Building youth-led ministry teams

Group, Sep/Oct 2000 by Warren, Anthony

A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

FOR CREATING MINISTRY

TEAMS IN YOUR GROUP

One Sunday morning not long ago, Tiffany walked into our youth room, smiling and laughing as always. She set her Bible on a chair, looked quickly around the room, then frowned. Visibly upset, she ran out of the room and jumped into her car. I later learned she'd forgotten the guest cards our youth-led Warm Welcome Team uses to record guest visits, so she drove straight home to get them.

Now that's every youth leader's dream-kids so deeply committed to their ministries that they'll race home and back to make sure they fulfill their responsibilities.

the difference-maker

The secret to motivating teenagers to get involved in ministry is simple-it's called ownership. Tiffany is a perfect example. Because greeting visitors was her job, she rocketed into motion.

Your ministry will be more effective when your kids own more of it than you do. Sure, you'll always be the primary group leader. But as you involve kids in hands-on ministry teams, you'll turbo-charge everything you do.1

So what's the key to transforming group members into group owners? One word-permission. Youth ownership grows when adult leaders finally give teenagers permission to influence and participate in ministry the way God intended.

Two Bible truths support this youth-ownership strategy.

1. Young people can do ministry. Paul was not limiting his words to adults when he said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good work" (Ephesians 2:10). Our purpose in living is to do good works that bring glory to God.

2. Young people are uniquely equipped for ministry. Again, Paul was not excluding teenagers when he said, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4). God wants teenagers to make a significant contribution to the church, and he's given them the tools to make it happen.

how do ministry teams work?

Youth-led ministry isn't just another program fad-it's a new way of accomplishing ministry in the church. It transforms kids' potential for ministry into actual experiences. It gives them permission, and therefore courage, to be vibrant participators in service.

Our ministry teams are simply groups of two to 10 young people who share a common interest and then take on responsibilities that serve the church. Use the following three basic steps to create ministry teams in your own context.

Step 1-Identify and nurture potential team leaders.

God has given you at least one, and likely many more, young people who have leadership gifts. Invest yourself in these leaders first, because you can only establish one ministry team for each leader you have in your group.

Your young people need to know what true leadership looks like-setting an example, serving others, and getting others to follow. It's not the same paradigm they see at school, where the most popular students always win. Leadership in a youth-group setting is all about humble service-it's not an elitist club or a prize for popularity.

Once you've identified your teenage leaders, ask them to agree to lead one ministry team for one year. They will choose the ministry focus for their team and give it their own flavor. Limit your ministry teams to those that have a "called" teenage leader. Expect failure otherwise.

Step 2-Creatively promote your ministry teams.

At the start, you're simply trying to weed out the ministry team ideas that don't touch a chord among your group members. So publicize every team suggested by your leadership kids; then see which "bait" your "fish" will chomp. For example, let's say your youth ministry has 25 to 50 young people involved-- you might promote four or five ministry teams in hopes that two or three will emerge as mate teams. If you have 75 to 150 young people, you might promote 10 to 15 teams in hopes that seven to 10 will surface.

In my group, the ministry teams that have survived include these four:

* Memories Team-Members create scrapbooks that record the group's activities and travels.

* Web-Stingers-Tech-savvy members create and maintain our group's Web page.

* Drama Team-Members turn simple skits into powerful illustrations that spur spiritual growth.

* Warm Welcome Team-Members make sure our guests receive a smile, a guest card, and a follow-up care package.

Step 3-Create job descriptions for each team.

Ministry teams are like athletic teams-they must know what they're trying to accomplish if they ; a to win. Make your teams' job descriptions simple and precise. Tiffany's Warm Welcome Team has two responsibilities: to greet every new guest and to send them each a care package the month of their visit.

If you give teams too many responsibilities, you'll frustrate them; if you expect too little of them, they'll wander. Plan a monthly meeting with your team leaders to hold them accountable in their walk with Christ and in their ministry team responsibilities. Your job is to help ensure each team's success. But realize that some teams will succeed better than others, depending on the skills of their leaders.