning should also give us a focus on intentionality. I can't honestly say that even a portion of my ministry was really thought-through, intentional for years and years. Good things did happen! But how much more fruit could there have been if I knew where I was going and planned according to that. THEN, AND ONLY THEN do I actually have time to easily align the due-diligence dominoes to make sure that there is adequate supervision ratios, release forms, approved drivers, and informed letters of consent. Lawyers and policy shouldn't be the focus - they should be an invisible support.

The Bad:
The policies need to work. Youth work is different than working with children - - and likewise, the policies need to be different. We need to create policy that works. Get engaged in the policy process. Think through best practices - and stick to them. Be realistic, be practical, and think like an adult.
Climb out of the 'protect me from lawsuits' mentality. It's really not about that at all. It is about creating an environment where kids can thrive and be vulnerable with minimal risk; where adult volunteers can serve and thrive without having to look over their shoulder; and where staff can soar without worrying about the next complaint or lawsuit. Create the right environment for your people to thrive in safety and love.
Stop apologizing for screening volunteers, and for all the parental permission paperwork. By handing a new volunteer the police check forms with an apology, you are proclaiming that this is a waste of time and more of a nuisance than a benefit. A passive-aggressive here approach to this will kill you and your work.

The Ugly:
Feeling like the 'safe place policies' are killing your work? Then you have a problem... and it's not what you think. If you are pouting because you can't do what you've always done, or you can't do what you want to because the policy is killing ministry, then you might be the problem. 
We often criticize our churches or organizations because they won't change with the times - they live in the past - they don't understand the world that our kids live in. Did you just hear that? This is you. The world has changed. This stuff isn't going away - it probably will even get tighter. So, be creative! Think! Get with the times and catch up your head to the reality of the world. Change what you do! Change how you do it! If you can't do your work because of this stuff, then change how you do your work! Youth workers fancy themselves as being brilliantly creative. Find a new way. Here's an example: we used to drive around the neighborhood looking for kids, convincing them to come with us, bringing them to the church, and engaging them in our programs. Obviously (for a million reasons) we can't do this anymore. Do I pack it in? Do I whine that I can't get kids here? Do I forget about all the kids out there? Clearly, no. Change is necessary in HOW I do this - WHAT I do to collect these kids needs to change. Get off the complaining wagon and run to catch up with the world.


Embracing today's reality with creativity, maturity and way-in-advance planning will super charge the potential effectiveness and intentional life change.

Final word:
The law of love must be over the law of downtown. Planning to Protect is not about lawyers and policy - its about thriving in safety and love.



my thoughts as a lead pastor, as I look around, and back at youth ministry
dave



Dave Brotherton now lives in Sauble Beach, Ontario and is the Lead Pastor of Sauble Christian Fellowship. Dave was a youth pastor for 20+ years, taught youth ministry at Ambrose University in Calgary for 8 years, and was the National Youth Director for the Alliance Churches in Canada since 1999. Now Dave leads a church and speaks into youth ministry from the Senior Pastor's perspective.

Anatomy of Effectively Planning Ahead

Planing ahead at the end of June is always hard. Who wants to start thinking or even planning strategically about September through June for next school year when the summer this year has only just begun?

Effectively Planning Ahead can be broken down by using a simple template. I've used this template for years and each year I tweak it a little bit more or a little bit less based on the upcoming year. Get you calendar out for 2014-15 and lets get going.

My planning template consists of six components.

1. Non-negotiable: weekly programs and seasonal events that always happen every year go right into your calendar without any hesitation (e.g. winter retreat, mission trip car wash fundraiser in May, fall kick off event, Friday night you or Sunday school). Make sure you have the church calendar for the next year so you don't double book stuff on missions weekend etc...
2. Curriculum: you need to be praying about this and writing notes down about where God what you to go with curriculum and then evaluate the curriculums to get the right one. This can be done by yourself or in a group setting with your leadership team.
3. Journalling: through out your past year, you must be taking notes about everything. Key questions parents have asked, how can we prevent someone from breaking their arm in our pillow fight night, what worked well at your Christmas banquet, what failed when kids got on the roof and the a neighbour called the cops. These are then applied or thoughtfully consider for the next year. 
4. Next Steps: what are those next steps that you need to provide for your students or volunteer leaders to challenge them to go to that next level? Do you need to start a student leadership team or recruit more volunteers? Do you need to focus on Spiritual gifts this year or plan an overseas mission trip?
5. Share the Plan: after you have everything planned out you need to go through several beta tests (3-4) with three groups of people; 2-3 key volunteers and students from your leadership team, church staff, 2-3 key parents.
6. Publish: send out a basic 2014-15 calendar that only marks out key dates ad has no details. You don't need to list your Friday night theme from September through June but you should have you Friday nights in the calendar.

Two key things you should have on every basic calendar is this: 1) youth ministry schedule subject to change without notice. 2) Friday night youth will not be on these four dates: ____, ____, ____, _____.

@jeffsmyth