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    help! i don't have enough time to do youth ministry
jeanne mayo
When I was a young woman, my mom taught me a valuable lesson. “Jeanne Lynn,” she would say, “When you need something done, ask a busy person to do it.” Smilingly, I now think that this old adage must have been adopted by most senior pastors in America when looking for someone to work with the church youth group. “When you need youth ministry in the church to get done, ask a busy person in the congregation to do it!”
Statistics tell me that many people reading this column are among the honored ranks of the “volunteer youth leader.” Chances are, you are attempting to hold down a job, raise a family, and even occasionally have a life of your own while also attempting to pull off a significant youth ministry. Even those few among us who do this ministry thing “full-time” would quickly agree that there is often more youth ministry needs than there are hours in our days to accomplish all of it. So let me give you a few of my simple strategies for getting more done in youth ministry without having an eight day added to your week.
1) Practice “on the way” youth ministry. Have you ever noticed in the New Testament how many times Jesus did ministry as He walked from one place to another? The Gospels are full of accounts where it says something like, “While Jesus was on the way, He talked with His disciples and taught them.” Jesus gives us great insight. Make your in between times count. I rarely run an errand without someone from our youth ministry in the car with me. Smilingly, I also rarely make a trip to the church restroom without someone walking with me. Just consider making use of all those “on the way” moments.
2) Practice with savage consistency “The Pareto Principle.” Pareto was an economist who simply said “20% of your efforts in any given endeavor will create 80% of your results.” It’s an interesting concept when applied to time management in youth ministry: “20% of your time will produce 80% of your results.” How does that translate to getting more ministry done in a minimal time block? I think it shows us the importance of defining our priority tasks and our priority people. Then, as much as possible, attempt to prioritize those “multiplying priorities” first. Often, the most important tasks or people get pushed to the bottom of our list because they don’t scream “NOW.” So take the time to identify your “20%” and then work to truly put those projects or people first. That will make your limited time much more eternally fruitful.
3) For one week, keep a “time inventory” of where your time goes. Then answer the question, “What am I doing that I could train someone else to take over?” I think we often do many time-consuming tasks in youth ministry because we “fly by the seat of our pants.” I know a “time inventory” of how you spend every 30-minute-block is a true pain in the neck to create. But you will be astonished at where your time goes, I promise you. After taking a hard look at where your hours are going, determine even two or three simple tasks that someone else could be trained to take over each week. My contention is that in youth ministry we often have not so much a “time crisis” but rather, an “organizational crisis.” If getting organized is not one of your strengths, humbly ask for the help of a volunteer who is administratively inclined. That is often a mom of one of your teenagers or one of your older teenager girls. Appreciate what she does for you and she will gladly create extra hours in your week. Honest encouragement will mean more to your volunteers than extra pay.
4) Learn to say “no.” Enough said. It’s a tough skill for many of us to learn; but the youth leader who does not fill his own calendar will find it filled by someone else. I used to have a fun sign I would occasionally put on my office door: “If you don’t have anything to do, please don’t do it in here!”
Most of all, don’t quit when you feel like a time-management failure and want to throw in the towel. I’m sure Jesus felt more than any of us the overwhelming sense of “too much ministry and not enough time” when He walked the earth. He understands your pressure better than any other boss you could ever work for. In closing, when you need a laugh, remember the “Jeanne translation” of an old nursery rhyme: “Mary had a little lamb. It would have been a sheep. But it chose to enter youth ministry…AND DIED FROM LACK OF SLEEP!”
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http://www.simplyyouthministry.com/community-articles-from-the-field.html
jeanne mayo
When I was a young woman, my mom taught me a valuable lesson. “Jeanne Lynn,” she would say, “When you need something done, ask a busy person to do it.” Smilingly, I now think that this old adage must have been adopted by most senior pastors in America when looking for someone to work with the church youth group. “When you need youth ministry in the church to get done, ask a busy person in the congregation to do it!”
Statistics tell me that many people reading this column are among the honored ranks of the “volunteer youth leader.” Chances are, you are attempting to hold down a job, raise a family, and even occasionally have a life of your own while also attempting to pull off a significant youth ministry. Even those few among us who do this ministry thing “full-time” would quickly agree that there is often more youth ministry needs than there are hours in our days to accomplish all of it. So let me give you a few of my simple strategies for getting more done in youth ministry without having an eight day added to your week.
1) Practice “on the way” youth ministry. Have you ever noticed in the New Testament how many times Jesus did ministry as He walked from one place to another? The Gospels are full of accounts where it says something like, “While Jesus was on the way, He talked with His disciples and taught them.” Jesus gives us great insight. Make your in between times count. I rarely run an errand without someone from our youth ministry in the car with me. Smilingly, I also rarely make a trip to the church restroom without someone walking with me. Just consider making use of all those “on the way” moments.
2) Practice with savage consistency “The Pareto Principle.” Pareto was an economist who simply said “20% of your efforts in any given endeavor will create 80% of your results.” It’s an interesting concept when applied to time management in youth ministry: “20% of your time will produce 80% of your results.” How does that translate to getting more ministry done in a minimal time block? I think it shows us the importance of defining our priority tasks and our priority people. Then, as much as possible, attempt to prioritize those “multiplying priorities” first. Often, the most important tasks or people get pushed to the bottom of our list because they don’t scream “NOW.” So take the time to identify your “20%” and then work to truly put those projects or people first. That will make your limited time much more eternally fruitful.
3) For one week, keep a “time inventory” of where your time goes. Then answer the question, “What am I doing that I could train someone else to take over?” I think we often do many time-consuming tasks in youth ministry because we “fly by the seat of our pants.” I know a “time inventory” of how you spend every 30-minute-block is a true pain in the neck to create. But you will be astonished at where your time goes, I promise you. After taking a hard look at where your hours are going, determine even two or three simple tasks that someone else could be trained to take over each week. My contention is that in youth ministry we often have not so much a “time crisis” but rather, an “organizational crisis.” If getting organized is not one of your strengths, humbly ask for the help of a volunteer who is administratively inclined. That is often a mom of one of your teenagers or one of your older teenager girls. Appreciate what she does for you and she will gladly create extra hours in your week. Honest encouragement will mean more to your volunteers than extra pay.
4) Learn to say “no.” Enough said. It’s a tough skill for many of us to learn; but the youth leader who does not fill his own calendar will find it filled by someone else. I used to have a fun sign I would occasionally put on my office door: “If you don’t have anything to do, please don’t do it in here!”
Most of all, don’t quit when you feel like a time-management failure and want to throw in the towel. I’m sure Jesus felt more than any of us the overwhelming sense of “too much ministry and not enough time” when He walked the earth. He understands your pressure better than any other boss you could ever work for. In closing, when you need a laugh, remember the “Jeanne translation” of an old nursery rhyme: “Mary had a little lamb. It would have been a sheep. But it chose to enter youth ministry…AND DIED FROM LACK OF SLEEP!”
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