Working with visiting speakers – 9 tips

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Over the past twelve months I’ve been on both sides of the visiting speaker divide. I’ve been touring my book, and running events that needed outside help.

Some churches have policies and budgets for speakers, but in youth work land, we easily neglect these in the wake of enthusiasm and last minute planning! I’ve had some truly wonderful, and some frankly weird encounters as a visiting speaker, so I thought I would share some top tips and little stories to help you get the most out of your visiting speaker.

1. Do your homework

Don’t just go for the biggest names as it’ll cost your whole budget, and they might not actually be the best voice for your groups. You could even end up compromising  ideal dates and venues to fit their busy schedules. You should look instead for what a speaker values; ask for feedback and listen to some of their recordings. Match the speaker to the people they are speaking to, not the topic.

I was asked at one event last year to talk about inner city ministry to disadvantaged urban teenagers from ethnic minorities. I winged it but there are so many people more qualified than me to talk on this topic.

2. Show your working

When sending an invitation to a speaker, specifically point to why you have asked for them. Share what traits they have displayed, or topics they have spoken on which you think will find synergy with your group. This is not about flattery (although it couldn’t hurt, right?), it’s about starting a conversation on the right track.

I’ve had people ask me to speak purely because they know I’ve written a book – but had no idea what the book was about. This proved awkward when the theory of youth work I proposed was dramatically different to events I was asked to speak at. Whoops!

3. Clearly communicate

Most visiting speakers are in some kind of full-time ministry, thus will have an ongoing calendar to juggle. For me that means I really appreciate a few months (not weeks or days) notice, and will want a reasonable picture of I’m speaking to, and for how long. Don’t just drop a speaker into a context they wouldn’t normally work with without very clearly defined and properly communicated expectations.

At another stop last year I was given forty minutes to talk, however, twenty-five minutes in it was clear that the room was confused and restless. Apparently fifteen minutes was the usual length but the person who mediated my visit wasn’t a regular at this service and hadn’t checked!

4. Give value

Use a speaker for what they are good at and are passionate about. They shouldn’t feel like a spare part or just another volunteer. Make sure it’s worth their time.

A vocational speaker puts a lot of heart, effort, and personal energy into a talk, and it’s harder for them because they don’t know the people they’re speaking to. Make sure they know that they have been used specifically, and picked with careful intention.

5. Decide on remuneration

This should at least cover expenses for travel and board, but it’s also important to consider a financial gift for their time. If I’m speaking for 30 minutes then I’ll probably put 5-8 hours total work into it. With this in mind when I’m running an event, I try to delegate 15-35% of the budget for speakers.

Some speakers have more established expectations than others. it’s better to ask in a frank and clear way early on – but with the attitude of wanting to bless, not wanting to save.

Note: If you plan on recording their talk and selling material with it in afterwards, then you need to get their permission to do so and factor that into your gift. I’m always frustrated when I discover a talk I gave is being sold when I didn’t even know I had been recorded!

6. Be realistic with your expectations

If your event starts at 6pm, don’t ask your speaker to be there with the setup team at 3pm to ‘meet people.’ If you want them to meet people then put on a dinner beforehand. There’s nothing more awkward for a speaker than wandering around a hall, trying to find ways to be useful (or just stay out of the way) for 90 minutes while it all gets set up. This is time your speaker would rather have been with their family.

With this comes realism and honesty. I attended several events last year where I was assured a large number of people, but only a handful would actually make it. 10 and 100 people are very different things. I would still have spoken at these events, but I would have changed my approach or format if I knew beforehand.

7. Ask for their requirements

Sound, projection, computers, adapters, tables, pens, seating arrangements, or helpers to hand things out are all helpful to discuss before a speaker arrives. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve arrived somewhere that didn’t have even a music stand for my notes. A speaker shouldn’t dictate the shape of your event, but you should talk clearly about what is available and how they usually work.

8. Say thank you

It’s important to value your speaker. You can give some helpful feedback, but mostly show your gratitude for their work. Visiting speakers are professionals so they can work with feedback and understand that people have different needs.

I try and give the ‘triple whammy’ of thanks: First, say thank you in the event publicly, which gives the whole group an opportunity to be a part of it. Second, say thank you to them personally, as the event organiser, when walking them to their car or dropping them off at the train station. Third, say thank you a day or two later, over email, highlighting the specific ways you think it was useful to the audience.

9. Don’t let them be a diva

You should value your speaker, but if you have given clear expectations in a timely fashion, then you should expect them to work within those parameters. You can’t change the shape of your whole event to fit them, and you can’t throw out your theology play book to accommodate something they’re playing with at the moment.

I once worked with a visiting speaker who was given 20 minutes, but spoke for almost an hour (mostly crying), until we interrupted and moved him off stage.

