{"id":330,"date":"2010-12-06T15:15:50","date_gmt":"2010-12-06T20:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/?p=330"},"modified":"2010-12-06T11:20:26","modified_gmt":"2010-12-06T16:20:26","slug":"mckinney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does My Youth Ministry Have the Shape, the Story, and the Staff that Will Anchor Student’s Faith?<\/em><\/p>\n

Lastly in our dialogue about helping students anchor their faith are questions about how we lead and how we let others lead.<\/p>\n

STAFF<\/em><\/p>\n

Do my students experience impromptu faith and life conversations with adult leaders\/peers that aren\u2019t scripted, planned, or guided by a curriculum outline?<\/strong> Real life means real conversations and it\u2019s crucial that we allow time and space for adults and students to have low-key, no pressure conversations.\u00a0 Those conversations become the building blocks for important dialogue in the future and build trust that allows for more authentic sharing.
\n
\nDoes my student ministry have any programs or events that intentionally invite parents to guide and encourage their child\u2019s spiritual growth?<\/strong> If my volunteer leaders and I are the only ones sharing spiritual life with our students, then, I need to redirect some energy to including parents in this.\u00a0 My mantra is that no kid wishes he didn\u2019t have a relationship with his parents, he just wishes it was a better one.\u00a0 So, one of my most important jobs is to help make students\u2019 relationships with their parents better and more meaningful.\u00a0 When I\u2019m long gone to a new ministry, or focusing my energies on a new class of students, their parents will still be intricately involved in their daily lives.\u00a0 Why not help them be intricately involved in their spiritual lives, too?<\/p>\n

Do I take regular opportunities to share meals and conversations with parents?<\/strong> I\u2019ve discovered that the two most difficult topics for parents to tackle with their kids are sex and faith.\u00a0 Now, I was never surprised about the first, but very much unprepared to find out how hard it is for parents to engage in a spiritual conversation with their teens.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s because it invites questions they don\u2019t have an answer for.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s because they see their own faith journey as unimpressive and so, don\u2019t feel they have any guidance to offer.\u00a0 And often, even parents with a vibrant faith still aren\u2019t quite sure what it looks like to guide their child\u2019s faith through adolescence.\u00a0 What I find when sharing a coffee or lunch with a parent is that we can encourage their faith journeys as well as coach them on guiding their kids.\u00a0 We can pour into their lives and that friendship with the youth worker overflows into their kids\u2019 lives in a lasting way.<\/p>\n

What is the percentage of time that I am \u201cup front\u201d or leading?<\/strong> Are there places where my volunteer leaders are ready to lead in my place?\u00a0 This one is a big ego check for me because I love being in front of a crowd.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve discovered that ministry is multiplied when I spend time equipping other gifted people to lead and I use my up-front prep time to prepare others for the work of the gospel.\u00a0 An engineer by day might be a biblical scholar who can imprint the truth of scripture on students\u2019 hearts by night.\u00a0 A mom or dad in my midst might actually connect with a group of students better than me.\u00a0 A college professor might have a crazy alter ego that can plan and execute an exciting outreach event.\u00a0 A CPA might secretly be a rockin\u2019 guitar player.\u00a0 My motto has become to find out what talent and gifting I have in volunteers first and put those who are ready to lead up front.\u00a0 Then, I fill in the up-front leadership where there is no volunteer gifting available.\u00a0 What happens is then is that ministry keeps going and growing even when I can\u2019t be there, or have to leave.<\/p>\n

These are just some of the reflections I\u2019ve learned to keep front and center in ministry.\u00a0 Consistency and perfection have never been achieved, but I have witnessed enduring life change in students over and over again that helps them put their wheels of faith to the test in the real world.\u00a0 And, that is something I hope to see repeated many times in the years ahead.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does My Youth Ministry Have the Shape, the Story, and the Staff that Will Anchor Student’s Faith? Lastly in our dialogue about helping students anchor their faith are questions about how we lead and how we let others lead. STAFF Do my students experience impromptu faith and life conversations with adult leaders\/peers that aren\u2019t scripted, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204],"tags":[314,315,66],"class_list":["post-330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflection","tag-denise-mckinney","tag-rubber-meets-the-road","tag-staff"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does My Youth Ministry Have the Shape, the Story, and the Staff that Will Anchor Student’s Faith? Lastly in our dialogue about helping students anchor their faith are questions about how we lead and how we let others lead. STAFF Do my students experience impromptu faith and life conversations with adult leaders\/peers that aren\u2019t scripted, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ECC | Youth Worker Update\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ywupdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ywupdate\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ywupdate\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8\"},\"headline\":\"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":703,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"Denise McKinney\",\"Rubber Meets the Road\",\"Staff\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Reflection\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/\",\"name\":\"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/2010\\\/12\\\/06\\\/mckinney\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/\",\"name\":\"ECC | Youth Worker Update\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8\",\"name\":\"ywupdate\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ywupdate\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/ywupdate\\\/author\\\/ywupdate\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update","og_description":"Does My Youth Ministry Have the Shape, the Story, and the Staff that Will Anchor Student’s Faith? Lastly in our dialogue about helping students anchor their faith are questions about how we lead and how we let others lead. STAFF Do my students experience impromptu faith and life conversations with adult leaders\/peers that aren\u2019t scripted, […]","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/","og_site_name":"ECC | Youth Worker Update","article_published_time":"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00","author":"ywupdate","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ywupdate","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/"},"author":{"name":"ywupdate","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/#\/schema\/person\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8"},"headline":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3","datePublished":"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/"},"wordCount":703,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["Denise McKinney","Rubber Meets the Road","Staff"],"articleSection":["Reflection"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/","name":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3 - ECC | Youth Worker Update","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-12-06T20:15:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/#\/schema\/person\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/2010\/12\/06\/mckinney\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where the Rubber Meets the Road, part 3"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/","name":"ECC | Youth Worker Update","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/#\/schema\/person\/9af2fd623407f88ae03546a35de916b8","name":"ywupdate","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f026dada661eaf52d1399b13bb04b6387fbae52b82587fed7f401d4e4a421635?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ywupdate"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/author\/ywupdate\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":490,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330\/revisions\/490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ywupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}