When I hang-out with youth workers I like to ask this question. No one ever answers “yes,” probably because they would seem full of pride if they did. The reason I like to ask this question is because it reveals initiative. Being a leader in your youth ministry and in your church is vital to your success. We must lead students, adult volunteers, parents and church leadership; by the way, all of these groups require a different type of leadership style. When we fail to lead, others step into our leadership and take our ministry places we don’t want to go. The church leadership that hired you seldom mentioned being a leader in your interview but you can bet they will refer to it when they fire you. Leading a youth ministry requires intentional communication, strategic planning, recruiting and training volunteers, managing budgets and logistics, caring for hurting students and parents and the list goes on and on. So you should be spending time each week developing yourself as a leader. Here are three ideas on how to develop yourself as a leader:
1. Get A Leadership Mentor
Ask someone in your church that you respect to walk the leadership road with you. I did this in my first youth ministry job and it made a huge difference for me. Getting another person’s perspective on my leadership turned my ministry around.
2. Read 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
This book is a great book to get you started in learning about leadership.
3. Refuel Retreats
Here at LeaderTreks we offer these great youth worker leadership retreats designed to help you grow as a leader. You get in a community of youth workers and face down youth ministry’s great leadership challenges. Check it out at www.refuelretreat.com