A speaker should ideally be there for the whole session to settle in well, understand the vibe, and talk to people afterwards. They shouldn’t nip out the back when their bit is over. Be clear and upfront, and hold them to the expectations you have agreed on.

 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

What to do in the first three months of a new youth work job

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This won’t be a popular answer, but you should do nothing. Well, almost nothing.

I was recently at a conference where I overheard a new youth worker tell another youth worker that she was struggling in her brand-new position. The second youth worker’s advice was ‘change as much as you can as quickly as you can.’ I felt like banging my head against the wall… or I felt like banging someone’s head against the wall anyway.

One of the main reasons that youth workers don’t find traction in new positions is that they fly in like superman with brand-spanking new shiny ideas and a completely out-of-context, duck-out-of-water leadership style to boot. Whereas some will see this as a novelty and will try to get behind it, most will treat the over-excited new guy with a healthy level of scepticism.

So slow down puppy.

For your first few months you need to build.  Build credibility (no your CV did not do that), build trustworthiness, build respect, build confidence, and – of course – build relationships. You’re also building up information and research, so the actual changes you’ll make later will sit on something much more like solid ground.

So, here’s my short list of what you should do in your first three months instead:

1. Watch everything

Go to each ministry project that the church or ministry runs. Visit all the homegroups and services. Attend training and meetings. Don’t get stuck into to serving, just watch. Watch, look, listen, and take notes. You’re trying to breathe the culture in, put your finger on the pulse and find the heart (or hearts) of the ministry. Don’t waste this time of watching as a relatively objective outsider – you won’t get it back later.

2. Keep a journal everywhere

Note down some thoughts after every event. Ideally do this under four headings. 1. Who did what when and where? 2. What did I like/do I think worked? 3. What did I not like/do I think didn’t work? 4. Anything else of note? Keep this journal private but do fill it in regularly.

3. Talk to everyone

Accept every dinner invitation and go out for so many coffees that you start to shake. Ask impertinent questions, get people to tell you their stories, and listen actively to what they say. Talk to local schools and government. Talk to other churches and project workers. Make notes in your journal afterwards and reflect. Ask lots and lots of questions – of everyone. Try to withhold judgement and keep the pieces in tension. You’re trying to sense a flavour of people, not just gather facts.

4. Change nothing

Don’t just jump in with your new ideas, learn to listen for the heartbeat. This will build you a foundation that you’ll be able to build solidly on for years to come. Not only does this build you some much needed trustworthiness, but it also gives you the space and information that you’ll need to plan healthily.

How to do this in reality

This starts at interview! You need to make clear that this is your plan for the first quarter, so the ‘interim’ staff or volunteers can’t just pack up and leave in lieu of the new guy coming in. Make sure the pastor or team leader communicates this to the church, teams, and eldership before you start. Then you can hit the ground running by not actually having to run. Winner.

 

Photo by Jonathan Klok on Unsplash

10 financial tips from a youth worker to a youth worker.

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Financial advice to a youth worker from a youth worker.

This might be one of the most hypocritical posts that I’ve ever written and that’s saying something! I’m rubbish at handling money. I don’t care all that much about it and I don’t think all that much about it either. In fact, it was only when I really understood my serious lack of stewardship gifts that I handed the responsibility over to my wife and we began to get straightened out.

I do, however, spend a lot of my time mentoring and coaching youth workers. That – along with my own disastrous financial experience – means I understand and have lived through many of the pressures and conflicts surrounding money in ministry. I don’t think we pay ministers enough, and youth ministers are often at the bottom end of this – but this is the reality of our world that we need to learn to live within.

I’m fortunate now to work for a charity that wants to support me well for the work I do, but many youth workers don’t have this, and even those of us who do still struggle. When I was in my first youth ministry position, I thought I was paid quite well – that was until I discovered that we were in the bottom 10% in our area and were racking up more debt each month!

The bottom line is that we don’t get into ministry to be wealthy, and we are often paid less than many of people that we serve. This is the nature of the beast. Some of us also get into ministry quite young, want to start families, and hold the baggage of student debt to boot.

It was only a few years ago that my wife and I were still in almost £10,000 of debt. A better job, a clearer understanding, some generosity, and a lot of planning helped us clear this completely. Credit for this needs to go to my wife, but here are a few things that I picked along the way.

This is the one of the weirdest posts I’ve ever written, but the more time I spend with youth workers the more I realise that many of these basic skills and understandings are often missing.

Hopefully these aren’t too condescending, and hopefully for some people they may be helpful. Enjoy!

1. Make peace with the reality of your role

As a youth worker in the West, you should consider yourself a missionary. Your work primarily will be finding and winning souls in a culture foreign to your own. There is frugal mindset that comes along with being a missionary, and an acceptance that you’re not going to be exactly like the people who surround you. Thrift stores should be your friend and an old car your chariot.

