Something needs to change

As the summer is upon us, it’s time to reflect, review and seriously question our calling before jumping into another year. I love the summer for allowing time for that. It’s a process that takes more than a weekend and if you read previous posts, is a non-negotiable in our youth ministry year here at Lincoln Road Chapel.

One item up for review in today’s post is the way that we operate financially….

As a youth worker, I’m sure you’ve been introduced to the headache that money can add into any ministry dynamic. There are many contributors to this headache… here are just a few…
-when money is involved, there is always a chance that it can be mishandled… if you’ve been a youth worker for a while, you most likely know some folks who’ve been fired over an issue like this.

-when you have to collect for something, you often feel like a travel agent.

-when you have families with multiple students in your ministry, you most likely are aware of the strain that multiple events are putting on their finances.

-even when you give the blanket statement of “we’ll do anything to make sure your child can get to ________ (fill in the blank)”, you know there is a sense of shame that comes with not being able to provide like the other family down the road…

I’m sure there are many other contributing factors to this headache that you could add to the list… and here’s the tipping point for me this year…

When your ministry has even one event that is not affordable for a teen or family, you run the risk of segregating that family or teen for their whole tenure in your ministry.

I thought about continuing with this post, but I think I’ll end it there. We all can agree that you can never eliminate the financial aspect from what we do, but there are definitely ways to do things differently. For our student ministry team here at LRC, it means we’re continually cutting back on retreats and big events, supplementing them with other ways of doing youth ministry and ultimately seeking ways to reach teenagers with the love of Christ regardless of economic background… and that will never be done if we continue doing things the way we’re doing them now.

Something needs to change for us… what about you?

Closed For the Season

This week, 3 of our once a week programs are coming to an end.

Innermission: our more intense/study based junior high sunday school is ending for the year.
Xtreme Youth: our high energy, outreach focused evening finished last night.
LINK: our highschool no-one-can-stop-when-it-gets-going machine is coming to an close for the season on friday night.

When I was beginning my first summer here, I always questioned why we shut down...
That was until the fall came again. The benefits were huge. Here are just a few...

1. It gives regular leaders a break in order to preserve them for the next term. It's called Sabbath. God created it and said it was so important, it became a top ten issue in life.

2. It gives the leadership some time to reflect on the previous year and identify what was done right, and usually, what was done wrong and needs correcting.

3. It gives the point leader some time to spend in study and preparation to make sure that no one has the excuse to fly by the seat of their pants... that includes every leader and every student leader. In other words, when those you lead fail, it's usually because you have failed to lead them... so take the time to lead them well by being prepared.

4. It gives you time to connect with people... away from the programming and the events. Time to ask unrelated questions to "ministry" that often matter more to our students and adult leaders in our ministry-- questions that show that we're human, that we care and that this is more than just getting a job done, but is all about journeying through life as we chase after God's Spirit...

5. And finally, it gives you time to Selah-- you see it in the psalms. After something has happened or said, authors would pause and say "Selah"; which scholars have spent much time deliberating a meaning but come to this conclusion... Stop and listen... stop what you're doing for a moment and listen to the God of the universe whisper. It's during these momenets in which we often make some of the soundest, wisest and most important descisions that determine the outcome of our futures.

and isn't that worth the time to just slow down?

Till next time,