I have been noticing more closely the style of teachers and preachers lately. I like the ones who are challenging and pushing you towards making an application. Teachers with this style do seem to have one problem though: how to be humble and yet challenging. Too often challenge comes off as, “I am perfect, so be like me.” That’s not the heart of most teachers but it does come off that way. So how do you challenge people while communicating you are struggling with some of the same things?

1. Use personal stories of failure
I went to a church for a long time where I didn’t think the pastor had ever made a mistake because he never had a sermon illustration of him making a mistake. I always thought it was hard being perfect. Be gut level honest and let people know your struggles and that you make mistakes. Share short-comings and place yourself into the challenge.

2. Share your applications
Let people know how you’re going to apply the lesson. This is scary because everyone is going to be watching to see if you live it out. This is also an awesome chance for you to be a walking, talking example of the truth. As teachers we shall cherish the opportunity to teach by example. If not why are you teaching?

3. Don’t yell your challenge
Sometimes we think a challenge is more powerful if we yell or demand but it’s not. Let the Spirit of God control the pressure.

4. Care more about the person than the challenge
Remember that challenges are tools for people to grow in their faith, they are not the end result . Sometimes challenges are presented as all or nothing – you do it or you fail. Not true. The process of going through challenge is often more important.

Being a teacher or preacher is a cool calling from God. Challenging our listeners is a tremendous tool for helping them change. Just keep in mind it’s about God and not you.

This weekend 20  students leaders are coming to LeaderTreks (LT) to be trained in leading their summer mission trip. These students are some of the sharpest kids out there. Every year LT brings these students together for an intensive weekend of leadership development. The students will learn the LeaderTreks program called Game Plan. Game Plan walks them through a step by step plan to lead their summer mission trip. These students have been selected by their churches to be the students in charge of these trips. Most of these students have been on 3 plus trips with LT and have shown a desire and maturity to lead. This training is the most in-depth student leadership training that LT offers and it’s only offered to these students. By the way its FREE!  We know our trips costs a lot but it’s because you get a lot. When we talk about partnering with churches and making the mission experience great … we mean it.

Evaluation is a key ingredient to growth as a leader. As a youth worker, you need to offer feed back to those you are leading. You also need to receive honest feed back about your performance as a leader. The mark of a great leader is one who is not afraid to hear what others think of him/her. As a resource, this month we are offering an evaluation tool that you can give to your volunteer staff or student leaders as a source of evaluation for your ministry. We have modified these questions from a book entitled First Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. (Simon and Schuster Inc, 1999)

1. Do I know what’s expected of me in this ministry?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment to do my job right?
3. Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my team leader, or someone else, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone in the ministry who encourages my development?
7. Do my opinions seem to count?
8. Are other staff members committed to the ministry?
9. Do I have a best friend in the ministry?
10. In the last six months, has someone talked to me about my progress?
11. This last year, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

Using this resource with your staff and students will give you a window into their perception of the youth ministry. Learning to use evaluation effectively will help you become a leader that people want to follow.

Recently, Newsweek magazine came out with the top 100 high schools in America. The writer of the article noted that challenge was the one thing that differentiated the good schools from the great ones. My question is, why haven’t we discovered this in youth ministry? For so long we have been thinking entertainment will keep students coming to youth group. The truth is MTV will spend two million dollars today on programming and the average church youth budget is what – a couple thousand dollars? We don’t have a chance with those odds. We have to realize our best weapon in reaching students outside of prayer is challenge.

1. Raise the Expectation
To raise expectation is to take students where they have never been before. Require students to listen when others are talking. Set standards for behavior and stick to them. Prepare daily Bible study material for them and hold them accountable to doing it – also known as discipleship. Require applications for summer trips. Clearly communicate requirements for student leadership. You have to decide – is your youth program the ministry of your church to students or is it your student’s ministry to the world? When you raise the expectations, the latter will become true.

At my last youth ministry position, I took over a youth group in total disarray. Forty students were coming to youth group night but it was out of control. The last youth pastor had been there 10 years and everyone loved him. To my shock, he was even providing a place where students could smoke. After the first month, I called a parent meeting and told the parents I was putting an end to the smoking. Many parents told me I was making a big mistake and that many students would leave. They were right and it was the best thing that ever happened to that youth group. We went down to 15 students in two weeks. Six months later we were back to 40 students and growing rapidly. When I left, it was a healthy discipleship ministry based on growing students in the Lord and a majority of the original students had come back and had grown spiritually. The last youth pastor was not doing youth ministry, he was providing a place that students could get away with stuff that they couldn’t do at home. He thought making them happy was somehow helping them. Youth ministry is not about making students happy, it is about developing followers of Christ. In the three youth ministry positions that I have held, every time I raised the expectation on students they rose to meet them and amazing things followed.

2. Challenge Students Spiritually
What is the next step for your students spiritually? Offer some programs for students that want to take the next step spiritually. Have an in-depth Bible study group on Friday mornings. Require Bible memorization and additional cross referencing as part of the requirement to participate. You may want to challenge them to read through the Bible in one year. There are many ways of raising the bar spiritually but the important thing is to do it. 

After my first year in youth ministry as a small group leader in a Jr. High group I wanted to quit. An older leader named Chuck could see my frustration and disappointment. He challenged me to spend the last few weeks of the year asking the students in my small group if they wanted to have a relationship with Jesus. I told him he was nuts, all the kids in my group were Christians, although they were Christians that don’t care and won’t listen. He insisted, so I gave it a try. To my astonishment, there were students in my group who didn’t know Christ and were just waiting for me to begin to challenge them on their relationship with Him. Those last few weeks were different and I learned that students don’t just want Bible stories, they want truth, truth that they can live by and apply to their daily lives. From that point on, I have always tried to challenge students anytime I am in a teaching role.

3. Start a Leadership Program
Many years ago, I adopted the youth ministry philosophy of challenging the top. I always identify the sharp students in a group and start by challenging them. The results are always the same. The group grows faster and deeper. When the student leaders of a group are engaged, then the rest of the group will run as far as the leaders will go. Most youth ministries I see are based on challenging the bottom.  Challenge the top students in your group and see things change.

Remember: Don’t start a leadership team because it’s the hot youth ministry trend. Do it because it will help your students grow in their walk with Christ. Every good leadership program I have seen in youth group starts with a youth worker who is passionate about leadership development. If that’s not you, that’s OK. Find someone in your church that can help you.  At LeaderTreks, we have programs that can help you as well.