I see many youth workers still aim for the idyllic lifestyles of families with different resources – assuming that’s what ‘normal’ looks like, and thus so should they. Dates, houses, cars, strollers, supermarket choices etc all. try to follow these lines. As a missionary you need to budget robustly, spend creatively, and prioritise clearly.

2. Don’t buy anything on credit

Every time I go to a youth worker gathering, I find myself wondering how so many fellow workers are driving newer cars. Then there’s new phones, branded clothes, and planned holidays. I’m one of the slightly better paid youth workers in the UK, which still means I take home less than an entry level teacher. So how are my brothers and sisters doing this?

In some cases, it could be two sources of income, generous gifts, or well-planned savings, but it’s unlikely to be these across the board. I started to ask around and it turns out that so much of it is bought on credit. Little is actually owned, and variable debt is piling up beyond the means to pay it back.

I think this comes from not having the mindset of the missionary and assuming that were supposed to be just like everybody else – and have what everybody else has. If it all possible then, avoid buying anything you don’t need to on credit. Consider that buying a mobile phone out right – even brand-new flagships – then having a sim-only contract works out almost half the price of a ‘free’ phone under a regular contract.

Credit promotes false economy and dictates financial terms for years to come for the promise of instant fixes.

3. Become a jack-of-all-trades

Creativity goes a long way financially, and as youth workers, we should really be rocking this:

Learn some basic mechanics and maintain your own car. YouTube is your friend.

Use comparison websites, understand vacation calendars, and book ahead.

Look for, save, and use coupons.

Know how to squeeze the most from your computer – update the hardware and keep the software clean.

Spend some time in learning about different bank systems, savings accounts, investments, and long-term interest.

Know which shops sell which products at the best prices – even if this means doing the weekly shop in four different buildings.

Know which days and hours in a week are the best times to find bargains.

Don’t pay people to ‘make things easier’. Learn how to do things yourself.

4. Save anything

For the longest time I said that we couldn’t save until we were out of debt. I then said we couldn’t save until we are in “a better place financially”. Both of these what are based on misinformation or poor assumptions.

Sending a standing order, even just £5 a month, into a savings account is worthwhile. By the end of the year, £10 a month might pay for Christmas. My wife and I started off with two very small savings accounts, with ludicrously small standing order amounts. The first would cover spending on holidays, or birthdays that we forgot about; the second we would never touch unless in an absolute emergency. Even the silly small amounts have made a difference to our budgeting and planning. We also save loose change in a jar for the occasional take-out or treat. The best thing about this is it’s not money we factor in and so it doesn’t affect our budget.

5. Budget everything

Have a look through your last year of accounts and find out what you spend beyond direct debits and standing orders. Chart all these out and put up some budget boundaries. Just about everything we spend comes out of a carefully planned budget.

Food, hygiene, coffeeshops, appointments, entertainment, streaming services, fuel – everything is budgeted. It even includes a little bit for pocket money and date nights. This took a long time to get right, but it’s so worth it.

6. Give cheerfully

A think it’s a biblical principle to give out from all we receive – and not to wait to give until we are able. My wife and I give regularly, in small amounts through standing order, and less regularly in large amounts a couple of times a year.

I believe it’s a poor and unfaithful decision two wait to give until you ‘feel’ secure. Although there are many ways of giving, it’s too easy to count out financial stewardship through fear.

7. Receive gratefully

Enjoy gratefully the help you get from friends and church. Speaking gifts, dinner at people’s houses, babysitting, old cars, or even help gardening are wonderful expressions that we should not be too proud to receive when offered cheerfully.

These things shouldn’t come with strings attached, and you shouldn’t let yourself create guilt-burdened links because of them. Say thank you, be thankful, and receive gratefully.

8. Shop smartly

EBay, facebook, gumtree, and charity shops are your friends. Don’t always buy new and know how to shop smartly. Read reviews carefully and make sensible choices for what you really need.

Last year I bought a new phone, and I really wanted a good one. I needed long battery life, durability, and a solid camera. Everyone was telling me to buy the new Samsung flagship, however, after careful reviews I bought the LGG6. Because this came at the same time as the Samsung, it was overshadowed by it, and was therefore much much cheaper. No one wanted it even though the package was almost identical, and in some areas better.

This also goes two ways, sell what you don’t need regularly. Don’t horde, and keep cash moving.

9. Automate it

If you’re like me, then you might be a little bit reckless, impulsive, and fearful when it comes to money. Setup standing orders and direct debits so you never forget to pay bills, pay off debt, save, and budget.

Automate everything so you’ll never get late payment fines or unplanned overdraft fees. Don’t trust memory and use the systems that are available to you.

