Being a youth leader is difficult. While our love for Jesus and zeal for making teenage disciples got us into our roles, many of us were not quite prepared for the other responsibilities that come with it. I remember having a lot of questions the first time I took students to a retreat, when I started recruiting volunteers, and my first-ever parent meeting. Now, nearly 25 years down the road, I often see other youth leaders around me similarly learning "in real time."
We Need Others Who Encourage Us To Continue Learning As We Lead
The truth is, I wouldn't be where I am today without people who helped, coached and encouraged me over the years. Not only did they teach me how to lead a youth group, but they also ingrained in me the importance of connecting with other youth leaders and being a lifelong learner. In my role as Colorado State Coordinator for NNYM, my job is literally to share that same wisdom with fellow leaders.
I'm also very grateful for organizations like Download Youth Ministry, who have a huge desire to come alongside youth leaders-especially those who are new(er) to the role-and provide great training, encouragement, and networking opportunities. What's especially fun is that they've allowed me to participate in their First Few Years Conference as a table group mentor and workshop leader.
First Few Years Conference Is An Opportunity to Connect and Grow
As a table leader mentor I literally got to sit around a table with leaders in their first few years of youth ministry to listen to their stories, have great conversations around the conference topics, and speak into their ministry. At this year's conference, Doug Fields, Josh Griffin, and many other veteran youth leaders challenged us with what we should focus on for life-long ministry impact.
While the content was geared toward new-ish youth leaders, those of us further down the path learned a lot as well. Sometimes, it is really good to go back to the basics. One session emphasized the importance of constantly growing in our own walk with Jesus. If we aren't, we might confuse what we do with who we are, which will lead to arrogance, fake fruit, and a desire for human approval. And we didn't just talk about it, but we were given opportunities to put it into practice through worship, prayer, and quiet time during the conference.
From Building Bridges to Building Team And Other Practical Tips
We also discussed how to communicate well in public settings, non-verbally, and in writing with students, parents, our team, church leaders, and more. Doug reminded us that communication is about building bridges that connect us with our audience and we need to constantly put in the work to grow as communicators.
If we want to be good youth leaders, we must develop teams of volunteers. During the conference we also spent time walking through how to build a team through prayer and extending an invitation, as well as how to equip them with training and resources. I appreciated that we talked about how to lead volunteers on addressing conflict, and received practical tips on encouraging our team both publicly and privately.
An Invitation To Join Me At The Table
And beyond the learning, simply getting to dive in and have a ton of fun with other youth leaders was incredibly rewarding. Between the food, early screenings of unreleased movies, prizes, and pickleball, we were able to unwind and reconnect with our inner teenage-selves.
I know, now you're sad you missed it, right? But, wait, I have good news! DYM is doing another conference, November 13-15, designed for ALL youth leaders. Better yet, this time the focus is on creating space to connect with other youth leaders in engaging dialogue, rather than taking copious notes while you listen to a speaker (not that there's anything wrong with that, but honestly, which would you prefer?).
So, grab a friend and join me at the DYM Roundtable in Irvine, CA! Spots are limited to 200, but I'm saving you a seat!
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Steve Cullum is the Colorado State Coordinator for NNYM. He has been serving in student ministry since 1999. Steve blogs about ministry and hosts the Student Ministry Connection podcast. He also enjoys playing Nintendo, being outdoors, and watching movies.