Way back in the day, I was in charge of everything--I created resources, I taught, I trained, I planned, I ran, I cleaned, I purchased--you name it,  I did it. If there was a poster child for Destined for Burnout, my picture would have been on it.

Once again, my transformation didn't happen overnight, but over time.  Beyond prioritizing my personal relationship with Christ and living a life above reproach, I have to continually ask myself one question, While there are many things I can do, what must I do?  I've whittled the list down from thirty to three.  By no means have I perfected these three, but I'm working towards that end. 

Your three might be different, but as the primary leader of the middle school ministry at Granger Community Church, I mus

1. Cast Vision
2. Train Up Leaders
3. Tell Stories

Are there other things I choose to do?  Yes, but not at the cost of these three things.  How well I am doing at these three things is the filter in which I determine what I can say yes to. 

CAST VISION
As the youth pastor, I must

1. Discover our ministry's purpose(s).

What is it that we are called to do and why is it imperative that we do it?  While we use different words, we've embraced the five purposes outlined in Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and the Bible.

2. Develop and implement the plan to accomplish the purposes. 

How are we going to accomplish what it is that we're called to do?  What methods, events and tools will we use?  What's the plan?  While the purposes don't change, the plan morphs over time.  We know there are numerous ways to arrive at a desired destination, but also know we constantly need to re-evaluate whether we're using the most effective and efficient methods to get there. 

3. Dynamically present the purposes and plan to others leaders, parents, students, etc. 

This particular point is where I hit a bump in the road.  While I live and breathe God's purposes and PDYM principles, I'm not passionate about baseball diamonds and concentric circles.  So for me, I chose to use a house plan to present the purposes and plan.  The first leaders meeting of the new school year always involves going over our House Plan.  Some of my leaders have been around so long that they can fill in the blanks beforehand.  That's my sign that they don't just know it, but KNOW IT, know it. 

The reality is that there are times I grow weary of figuring out ways to dynamically present the purposes and plan, but I know it's vital to success.  It's like playing great football.  The goals or purposes of the game (what you are called to do) remains the same win the game by advancing the ball, scoring touchdowns and playing great defense.  However, the playbook or plan coaches use fluctuates.  Whether there are eight plays or eighty plays, one thing vital to success is how well the team knows the plan.  You, the coach, can know the plan, but if the people around you don't embrace it, commit it to memory and learn how to execute it, you won't be as successful as you could be in football or youth ministry.

TRAIN UP LEADERS   
Training up leaders is of enormous importance.  However, using only a meeting format as a means of training can be hard on both your leaders and their families.  I'm already asking our leaders to spend one out of seven evenings away from their families; throw a few games and concerts in there and that's a huge ask.  When new leaders join our team, they are given basic training the first Wednesday of the month after they observe a night.  This training runs concurrently with our program, therefore, we spare them yet another evening away from home.  Our gathering of all the leaders takes place once every other month.  Over the years, I've discovered great food (like Chinese and Mexican), great training and great childcare will keep them coming back.  The rest of the time, I'm handing out CDs and copying articles.  I often meet with my core leaders for lunch or dinner, not to talk about ministry but to talk about life.  I believe that truly caring for leaders means checking in on them and their family, asking questions like How was the game or school play?  In those moments, what is spoken corporately you matter to God and you matter to me is spoken individually.  Often, it's not even so much what is spoken, but what is sensed that matters.  Truthfully, even in those moments I'm teaching, hoping they will replicate what I say and do with other leaders and students.   

TELL STORIES
Most of us have been told that we should keep an encouragement file of appreciation cards and letters for those days we feel blue or like quitting.  The only problem is that we usually hide them away and don't share them with those around us.  Big mistake!  Stories are the equivalent of momentum in the game.  It's what gets the team going when they're down 28 to 0 (like Georgia is against West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl right now).  It's what gets the team going when they feel like throwing in the towel because it's been awhile since they felt like they were making a difference in a student's life. 

When our students were the first to write their prayers on the floor of our new auditorium before the laying of the carpet, we took pictures of some of the most amazing prayers I've ever read, cut/pasted/cropped/resized them to a document and sent them out to the leaders.  When I receive an encouraging letter or email from a parent or student, I forward them on to the leaders and share them in staff meetings.  The group picture we take of all the students at the end of the year, we laminate and put magnets on the back so they can plaster it to their refrigerator.  They are given our yearbook for free so that they can throw it on their coffee table and thumb through it on occasion.  Whether it's a real picture or a word picture, I always try to keep the students and their stories before our leaders eyes. 

http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/community-articles-from-the-field.html