10. The best things in life are free

Enjoy the good things that don’ cost. Hang out with friends, go for walks, take up healthy sports that don’t require memberships or much equipment. There is a lot to enjoy in life that doesn’t require money – just a joyful spirt and a little creativity.

5 Types of criticism that I’ll always ignore… or at least try to

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Exactly a year ago I wrote a post called ‘7 Ways Not To Complain To Your Youth Worker’. As a result I received comments and messages from other youth leaders that had gone through the same things. Some of the stories they shared were just heartbreaking.

This made me realise that we’re not done with this topic yet.

Critique is vital to health; it’s so important to have an objectivity about the work that we do, and a humble perspective on the difference between ‘God’s’ work and ‘ours.’ We need to keep ourselves accountable to trusted, godly men and women who will feedback with clarity and gentleness on our ministries. We need to be open to challenge so that we can truly grow as teachable and dependable ministers of the gospel.

Without an openness to healthy critique, we are just asking to fail.

However…

What do you do when the feedback is poorly given, ill-conceived, spiritually dangerous, or just personally stupid?

I don’t mean what do you do if you don’t like or agree with the feedback. There’s lots of stuff that we won’t like or agree with that will contain nuggets of truth that we need to listen to. This is a post, however, on how to identify feedback that needs to be left by the door.

I recently (ish) received some ‘feedback’ that was hurtful and – frankly – just wrong. As a result I spoke to some friends that I genuinely trust for their perspective – trying to find out if there was some truth that I couldn’t hear because of my upset. One of these guys said to me that he believed some feedback was a form of abuse, and needed to be disregarded quickly before it stuck.

Some critique must not be allowed room to breath.

So I’ve called this ‘5 forms of criticism that I’ll always ignore.’ A more honest title however, would be ‘5 forms of criticism that I’ll try to ignore’ or ‘5 forms of criticism that I really really should ignore.’ The truth is I’m human, and if you get punched to the gut, it hurts!

Hopefully, however, we can all team up on this, and support each other by identifying some kinds of criticism that really don’t need to be taken seriously. If there are nuggets of truth, we need to pray and ask God to reveal those to us in healthy ways that we can action unconditionally. Some feedback, however, needs to be named and shamed, and not even given time of day.

Hostage feedback

This is feedback that won’t let you off the hook. It’s forceful, repetitive, and needs very specific agreements. Feedback that holds you hostage usually comes in the form of a conversation that’s impossible to leave. ‘Thank you very much, I’ll go away think about it’ just doesn’t work.

When someone holds you hostage to their feedback, they’re expecting very particular agreements to what they’re saying, and very specific and immediate appropriation of their suggestions. It’s all on their terms. The ransom is only paid in complete submission and total surrender to their opinion.

If the person giving you feedback doesn’t respond appropriately to your need to go away and process it, then – rudely if necessary – turn and walk away.

Delivered via gossip

Thirdhand, or ‘gossip’ feedback, is when someone is hoping you’ll hear their criticism without getting their fingerprints on it. Criticism via gossip means they have spoken to everyone but you. The most hideous form of this is when it arrives on your doorstep via your wife, your husband, or your kids.

Gossip is an issue that needs to be tackled at the pastor level; however it is worth identifying the source, approaching them directly, and getting them to tell you their problem eye-to-eye. It’s always important to call gossip out, otherwise it festers and continues.

Without proper examination

I recently received feedback from someone I’ve never spoken to before that questioned my very relationship with God after they walked out of my session three minutes in. Not only did they leave with the exact opposite point that was delivered, but they made huge assumptions and bold assertions with very little information. There was no questions, no listening, and no attempt to understand. It was an attack – quite literally – on nonexistent content.

This particular feedback was given in anger (which isn’t always a problem) and was fuelled by significant misunderstanding. In this case I really struggled to let it go as it called my faith in God to account. So I sent my recorded talk to several friends who are theologically solid and not afraid to challenge me. They left with the opposite impression than the person who left early. Their feedback suggested a personal trigger, rather than a problem in the content.

If any feedback given doesn’t flow from the information that was available, then it’s probably fuelled by something else – something that’s personal to the individual. Don’t digest it – it’s probably not about you.

Overgeneralised and unspecific feedback

‘You’re always doing this’, or ‘you’ve never been like that’, or even ‘that project you run is total shambles!’ I’ve had all three of those.

Feedback, and especially criticism, needs to be given in love with the hope of edification and correction. This means it needs prior thought and careful steps before delivery. Usually overgeneralised and unspecific feedback means there is simply a difference of opinion – maybe they just don’t like you!

My response is usually ‘sorry, I can’t work with that, can you bring me a particular circumstance or tell me a specific example.’ If they can’t – leave it behind.

Overreaching feedback

2+2 equals a sack of bananas, right? Overreaching feedback points to a problem, then makes a totally inappropriate conclusion. Like someone saying you need to rethink your relationship with God… because there was a broken window at youth club.

