I recently led our young adults small group through a conversation on identity. We were talking about God's command to Moses to go back to Egypt to rescue the Hebrews from their enslavement. One person in our group raised his hand.
The Gamer's Analogy: Moses and the Solo Mission
"Do you mean to tell me," he asked, "that God told Moses to SOLO the Egyptians?" This prompted a fair amount of laughter from everyone else in our circle. This young man was referring to a popular video game phrase where the player's character takes on an enormous, almost impossible task, all by themselves. A gamer myself, I laughed with them, before telling him that it wasn't about Moses at all. God was the one who would free His people, Moses needed only be obedient.?
The Perils of Trying to "Solo" Youth Ministry
Once the night was over however, I kept thinking about the number of times I've tried to "solo" youth ministry. All the events I've put together by myself, or the nights where I didn't lean into my leaders' giftings and talents, instead choosing to take care of everything in the name of making sure the night went according to plan.
I remembered back to 2013, armed with a brand new youth ministry degree thinking that I was going to win Castle Rock, Colorado for the Gospel, only to run out of gas 18 months into my first job wondering where it all went wrong.?
Unveiling the Arrogance in Independence
It is so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that "it all depends on me." We wear so many hats as youth workers-counselor, teacher, mentor, team leader, event coordinator, fundraiser-that we feel like we have to do everything ourselves. We often chalk these thoughts up to being servants of Christ and our community, however at the end of the day, it really comes down to our own pride.
There is a hidden arrogance in the thought of doing something alone. This hero mentality is native in us as human beings and is something we always need to watch out for. God calls us to live in community. I guess what needs to be said is this: if it really does all depend on us to make it happen individually, we are in for some serious disappointment.
The Desire to Be Indispensable
We enjoy being "needed" by people. We love the feeling of being in control and doing ministry "the right way." We don't like asking for help because we don't want to inconvenience others with the work we think we should be able to get done on our own. Delegating and giving ministry opportunities away takes trust, training and hard work, so why not just do it ourselves?
After crashing and burning during my first youth ministry position, I attended Denver Seminary where I pursued an M.A. in church leadership. My professor started our first class by asking the question: "How do you find success in leadership?" and his answer was simple: Success is succession. When we look at this within a youth ministry context, we need to share ministry with others, but more than that, we need to stop thinking it all depends solely on us.?
Success in Leadership: It's About Sharing
I got to see the real fruit of operating with this mentality during the pandemic. A bunch of youth pastors in New England started meeting together on Thursdays via Zoom in March 2020 because none of us had any idea what the heck we were supposed to do. This led to a sharing of ideas, resources and space which has led to not only reenergized ministries, but a network of people continually stacking hands for the Kingdom in one of the most secular places in the United States.
At the End of the Day, Solo-ing Hurts Our Mission
Out of this group have sprung ideas which likely never would have been completed alone. These men and women recognize that, "solo-ing" in ministry hurts teens, hurts churches, and hurts the mission to share the Good News about Jesus.
Sharing takes more work than just doing ministry "solo." We need to train leaders. We need to let those under our leadership "fail" and not do things the way we think they need to be done. We need to be humble and allow other people the platform to talk about Jesus. We need to ask for help because we don't have all the answers. And most importantly, we need to be "in it" with other youth workers, sharing life together.
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Josh Porizky is a Youth Pastor at Cornerstone Church in New England. He has worked with teenagers for over 10 years and loves stepping into the messiness of life alongside them. A favorite quote: "It is a sin to bore people with the Gospel." - Howard Hendricks