Time Management

If you are a volunteer youth worker, you most likely already know the importance of guarding your time. More often than not, this is a key marker of any youth worker—the fact that time management plays such a key role in the way in which you do your job. Let me explain.

1. Some of the best youth workers I know have some sort of scheduler… and they stick by it. They might have a cell phone which keeps notes, a schedule on their computer or they might be from the stone age where they use a calendar on the wall.

2. Some of the worst youth workers I know have no way of keeping track of their time. They might say they do. They might even have a way in which they CAN keep track of their time and how it’s spent… but they don’t use it. Most of the time, they fly by the seat of their pants… and I’m sorry if I’ve just offended you.

Of all of the aspects of what makes or breaks a youth worker, time management is up there with the big ones. Why do is time management so important to the way in which we do ministry?

Because the way you manage your time will not only affect you but also the kids who you serve and the other people on your team.

Not to mention your family, friends and other people who dearly love you and would like just a minute of your time.

I know that you most likely have a busy schedule as well. Youth workers are notorious for taking on way too much because at the heart of that matter, they care way too much… sometimes too much for their own good.

If you are the lead youth worker (or you manage people who work with you), the best gift you can give your team besides a day off could be dependability and a concise idea of where you are taking the team. Calendars play a great role in this. Do you have a monthly calendar that clearly spells out what’s going on? What about a year at a glance where you can tell your youth workers when to book time off work and when to tell their families that they’ll be away for a day or two? Do you have a person who you can give a heads up of where you are at all times when you are on the clock? Does your family know what you’re up to?

These questions might help you decipher between good time management and poor scheduling and communication.

If you are the volunteer youth worker with someone leading you; than you are the best gift you could ever give your lead youth worker. But as we all know, the best gifts are the gifts that keep on giving! Are you dependable and clear when you lead upwards? Do you frequently ask for clarification of what is expected from you? Have you developed the discipline of saying “No” when you know you aren’t good at something or when you know you’ll have something else on the go? Have you had the tough talk with your lead youth worker when they don’t give you enough time or clarification when something needs to be done? Are you taking a Sabbath from work and youth ministry? Are you putting your family first or have you fallen into the trap of giving to a ministry and then having nothing left to feed your family?

Perhaps these questions could guide you in an ongoing conversation with your supervisor and your family.

A good youth worker is a healthy youth worker; and a healthy youth worker is one who isn’t burned out or in more than one place at a time. I hope that this portion will benefit you in some way. Take a few moments to answer these questions and ask a close friend, family member or team member to answer these questions about you.

another portion of Chapter 3: Ed-u-kate...

Theology
Yep. The God stuff.
The big kahuna.
The very thing that seems to either bring people together or splits a whole church apart.
Theology.
Say it slow.
Theee-awww-looo-geee!

Theology. The study of God. I’m sure you already knew that.

I grew up Baptist.
‘nuff said. I could’ve ended that right there!

Within the Christian faith there’s more than a few different streams of thought when it comes to our theological understanding and how we behave with that in mind. Presbyterians believe that baptism can be used with little water… and from what I’ve gathered, they like to drink a little. Catholics believe that in order to serve the church better, celibacy is a gift from God that allows you to do so. Pentecostals believe that when you are baptized in the Spirit, a sign will be given (speaking in tongues) to confirm that He really is anointing you. Baptists typically do church on Sunday twice… and don’t drink and dance… ever… that is, unless there are no other baptists in an ear or eyeshot…

And no matter what category you find yourself falling into (or not for you "emerging" leaders), here’s what I’ve gathered…

Most of the time, you’re absolutely sure you’ve got this God stuff figured out until He throws a curveball that shatters your theological grounding in which you stand. At least, for me anyways.

And without going into too much detail, here are a few theological curveballs that God has thrown at me.

1. Maybe footwashing isn’t as much as an act of service to someone else, but an every day occurrence where we are already clean but need Jesus to wash the gunk off our feet (spiritually) every day.

2. Yeah, the church does suck sometimes. But it’s the best picture that we’ll have of heaven until we get there.

3. Women are just as gifted as men and there are more than a handful of women who are better pastors than I’ll ever be.

4. Although we’re notorious for sinful behaviour even after the salvation moment, we’re not expected to live perfectly in order to take the bread and juice on Sunday morning. In fact, communion is actually intended for that specific purpose—to remind us that Jesus gave his flesh and blood because we suck at life. And we’ll probably always suck at life until He comes back.

5. A mark of a good minister is not his or her personal holiness or track record, but the willingness to be transparent, honest and a personal desire to be more like Jesus.

Why am I sharing this?

Because the truth is, my theology is not rock solid.
And I’m learning to be okay with that.
The way in which I know God and understand His word changes so frequently because I’ll never fully come to grasp God in His complete glory.
With that being said, I believe that as youth workers, it is imperative to allow our convictions to shape the way we do things. As our view of God and the way He loves and treats us changes, so should the way we love and reach out to other people… and hopefully as you do, your actions will line up with scripture more and more as the days go by.