In a previous position, someone complained in our eldership meeting that I didn’t want to go on their suggested safeguarding course. Their conclusion was that it was inappropriate for the church to hire a youth worker who wasn’t trained in safeguarding. Of course I had done lots safeguarding training, I just didn’t like the particular flavour of the course they were suggesting.

Feedback should flow between problem, consequence, and solution. If there is serious disconnect, then disregard.

But what if they’re right?!?

And here is my big problem! I don’t disregard a lot of feedback that comes in these various ways because I want to be open to change and growth. I don’t want to be a feedback snob! And there could be valid criticism buried beneath all that goop!

However, I have my whole life the work on problems, and I know that my work is held accountable to people who’ve earned the right to speak into it. I’ve regularly got things to work on, and all of my work is held accountable to a manager, a broad, a team, good friends, and committed mentors. This affords me the space to be discerning about when feedback is given inappropriately.

So don’t be afraid feedback – surround yourself with people who love you, are smarter than you, and are not afraid to hold you accountable. If you have a system in place for healthy criticism you won’t need to jump at every wagging finger.

In a future post we will consider these five areas again, but in reverse – and talk about more appropriate ways to give feedback.

Thanks for reading!

Finding new volunteers: Appeal vs Approach

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Finding and developing teams of volunteers is the bread-and-butter of youth work. When the team works – it works really well, and when it doesn’t – everything has to work around it.

I’ve just arrived home after a month away to find that my team had been brilliant. They had run and grown all the projects in my absence like pros. This is the first time in 13 years of youth ministry that I felt comfortable enough to leave for an extended period, knowing the young people we’re in good hands. It’s fabulous when a team just works!

But when you don’t have the volunteers to run your projects or (sometimes worse) you have the wrong volunteers in a project things can get very heavy and very stressful very quickly.

The Appeal

For years I ran appeals for help. Letters in news sheets, notices from the front of church gatherings, and direct mail-outs to hundreds of people. Every time I did this I noticed three things:

  1. Hardly anyone responded

The ratio – however I did it – came back at something like 1-2 in 100.

  1. The wrong people responded

I often get sent offers to help from people with ulterior motives who would either be massively unhelpful – if not dangerous – to vulnerable young people, thus would need constant supervision.

  1. I’d wasted ministry capital

I want my churches to read everything I give them, and listen up when I speak. This works less when I’m constantly begging for help from the front. No one is inspired by the sinking ship!

The Approach

I recently attended a training session led by the leaders are a large and thriving Children’s Church. Unfortunately I found them quite odd, and took very little of what they said on board. However, they did get one thing very right – which is to approach potential help directly.

I’d suggest this has five stages: Identify, Encourage, Clarify, Invite and Followup.

Identify

Sit down and make a list of people in your context that could work for your project. They don’t need to be perfect, but they do need a couple of skills to start with, and some space for you to develop others. It’s not your job to decide whether or not they have time at this point – just make up a wish list.

Encourage

Seek them out and tell them why you have identified them specifically. This conversation is all about them. Tell them what skills they have and why you think those fit and tell them why you would love your young people to be served by them. Leave this with them for a week.

Clarify

Followup with them and start to tell them the basics of what is required. One of the key reasons people don’t respond to appeals is that they are too vague. Tell them what is expected from a leader, and how they will be developed and supported to thrive.

Invite

Invite them to the project for a no pressure, observation only session. Let them see and have a look at what you do – right from the setup time to the debrief. This lets them picture what it is they would be doing.

Followup

Soon after (ideally within the week following) have a coffee with that person. Give them your application forms and initiate the formal process. Get them onto to rota in a supervised position until the process is complete.

This takes the same – if not actually much less – time as an appeal process. Although it doesn’t work every time, my experience has been that you have more responses, better fitting people, and a better beginning for your volunteers.

Have you had success with appeals or approaches? Do you have any other ideas? Send us a message or leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you! 🙂

7 volunteer leaders that your youth ministry could do without

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I love working with volunteers – its one of the best things about being a youth worker. Volunteers are there because they want to serve, and they usually come without the baggage of entitlement demands and complaints. Volunteers blow me away all the time because of the energy they give to projects while expecting so little in return.

I’m hugely blessed right now to have an awesome team. All of my volunteers are a total credit to themselves and to the God they serve. The young people love them, and they support me in more ways than they know.

It hasn’t always been this way though. I’ve managed teams of volunteers for over a decade, and I totally understand the pressures of constantly needing more help. There are, however, just some volunteers that you could do without.

I’m a big believer that your ministry should match your resources, and that you should steward what you have, before you try and do more than what you can manage. Youth workers, however, are under constant pressure to grow numerically. This means a bigger team. Then begins the desperate pleas for help in the notices, and the increasingly lax expectations and requirements from your volunteers before they serve.

