Superstar...

I’m sure as a youth worker, you’ve felt the crunch to give more.

-a previous program is failing, and you want to come to the aid.
-you see a hole within the ministry you run, or something that
would be a great addition.
-there’s a great opportunity, you just need to find the time and
you could be the right person for the job.
-if you just gave it one more night a week, you’d see so much more
change…

These past few years have been a learning curve for me. To be blunt, I’m a rookie. I’ve been at my church for 4 and a half years, but I’m still learning the tricks of the trade. And with many “opportunities” to do more and give more, I’m learning that although it’d be great to do so, I just can’t. I’m sure you’ve had similar feelings and experiences.

Here’s something I’ve learned over the past few years here…

If it’s really important and not in my sphere of influence (or timeframe), it might be in someone else’s

If it would be a great addition to your church or drop in centre but you feel the strain, there might be something worth dropping that just isn’t working.

If it didn’t work in the past and you’re stressing because you don’t have the “right” way to do it, it’s probably not going to work in the future. Sometimes it’s okay to give up and focus your time and energy somewhere where it will be useful.

If someone keeps saying “if only we had someone to do _________ (fill in the blank)”, they might be the best person for the job and you just need to affirm and encourage them to do it.

If you feel like you’re putting someone else’s amour on, you most likely are. Stop, assess at the giant in front of you and ask the God of the universe how He’d like the battle to be fought.

At the end of the day, you’re one person. You can only do so much. So you have a choice. You can trust that your effort will be used by God as you entrust your ministry to others; or you can burn out trying to be the superstar youth worker.

In the words of a good friend and beloved co-worker, Len Habermehl, “Set your course, then sail towards it.”

Till next time,