12 Years a Director

Last week I celebrated my 12 year anniversary as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver (I replaced Father - now Bishop - Mark Hagemoen in December 2002).  I was excitable, passionate, and eager to learn.  And I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me.

As an aside, I can’t really remember why I started on a Tuesday and not the Monday prior.  Maybe it had to do with my former employer PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Or perhaps it had to do with staffing issues at the Archdiocese.  But I digress.

I inherited a staff consisting of Gerard Garcia, Pat Gillespie, Analyn Perez, and Rob Mascitti.  We quickly hit it off, as I knew all of them reasonably well – and in Gerard’s case, very well – through my involvement with the archdiocese while I was serving as the parish youth ministry coordinator at St. Paul Parish in Richmond.

What impressed me right away was the dedication and commitment that the staff had to their work and their ministry.  It truly was a dream job to be paid to do what I loved:  youth ministry!

Over the past 12 years, I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some awesome people in the office.  Rob and Pat are still serving the Archdiocese while Analyn has moved onto exciting project management with Children’s Hospital.  Krissy (Chua) Litam and Sharon Goh have filled in at times in administrative roles, while Faye McCreedy (2006) and Erwin Fung (2013) round out our current staff.  And of course, Gerard is still there after all these years...I guess we’ll never get rid of each other haha.

I’ll put our staff and our work up against any youth and young adult ministry office in North America.  This is not meant to sound cocky or boastful; I’m just very confident in what we do and in the people we are blessed to work with.  People like youth ministry and young adult ministry coordinators and leaders, teens, priests, religious, parents, principals and teachers, campus ministers, diocesan leaders and fellow diocesan employees.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Archbishop J. Michael Miller here.  A large part of our success and our desire to serve is because of his leadership and support.  Despite my humourous (and pathetic) attempts to earn his friendship, he is indeed a wonderful advocate for not only me, but for our office and for the young Church.

Now this doesn’t mean we’re perfect.  Far from it, in fact...we have a lot that we haven’t accomplished.  And just like any family, we have our minor disagreements and differences.  But we remain loyal to each other and faithful to our mission of providing spiritual and professional formation for those who serve youth and young adults.

Along with wonderful people from this archdiocese, I’ve also met dozens of awesome people from beyond.  I love opportunities to network and share the ups and downs of ministry with my peers from across Canada and the United States whether they be fellow diocesan directors, youth ministers, young adult ministers, or young people. 

This job has taken me as far away as Johannesburg, South Africa.  It’s taken me to numerous provinces and states.  And it’s given me a venue to learn about my faith, hone my communication skills, and become a better leader.

When you look at who we’ve met and been able to bring up to our archdiocese, it’s a virtual who’s who of Catholic youth ministry, young adult ministry, and music ministry.  People like Matt Maher.  Steve Angrisano.  Mike Patin.  APeX Ministries.  The Jacob and Matthew Band.  Jesse Manibusan.  The list goes on and on .

I may have name-dropped Matt Maher once. Or twice. Or 1,000 times.

Some of these people have become my closest friends.  They’ve mentored me, check in on me, and opened their homes to me.  And they’ve undoubtedly added to my penchant for name-dropping.

Just last week at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry, Jesse Manibusan was on stage as part of the Friday night Youth Ministry Extravaganza.  In thanking the 2,000 attendees for their work in youth ministry, he talked about how all of them were “heroes” to him.  And lo and behold, he mentioned my name as one of these so-called “heroes”.

I was surprised, flattered, and humbled.  And no, I didn’t pay him to say that.

The quintessential name-dropper (me) actually got name-dropped.  It meant a lot to me given that I consider Jesse a true hero in ministry and an inspiration as a minister and friend.  And he nailed my last name to boot!

Moreover, I fully recognized that it was a reflection on the good work that our archdiocese is doing as a whole.   Indeed, we are blessed with a lot of things:  strong leadership development.  A good social media presence.  Priest support.  Strong leadership in the parishes. Hungry teens (spiritually not physically).

I reflect back to the job interview back in November 2002.  The panel asked me how long I expected to be in the role if I got the job. 

I remember answering, “I’ll give it 7 or 8 years...until the year 2010.  We’ll see if we’re still moving forward at that point.”