My volunteers go through a process which includes an application form, interview, references, police check, and probation period. Here are some of the potential volunteers that I turn away.

1. Just there to make up numbers

Occasional willing help to keep young people safe by bolstering ratios is an ok thing to do. Having a volunteer on team, however, that doesn’t want to be there, but are simply worried that the youth group might collapse without them is just not helpful. They ooze disinterest and will more than likely be a limp member of the team.

Better a smaller youth group with a devoted and committed team, than a big one with disinterested and unengaged leaders any day.

2. No servant heart

One of the reasons that I love my team so much is that they get stuck into everything. They’ll commit prep time in the week, they’ll clean up without being asked, or they’ll arrive early and move chairs.

Volunteers who only come just wanting to be the spiritual big shot are simply not worth your time. Starting with a Christlike servant heart should the foundational basis that anyone wanting to serve in ministry.

3. Not teachable

When I look for a new volunteer, I keep my eye out the people that display faithfulness, availability, and teachability. A teachable person asks more questions than they give answers. They listen carefully before making judgemental statements, they respond well to ideas and corrections, and they respect the authority of the leader.

An unteachable person is often cynical, loudly opinionated, vocally dominant and undermining. They can be argumentative and they can foster gossip. If a volunteer cannot demonstrate teachability, then they will do little to help the wise development of your young people.

4. Empire builders

We’ve all heard that we shouldn’t build empires we should build kingdom, and it’s true. A kingdom-building volunteer comes on to a team to serve Jesus in that ministry and to see how they can fit within it uniquely. An empire-building volunteer comes on expecting the ministry to serve their own aspirations.

An empire builder often talks about how they would do better, and how they started because they could fix what you were doing wrong. Even if they’re right about areas that need to change, their attitude will sink the ministry long before you can make any healthy changes.

5. Unreliable

I have a busy team of people who lead full lives with jobs and family. For that reason I do my best to set realistic expectations and develop rotas that work for them individually. Leaders who often don’t show up when they say they will, or are consistently late are quickly taken off our rosters.

An unreliable team means an unreliable youth ministry; meaning the young people can’t trust it. It’s important that each volunteer signs a contract of expectations at the beginning of their time, and are then held accountable to it. Just because volunteers are not staff, does not mean they don’t have to keep to agreed expectations – especially when it affects the security of vulnerable young people.

6. Called to other ministries

Sometimes brilliant volunteers show up with fantastic attitudes, but it becomes clear that really they are called to a different ministry. Although it may be heartbreaking and gut-wrenching to let them go, you too are called to build the kingdom and not your empire.

Making sure that you have regular supervision sessions with your volunteers should help you understand if there is a better fit for them elsewhere. If you release them, God will honour and provide.

7. Haven’t earned it

One of the most obvious places to get new team members from is graduating young people when they become legal adults. I love this life cycle and believe it’s essential to develop young people eventually into adult team members. However, if they did not demonstrate a servant heart, if they were not teachable, and if they were constantly disrespectful towards the acting team – then I will not allow them to volunteer without some clear evidence of change.

We should set realistic, but high standards for our team. We’re not looking for perfect people (look at the disciples!), but faithful, available, and teachable people who are properly committed, servant-hearted and know where to place their priorities.

I’m totally blessed by my team today after a long time of cultivation and development. It was really worth the effort and the hard conversations. Does your team need some work?

11 Lists That Successful Youth Workers Keep

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I love a good list. Numbers, bullet points, colour coordination and, of course, subheadings. Lists are nectar to the analytical soul! They’re also invaluable if you run Youth Work projects. Here’s a random bunch of my favourites gleaned from talking to amazing youth work practitioners. If you don’t already keep some of these – you might want to think about them.

1. Contacts

Adhering strictly to data protection law, keeping lists of contacts is a must. Keeping a check on young people that you come into contact with, and their parents; Growing a donors and prayer partners database; Friendly teachers and council staff; and finally other practitioners that you can partner with in the work that you do.

2. Goals

I outline a list of about ten specific goals for my projects to accomplish every year. These are broad brush, optimistic yet achievable, and enthusiastic yet measurable.

3. Values

Broader than goals, is a list of values. A short, succinct but specific list of ideals that you can measure all your projects and activities against is very helpful. This takes your theology and ethics and nails them to the door of everything that you do.

4. Tasks

Every morning I lay out a list of tasks need to be accomplished the following day. These are action and communication based, very practical and very specific. I also have a larger task list that includes all my major one-off projects throughout the entire year.

5. Project Bucket List

I have crazy ideas every day that I know I cannot accomplish immediately. These go into my project bucket list. Not only is this a great resource for ideas later, but it has allowed me to always drive the vision forwards.

