Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I had the privilege of coaching a few years of high school basketball and soccer. Having grown up playing many sports, I hated halftime; it just meant time away from the competition (though I did love the orange-wedges during soccer games). But as a coach… I LOVED halftime. Not only did it provide a breather for the athletes, it gave me the opportunity to encourage and make necessary adjustments to the game plan if needed.
As a youth pastor, I LOVED Christmas break for similar reasons. During the two-week break from regular programming, I took the time to individually encourage the team (leadership team, parents, students), but I also used the time to assess the game plan and ask some key questions.
In this post I’d like to provide you five questions that perhaps you can ask yourself before you get too far into the second half of the year. Be warned… if you take the questions seriously, you just may change your ministry (and this may not be a bad thing).
1. If I were on medical leave for two months, what would happen to the ministry?
2. If the way I modeled peer outreach (how I reach out to the unchurched in my age bracket) were the only example students were following, what would the student ministry look like?
3. If I could not repeat a single camp, retreat, mission or event from 2014 what would we do differently in 2015?
4. If I could not use electronic/social media in 2015, how could the ministry improve?
5. If I were not allowed to publicly teach (preach, give the “talk,” etc.) or lead the Bible Study, but could disciple those students, leaders and parents who were, what would the ministry look like in 2015?
My prayer for 2015 is that “youth ministry” in the US gets more personal, more creative, more relational and that students, leaders and parents discover their gifts, talents and skills and are given the opportunity to exercise these attributes! Maybe 2015 needs to be a year of risk?
Get ready… the second half has just begun!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Brian Aaby is the director of YS Search& Coaching, assisting churches with personnel placement and provides coaching guidance for youth leaders. Brian served for 17 years as a youth pastor and then founded and led Youthmark since 2008. Brian speaks nationally at churches, camps, conference, and events. He and his wife, Elisabeth, have three children and reside near Seattle.
Clik here to view.