It’s funny how God works.  2010 was an incredibly exciting year for me and our office.  The JP 2 Centre opened wide its doors to serve as a “Catholic Hospitality Centre” for the 2010 Winter Olympics.  The volunteers primarily came from the young adult community.  And just a few months later, in the summer of 2010, our office officially added young adult ministry to its title and mandate.

I’d say that’s moving forward.

The year 2015 presents us with another big change: we’ll be moving from 150 Robson to 4885 St. John Paul II Way (at the corner of 33^rd and Willow).  The new location and new surroundings will present some unique blessings and challenges.  I’m looking forward to leading our office through the transition period.

While I refer to my job as a “dream job” it truly doesn’t feel like a job at all.  I love coming to work every day.  I love the challenge and the responsibility that comes with directing an archdiocesan office.

Most of all, I get excited to think that we are helping youth and young adults encounter Christ to live out lives of personal and communal holiness.

I know I won’t be in this position forever.  Someday, someone much smarter and more capable will come along.  And If I ever get complacent or feel that the office is not moving forward, then I’ll know it’s my time to move on.

But I’m not there yet.  

There is still a lot of work to do.

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     

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) 

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.

Messy

I was sitting across the table having a one on one conversation with one of my students. He was stuck. He didn't know what to do and he had just told me another version of so many stories I've heard before. I knew I needed to say something as he looked at me with awkward glances.

During our conversation I was listening, taking mental notes, but most importantly I was asking Jesus to give me the words to say to this young man. I think I was begging with Jesus for the right words to say because my initial thought was to say, "suck it up buttercup."

As I took a deep breath about to impart my amazing words of wisdom to this young man he broke the silence by saying, "I'm sorry to bore you with this but I just don't know what to do." I quickly responded with the first word that came to my mind, "Wow!" I thought to myself, "did I say that out loud?" This young man had just poured his heart out to me for the past 15 minutes, asking for my advice and I started my response with 'Wow'. What was I thinking?

Yet, what I didn't realize was that one word would be the hinge that opened the door to our conversation. We continued our conversation for 90 minutes and it sparked other conversations down the road and our interactions went deeper then I could have ever imagined.

This conversation reminded me of some of things I love about youth ministry:
Shepherding students is messy: when I enter the lives of students I must allow them to enter my life. The pain, hurt discomfort and unsettling frustration that they have going on in their lives is when I share with them my stories of pain, hurt, discomfort and unsettling frustration. if teenagers rooms are messy, so are their lives. the one thing that I have to remind myself is that my life is also messy.

Process with students: life is full of things we like and don't like. when you and your students experience one of those things, process with them, but don't allow your emotions to dictate your response with your students. if something was challenging, process with them on how they can learn from it, wether you liked it or not. the big thing about processing with students is that it is a long journey. You cannot expect things to be wrapped up like a teaching session or telling them to read this passage or to just pray about it.

Resource your students: have follow-up resources on file and ready to help your students process through circumstances. if you don't have the answers, don't pretend you do. get resources from other youth workers or experts in specific fields. this is a really pretty way of delegating. you can say to your students, "you know I'm not really sure about that but I know someone who does. let me get you some information about that and after you've checked it out, let's talk some more." students understand it when adults tell them that they don't know something. what they don't understand is when adults claims they know everything. if you have resource file, keep adding to it. if you dot have one, start to put one together.

These are three things that I've found that help me as a youth worker. What would you add to this list?

Here are four resources to add to your resource list or to help you start your first one:

X3Watch: online accountability and integrity. FREE
CovenantEyes: online filter and accountability software.
Pam Stenzel: speaker and resources on biblical sex and sexuality
Dr. Karyn Gordon: canadian, family and relationship expert, her products are excellent.

@jeffsmyth

Canadian Youth Worker Interview with Danny MacKay

Danny is a youth worker associated with www.iamsecond.com. Listen as he shares stories about mission, Canada, youth workers and also takes part in our Great Canadian Youth worker Quiz.

Enjoy!!