6. Promises

There are easily hundreds of specific promises made in scripture. At the beginning of a year or a season, I like to go through these and ask God to bring some of them particularly to mind that might be pertinent to the year ahead. I keep these in a handy promises list that can be stuck up above my desk.

7. Prayer Journal

This is a simple two column list of prayers asked and prayers answered. Sometimes this includes lists of people that I’m praying for, or specific projects which have particular needs. I’m always amazed at the prayers answered part by the end of the season.

8. Creative Ideas & Tools

Youth conferences, training days, books, magazines and blogs are full of ridiculously creative ideas and tools. I copy and paste as many of these as possible into a creative ideas list to dip into throughout the entire year of events and clubs.

9. Expenses

If you don’t already, it is really important to keep track of your expenses. I’m good at tracking them, but I’m rubbish at claiming them! I always get to them, but rather later than I mean to. Keeping a clear track of expenses helps you understand your handle on stewardship, as well as God’s provision.

10. Icebreakers

Almost every single thing that I do requires an icebreaker to get people talking independently and sharing together. It’s always worth having access to an icebreaker list. I’ll make things easier:here is one ready made for you!

11. Holidays

Okay, not so much list as much as a properly planned calendar, but if you make a list at the beginning of the year which includes all your major projects and school dates, then you should be able to work out your entire year of holidays too! If you’ve been in youth work for more than a couple of years then you’ll know exactly why I’m saying that. Get them listed and get them booked!

Enjoy, everybody – and lists ahoy!

How To Be The Ideal Youth Worker

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What makes an ideal youth worker ideal? What ingredients do you need to add to the mix? What specific traits and skills should we be developing to fill holes in our youth worker template?

This was a brilliant question posed to me in a training session this morning. I’m going to attempt to summarise my answer here.

There are several tiers to an ‘ideal’ youth worker starting with the nonnegotiable and working down to specific specialised skills. All of these should be developing, growing and organic.

We all love diagrams right? Here’s one I made earlier.

There are no ideal youth workers, we all know this, and every youthworker will be different depending on context. However I feel these principles are mostly transferable. They are the basis for what I expect from myself and my teams. They also form the framework of my interview process.

Love For God & Young People

At the top of the pyramid are the most important: a love for God and a love for young people – and a keen flow between these two. If you don’t have these you’re following the wrong trail.

F.A.T.

Second we see the key traits of longevity; faithfulness, a commitment to God, people, projects and ministry life; availability, a – within safe boundaries(!) – accessibility to people and projects; and teachability – a proactive willingness to learn and grow that is accountable and open.

Commitment to …

This tier contains the essential faith-driven lifestyle commitments: An ever growing passion for reading the bible, prayer and worship personally and within community.

Development of…

Here we see specific skills that will be useful regularly in all kinds of youth work. Listening skills are always valuable, as is the ability to think and problem solve creatively. A growing theological understanding is also important, alongside learning different ways to communicate this understanding. Finally it’s key that every youth leader is trained in best safeguarding practice.

Specialising in…

The final tier includes the main areas where a youth leader should think about specialising. Not all of these will be essential to every youth worker.

Relational practice can be developed in many ways, but comes down to forming lasting, impressionable bonds with young people. Activity basis is taking specific gifts, talents and passions that you have and developing them in ministry contexts, for instance sport, music, drama, debate or knitting.

Inclusivity is always important but will rely on your context. This may include working alongside various ages, social and health difficulties, specific cultures or members of the LGBT community. Similar to this is working with those with different learning styles; key if you are doing lots of communication work and schools projects.

Parental support is particularly valuable if you’re doing church-based ministry as family worship is always the end goal. Finally management is vital if you’re overseeing projects and people.

This last tier is always the least important and is always the area that changes most throughout your youth work experience.

How to apply this in team management

These five tiers should form the basis of in house growth and training.

You should have the top two tiers sown solidly into the regular fabric of your projects, ministry and recruitment process.

The third tier is checked up on through community involvement (generally) and through regular individual supervision sessions (specifically). I try to do individual supervision in various ways once every 6 months, and team supervision annually.

The last two tiers should form the basis of group training that you run and attend. The top of these should be three-line-whip sessions for the whole team with regular annual repeats, and training for the last should be made available to those who want it.

 

 

How to Line Manage Your Youth Worker

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“Behind every great man there’s a great women rolling her eyes” (Bruce Almighty), and behind every great Youth Worker there is a great support structure.

A support structure means more than just well-wishers and prayer-warriors. A support structure means work contracts, policies, accountability boards, bosses, mentors and managers… good ones, not pants ones.

I bet that one of the top reasons youth workers quit so early and frequently is a widespread lack of understanding of the chain of command. Everyone thinks they’re your boss – parents, teenagers, councils, caretakers – everyone!

