Chris is the youth pastor down the street from me (and also a coauthor on this blog, if he ever manages to post anything!). We’ve done events together and I consider Chris to be one of my good friends. So it seems natural that we would want to team up to do this.

Our first meeting of the new school year is this Sunday. Here’s what we’ve got on tap:

• Any leader in the area can come and bring their entire volunteer team.
• These training times are for both student leaders and adult leaders.
• We’re using the Deep Leadership curriculum that the Fuller Youth Institute has developed. (They have since sold the rights of this curriculum to Youth Specialties and they’re releasing it in January 2010 as Essential Leadership.)
• The first half of the meeting will include worship, devotional, and training. The second half will involve breaking out into smaller groups for each individual church to discuss issues important to them.
• Personally, I want to show the Youth MiniStarZ video and dance to it, but we’ll see how far that goes.

Doing these meetings together seems like the most logical way to allow our volunteers and leaders to connect with each other. As I learn more about networking, I see the importance of having volunteer leaders connect with other volunteers, not just youth pastors.

Also, we save each other time because I do not need to prepare the entire meeting by myself. One month I might do the training, another I might be doing the devotional. This allows me to relax some months and know that my leaders are still getting the training and encouragement they need.

Additional Reading

• Balancing work and play in a youth ministry network from Travis Deans’ blog.
• Guest posts by Mike DeVito, What Should A Network Meeting Do? and 7 Things a Youth Ministry Network Meeting Must Have.
• A couple of posts over at More Than Dodgeball: Getting the Most out of Meetings: How to Start and Getting the Most out of Meetings: When to Cancel

What About You?

What other ways can we team up with other youth leaders to save time?

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post on 7 Things a Youth Ministry Network Meeting Must Have, where Mike discussed the components of a network meeting. Now he concludes with what a network meeting should actually do.

1. Give minimal time for those who have come to make announcements about events that they are sponsoring.  This has become the focus and sore spot for plenty of Networks.  Provide a Resource Table if possible.
2. Ask the group what kind of subjects they would find most helpful to be a resource to them, and who they suggest for speakers.  Only five to six speakers are needed if we provide other creative program ideas.
3. Creative ideas:
   • Panel discussion with youth workers’ wives
   • Student panels
   • Senior pastor panels
   • Times of prayer and sharing only
   • More ideas for topics in leadership and network meetings!
4. It’s time to have some fun! Local amusement facilities love to host youth workers. They want to show off their facilities, and frequently will provide a meal.

We have found the “Gotta Care” campaign from Youth for Christ can give a Network some real focus. The six disciplines can provide great meeting ideas. (Pray, Give, Read, Tell, Abide, Serve)

These have not only sparked great meetings, speakers, etc. but have also lead to citywide events.  For example, our local Bible bookstore hosted our meeting (Field Trip!) when the focus was “Gotta Read.” It was a perfect fit. They gave out a few freebies and a great tour.

This campaign can also be part of the focus for campus ministries, thus linking the city together for greater impact.

I believe that with good meetings:

• Stronger relationships are built.
• Youth workers are equipped with resources.
• Specific citywide strategic planning takes place.

We must not settle for the ordinary; our students deserve better!

We have got to give youth workers a good reason to leave their offices to share their lives and ministries and to be part of a citywide vision.

These meetings are built on prayerful Relationship, creative Resourcing and strategic Planning. I’m confident that we can strategically plan meetings that will be of interest and will have a greater impact on youth workers and ultimately students.  I believe these meetings need to provide a safe place for youth workers to come and develop friendships where trust is being built.

What do these meetings look like?

1. These meetings must start and end on time.
2. Location, Location, Location!! The location is crucial. Meeting in restaurants for the most part is too distracting, and moving from church to church has also presented challenges when people get lost. If you can find one location and stay there for six months, that seems to work best. What about the atmosphere?
   • Atmosphere is important.
   • Leaders need to be ready when youth workers arrive!
3. Do signs give direction to the location of the meeting and to also welcome them inside the meeting room?
4. Is the room arranged to optimize communication? For example, round tables facilitate better discussion and prayer.
5. Is there a table to display and share resources that the Coordinator or others bring?
6. It’s possible to provide a free lunch for every meeting, getting someone to donate the meals, or having different churches provide funds. Youth workers can then come straight to the meeting and know that a meal is being provided.
7. Don’t forget name tags. (Permanent ones that can be handed out and collected are the best.)

Stay tuned, tomorrow we will continue with some ideas for what to do in a youth network meeting.