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

Revive Us Part 1: Houston We Have A Problem - The School Project

At a local Christian School, Senior High students were given a project to start their own church from scratch.
If money was not an issue what type of church would you build? Who would come? What would your church look like? 
Students got together in groups of 4 or 5 and began to brainstorm with a month to complete this project. They had to come up with a mission statement, a vision statement, and a weekly schedule of events. Students needed to figure out what the worship service would look like, how they developed their church leadership, how they would handle the offerings, who will their church target, and students were to draw a floor plan of their building. What a project! Great concept right?

The students would then deliver a verbal presentation on their church in front of an adult panel made up of those who were involved in church, Para-church or youth ministry. That’s where I came in along with 8 others. There was a rep from the Salvation Army homeless shelter, a youth pastor from one of the local churches by the school, a young adult pastor who oversees a city wide interdenominational service, a missions outreach minister from a local church, a rep from Youth Unlimited, a dancer and author who started her own dance studio to reach the hip hop community. Incredible people were in the room! The panel was invited by the teacher in hopes that we would give valuable feedback to the students but as well to help us minister to youth by gaining valuable information from the students.  I was eager to hear what students would say, and hear their voice of what they would like to see happen in the church. I was expecting to gain fresh ideas that I could implement and even pass on to my own church that would help us reach this generation. I viewed it like a teen focus group on church. That’s what I had in mind but instead I am now sounding the alarm, "Houston, we have a problem."

After listening to the first presentation I was blindsided by what I heard. I came in looking for a little insight, but instead Holy Spirit gave us youth workers a snap shot of bigger problem, one that we created. Have you seen Dave Brotherton’s Vlog The Old “Attraction Model” of Youth Ministry? He wonders if we are tricking students into the gospel by “creating fabricated events… that are not related to what we are about in order to attract people in so that students will bring their friends.”  How has this type of "green screen" ministry made an effect on our youth?

We have been making disciples who do what we do, but they lack the heart of Jesus which is reflected in why we do what we do. 

Youth workers, I believe that the majority of our students are not where we think they are. They are not actually with us in our faith. They have a form of godliness but deny the power. (2 Timothy 3:5) The New Living Translation says, "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly." After witnessing these presentations a couple of weeks ago, this verse takes on new meaning, along with Jesus' call to “Go and make disciples.”

In short, our students know how to “Do Church” or “Play Church” but they are lacking the authentic heart of the why we do what we do. Since then Holy Spirit has been opening my eyes to see that it’s not just the students that need revival, it is I.

As a result, I’m starting a new Blog series called Revive us. I’ll be sharing about the different churches students put together for their projects so you too can catch a glimpse on whether the students under your care are picking up the same mixed messages. I hope to have some of my colleagues who served on the panel to share their experience along with a “Now What” 

Personally, I am reexamining and evaluating all that my hands have done as 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 weighs heavy on my heart.

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

What I’m sharing I believe God is already speaking to many of us about. God is speaking to his church about getting back to the basics, our First Love Jesus Christ. Revive Us O God.

* The purpose of this blog series is not to tear down the students projects for they worked hard on them.  This problem is not a reflection of a school or isolated to the specific city or an age demographic. The views and concerns addressed in this blog are bigger than our youth, I believe it is a reflection of how Christians young and old view the church and what we feel we need to do to make Jesus look cool. 

The Founder of the Young Woman of Power (YWOP), 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 and a citywide Conference. 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 

Change of Mind

What Steve Saint talks about in this video is oh so true about youth ministry today. Actually, it could be applied across the board in many churches.

We need to think different about youth ministry today than we did yesterday. What are your thoughts?

@jeffmyth

Youth Ministry #FAIL

the definition of insanity is this: "doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results".

many youth workers today are insane, and not in a good way. let me tell you about one of the biggest secrets about youth ministry that really depends on how right or wrong you think about about it.

prayer.

we must think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our heart. the blood flows ceaselessly, and our breathing continues ceaselessly. none of us are conscious of it, but it's always going on. we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect union with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is.

"Pray without ceasing," keep the childlike attitude of always asking questions of God, always sharing with him your hearts thoughts and feelings all the time.

"Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer, He had the boundless certainty that prayer is always answered. have we by the Spirit the unspeakable certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when God does not seem to have answered our prayers? Every one that asks will receive. We say - "But...but..." Do we expect God to answer prayer? The danger is that we water down the things that Jesus says and make them mean something that correlates with our common sense. The things Jesus says about prayer are supernatural revelations." Oswald Smith - My Utmost for His Highest

Do you expect God to answer your prayers for the students and their families in the youth ministry you have been entrusted to oversee?

Are you giving 10% of your weekly time to prayer?

photo from rimrockchurch.com 

Parent Ministry Resources

One of the most forgotten elements of youth ministry is the focus on parents as it was the focus of last week's post, parent ministry.

Connecting church and home is a very difficult and daunting task for youth workers.

If you are like me, you need a parent ministry plan that will set you on the right course. Other youth workers can design their own plan based and use various resources for support.

Need a Parent Ministry Plan
ParentMinistry.net
This is a great service that allows your kids ministry through youth ministry keep the same branding, messaging and resourcing. Cost: $25 per month.
What you get:

• one video, two emails, and 10 tweets/texts that you customize and send out to the parents in your youth ministry each month.
• give parents resources on a right of passage each year from grade 6 through grade 12.
• parenting toolbox that gives you the resources to build an effective parent ministry.
• event kits on creating impactful parenting events.
• community resources that connects you to other youth workers ministering to parents.

Need Resources for your Parent Ministry Plan
SimplyYouthMinistry.com
Youth Cartel.com
Group.com

Knowing my weakness in parent ministry I would set aside $25 per month from the youth ministry budget and recruit a communication team to run this for me.

What is your parent ministry plan and what resources do you currently use?

Stop Developing Leaders????

For the last 15 years, North American Christianity has been fixated on developing leadership. Don't get me wrong... this has been a fantastic thing! The resources and training available is brilliant! 
But, think for a second. As great and as important as leadership development is, I have problems with this crazy level of emphasis we are putting on it.

(pic is from google images)

I want my people to be followers. 

What has happened that we put more emphasis on training leaders than we do on training people to be great followers of Christ? This is called discipleship. Did Jesus train his 12 to be leaders? Yes, but I think primarily, He was training them to be followers. Am I wrong? We sure use that discipleship word a lot, but I see a heck of a lot more intentionality in leadership development than I do in followership development. I want my people first and foremost to become examples of Christ in character, attitude, purity, thoughtfulness, depth, boldness, prayer, listening to God, service, humility, etc, etc.  

I want my people to understand and step into who they are in Christ. 

We constantly look for up and coming leaders, we call for leaders, and we encourage people into leadership. Leadership, as I see it, is ONE of the many gifts of the Spirit. Isn't it true that as people become good followers, as they understand themselves and the way God has wired them, gifted them, and placed them, then we will begin see who the real leaders are? What if we gave 'giftedness' that the crazy level emphasis that we give to 'leadership' development?  As people live out their own followership; the God-gifted leaders will be discovered because they will naturally rise. THEN, once we determine who the Holy Spirit has gifted that way, let's focus on training them to be great leaders AS WE train the hospitality people to be great hosts, the shepherds to be great shepherds, the evangelists to be great evangelists....  Should we treat leadership as equal to the other gifts? In the church tradition I grew up in, we criticized others for putting too much emphasis on some specific gifts; now, I think we are doing the same.

Spend the same intentional time and energy in training all people in their giftedness.

So, I actually don't want all my people to become leaders. I want them all to be great followers of Christ.

Will this era go down in history as the one that spent so much time and energy on leaders that we left the rest in the dust? Will people leave our churches in droves because they feel that there is no place for them if they are not leaders? If there is no place for thier gits to be used? Jesus took rabbi school rejects (young men not culturally designated for leadership) and made them into great followers. These followers became.

I know that this is overstated. I simply want to make us think. 


In youth ministry, I have only seen a few situations where students are really trained in the areas of their gifts (in a real breadth of gifts). I do see lots of places where kids are challenged towards leadership - and in most of those places, leadership means "be my slave, finish these tasks, run this game..."    

Let's not be known for developing great leaders. Let's be know for calling out God's uniqueness in each kid, recognizing the gifts of the Spirit, and pouring into them in "the way they should go"... they won't depart from it. 

Stop training leaders??? No. But let's put it back into its proper balance.


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. 
This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON. 
twitter: @oldbrotherdave