I think the holy trinity of successful youthwork support is a pastor – to include you within the wider vision, a mentor – to nurture you as a disciple, and a line-manager – to develop you as an employee. All three need to have a different emphasis but a common goal. Hypostatic union if ever I saw it!

In my first full time youthwork job I had no line manager. As a result I ended up working regular 70hr weeks, didn’t receive about half of my leave (and when I did I was granted it too late to book or save), wasn’t able to formally develop my training and didn’t receive any clear feedback on my work performance. I left – and I nearly left youthwork completely.

My next job came with an able line manager, a quality mentor, a committed trustee board and a further accountability board to check up on the trustees. I’m still there – and I’m still growing.

The holy trinity of successful youthwork support is a pastor, mentor and line manager.

There are five specific areas that a line manager should be regularly checking up on: Timesheets, Annual Leave, Training, Project Management and Admin. Anything else probably falls under the purview of the Pastor or Mentor.

Timesheets: To check how much time the youth worker is working, where they’re spending it and what – if any – gaps are showing up while keeping an eye open for over working and unsociable hours.

Annual Leave: Making sure the youth worker is taking it – including day(s) off – and booking in advance. Also working alongside the youth worker to cover projects and seek outside help when needed. Annual Leave should never be made conditional on cover.

Training: Looking together at relevant conferences, courses, conversations and a reading budget. This should include spiritual feeding and practical training. Ideally the board should set an annual budget for professional development.

Project Management: Looking at the trickle down supervision of teams and volunteers under the youth worker. Mediating and advising on conflict resolution and making suggestions to both the youth worker and wider board regarding ongoing difficulties.

Admin: Anything that is foundational to the youth worker’s work, be it HR, policies, contracts, timesheets, rotas etc. Making sure that the machine is being well oiled by the right people.

These five areas should be noted and checked up on at least once every six weeks – and minuted properly. This means minutes will include a ‘matters arising’ section to check up on ongoing items. Annual supervision meetings with Pastors/boards etc. then have some written record to go off. Minutes should be circulated only to those who need them – usually Pastor/Chair-person, Line Manager and Youth Worker.

You can also include ‘correspondence’ in your meetings. This gives the youth worker a chance to talk about extraneous, troubling or potential communications that have an impact on their work – and the line manager a chance to bring to the youthw orker’s attention conversations with other leaders about work performance or project feedback – obviously filtering out the knuckle head and spiteful stuff.

Try to keep meetings to an hour, in a reasonably comfortable and private place!

Have fun

Evaluating Your Youth Project 1: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

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One of the top reasons youth projects fizzle, fail and die is that they are not regularly checked against purpose and evaluated against resources.

We start things off guns blazing but have only packed enough ammo for the initial shock campaign – so we get stuck in youthwork no-mans land covered in sweat, blood and tears wondering what to do, how to control things and most importantly – which way is out?

Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to outline three methods to evaluate a youth project:

  1. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (GBU)
  2. SWOT (or Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
  3. Purpose & Place

So kicking off today with…

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

I’m starting with this because it’s pig easy to remember and implement! You can do this for hours or you can do this for ten minutes; in fact GBU is used as a regular part of my weekly project debriefs.

Simply put it means:

– What was good?

– What wasn’t so good?

– What else is worth mentioning but we can’t decide whether it was good or not?

GBU is observational first and foremost: What did you see; objectively, what happened.

What Was Good?

The G. This – as with all stages of GBU – is deliberately a broad category. GBU is by nature an organic analytical tool that creates open conversation not closed categories. Good is – what struck you as being useful, helpful, fun, enjoyable, memorable, a right choice, a piece of divine providence or something that can be built on.

Not everyone is going to agree and some folk are going to argue that what felt good to one person was horrible for someone else. And that’s fine! This is there to be a basic conversation starter to keep things on the table.

What Was Bad?

The B. In all evaluation methods you need disclaimers – with the bad what we’re talking about is areas to improve and grow. We need to be careful not to be too judgmental or personal. Key words are ‘constructive’ and ‘objective.’

The bad is the bucket to put areas that didn’t go so well, or ‘it would have been nice if… but..’, also the areas that we’re not firing on all jets yet, or the needs we still have etc. It’s sometimes a good idea in this section to talk about what solutions might be necessary.

What Was Ugly?

The U. Nice and simple – this is a great way to break tension from the bad. It’s a convenient ‘agree to disagree’ category and an area to bring up potential ideas. U gives a bucket to put all the things we wanted to say but don’t really register as good or bad.

Oddly the Ugly category tends to be the one that generates most conversation and ideas.

So get on with it!

It takes us about ten minutes to do GBU after three of my weekly projects. We check up on each other, have good conversations and it fuels our prayer time. Well worth it! And – if someone takes notes you can get together each term and look for patterns and suggest changes.

Good fun, easy to do and could potentially save a youth project!

Next time: SWOT.