This got our publishing team thinking: what if we surveyed youth workers and sr. pastors to see what the problem was. So we did – we asked a bunch of pastors from both camps to help us out. The information was interesting and somewhat consistent. To summarize: youth workers value impact, not years spent on the job, while sr. pastors wanted respect for years on the job. There is a lot more to it than this but you will have to read the book to get all the information.

My struggle is what do I call this book – so far I got “My Sr. Pastor Sucks” which many youth workers have told me they love but falls right into the thinking by sr. pastors that youth workers don’t respect them. I would love your thoughts…..

So many of us place our volunteers by need. I need a small group leader for 10th grade girls so if you’re a new female volunteer, you get the 10th grade girls. Why? How do you know if this new volunteer is right for that position or even knows how to lead a small group or even cares about 10th grade girls? There has to be a better way. We need our volunteers to have confidence that we have placed them in the right position by their passions. If a volunteer is placed by passion then they will stay longer, be more effective and enjoy the ministry.

LeaderTreks has produced a new product call The Sweet Spot. It’s a placement assessment for adult volunteers. This assessment will tell you what your new volunteer is passionate about, the area of impact they want to have in youth ministry and what types of students they feel a burden for.  With this information you can place them in the right role and have them on your team for years to come. Check it our at http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/resources-leadertreks-youth-workers-the-sweet-spot.html

How do you determine what disqualifies a student from being an official student leader, or being on the student leadership team?

How can I keep small groups strong and engaged all year? How do I prevent fallout or drop out as time goes on?

What do I do with my adult volunteers? How can I use them to best minister to students?

Types of Leadership teams are listed below:
Event Team – focuses on leading events for the youth ministry.

Ministry Team – focuses on leading the different ministries of the students.

Mission Trip Team – focuses on leading the yearly mission trips.

Global Leadership Team – focuses on one global issue by bringing attention and money to help people facing this issue.

Small Group Team – May lead or assist in leading small groups.

The key to selecting the right team is get input from everyone, starting with church leaders, then adult volunteers and parents. After you have all their input, talk with students. This will empower your adults at all levels and give them buy-in to your students’ leadership program. Warning: don’t skip this step of getting buy-in from adults. Student leadership programs can be lightning rods for parents and church leaders. Be on the same page first then cast vision for students.

How do I define the success of my youth ministry? Do numbers matter? How do I know when I’m doing well, and when I’m not?

What are the best practices for recruiting voluunteers to become a part of your ministry? What are the pitfalls I can avoid? Are announcements from the pulpit a valuable tool in volunteer recruitment for youth ministry?

Value is much the same. If a leader places a high value on people and neglects the task, leadership will go bad. If a leader only focuses on the task and not on caring for people, followers will leave and the leader will be ineffective.

Remember balance and value are the keys to effective and long lasting leadership.