# Working with Jud

“A seat at the table…” **Maybe this “seat at the table” metaphor could also drive some of the imagery… This is the metaphor I’ve been using as I seek to articulate the way I feel called to serve these days. Wherever churches or youth ministry workers are endeavouring to disciple young people… I want a seat at that table! With my passion and my experience and training I am deeply convinced I can be an asset if I can be invited to have a seat at that table. to your church or organization.

So, thank you so much for inviting me to the table!

Allow me to lean in to the metaphor of the table.

What you’ll find below is a “menu” of sorts. That being said, simply having a seat at the table is a privilege. And like I said, I believe I have much to offer. Allow the following “menu items” to serve as a bit of a starting point for some of the types of conversations we could have, or the more specific areas I can contribute to the conversations you’re already having about the spiritual formation of young people. +in the context of public outreach.

## Foundational Priorities and Values

- Priority on Jesus-Centred Spiritual Formation

- I am deeply convinced that young people today, when directed to a life of radical surrender to Jesus, have the capacity to revive the church and change the world!

- I desire to help youth ministries move beyond “youth group” and genuinely pursue equipping and empowering young people to *know Jesus and make Him known*.

- Youth ministries today often tend to underestimate the spiritual maturity teens are capable of. Too often getting stuck with a glorified youth baby-sitting service called “youth group” where young people are not invited into the radical life of transformation and sacrifice Jesus invites them into. Common systems of church-based youth group are often stuck simply helping “churched kids become churched adults.”

- I want no part in that. Again, I am deeply convinced that young people today, when directed to a life of radical surrender to Jesus, have the capacity to revive the church and change the world. That’s what I want to be a part of.

- I will unapologetically push to move beyond “lowest common denominator youth group” and fight for creating a youth ministry which invites young people into life-changing, life-giving, life-long relationships with Jesus Christ.

- I hope to help churches to realize the potential church-wide fruit (not only for 12-18 year olds) of having a youth ministry filled with young people who are fired up for Jesus.

- Be a “logic disruptor”

- Organizations can inevitably end up with blinders on - doing things a certain way “because that’s how we do it.”

- My personality is such that I am typically not afraid to ask hard questions and call out non-functioning status quo when I see it.

## Approach: Coaching Before Consulting

Perhaps it’s worth adding some framework. I use “invited to the table” illustration because I see it as a shared space. Given the choice between a table and a lecture hall, I choose table every time.

With that in mind, I want to come to the table assuming you are the expert in your context. Chances are good I’ve been in a situation similar to the one you are processing, so I hope to have a good sense of how to support you, but you are the expert — you know your students, your environment, your history, etc… In any of the areas listed below, I hope to help you gain a greater awareness of your context and the resources you already have at your disposal. I hope you help you see the challenges and obstacles in front of you from some different angles and ultimately help you create a plan to move forward into the hopes and dreams you already have.

# Youth Ministry Coaching “Menu”

Having had the opportunity to be in youth ministry for nearly 25 years, I been able to learn and experience a LOT. I got to see things work, see things fail, try new things, struggle through things, re-think things, etc…

I want to “share my diploma” with you! Take a look at the “menu” below.

*Note: the following headings marked with an arrow bullet are collapsable.*

### Develop Mission, Vision and Values

- Ensure clarity of understanding and an ability to articulate the “what, why, and how” of your ministry.

- Use this clarity to build parameters, goals, and targets within your program.

### Ministry Analysis and Evaluation

- Evaluate existing programs to determine alignment and misalignment between what you are doing and what you hope to achieve.

- Take a close look at varios program expressions hoping to see the strengths and opportunities for growth.

### Discipleship Pathways / Spiritual Formation with Students

- Work to create clear targets for the spiritual formation of your students.

- Build strategic calendar/program rhythms indented to achieve desired spiritual formation outcomes.

- Develop three to six year bible and theology teaching plan.

### Leadership Development

- Building a team

- Recruit and train volunteers who are awesome.

- Equipping and mobilizing volunteers.

- Create clear “job descriptions” for volunteers.

- Investing in and developing Student Leaders

### Parent Resources

- Help to curate resources for parenting teens today.

- Provide workshops for parents.

### Building Culture in Youth Ministry

- Leading a gathering well

- Vulnerability

- Honouring independence and development of young people

- Safe space to be yourself and to invite friends

### Relational Support

You can’t do ministry alone. Even if you are the only paid person on your team, you need to be able to develop and cultivate relationships with others who can support you in various way along the journey

- Leadership

- What does your relationship with your supervisor or leadership board look like?

- Do you have clarity on their expectations of you (job description)?

- Are there helpful feedback mechanisms in place for you to articulate how you’re doing and where you could use support? And visa versa… for you to hear from leadership where they see you excelling and areas you could lean in to?

- Parents

- Who are the key parents in your ministry you can go to for feedback and support?

- How do you partner with parents?

- Affirm them.

- Learn from them.

- Invite them.

- Ministry peers

- Are there others in your area or denomination you can connect with on a regular basis. This connection can be about sharing ideas and being a source of ministry inspiration. It can also serve as a great place for camaraderie and encouragement when things feel difficult.

### Personal Formation/Boundaries

- Self awareness

- Spiritual gifts, personality tests, etc…

- Who you are, who you are not?

- What are you most passionate about?

- What are areas of your greatest gifting?

- Where do you feel like you’re IN THE ZONE?

- What are you not?

- Life giving, life draining parts of your job and life

- Boundaries

- Clarity on job description

- Expectations from others

- Spouse / family

- Keys to longevity

- Self-care and self-awareness

- Have the long-view

- Seeking God’s heart for the generations

- Develop healthy relationship with parents, leadership, other staff, etc..

- Prioritization, time-management

- Dealing with discouragement

### Safety Protocols

- How to not get sued… haha

- Protection Standards when working with minors

- Best practices for supervision

- Communicating with students authentically and smartly

- Empowering other adults (volunteers) to be present in the lives of young people and cautious.

### Communicating for Change

- Beyond “the youth talk”

- Teaching the Bible

- Communicating to young people

# Mobilization to Mission

I have experienced that short-term missions, when done well, can be one of the most powerful catalytic tools we have in youth ministry! Yet, despite that, it is often one of the most overlooked and even poorly executed things we try to do in youth ministry.

> “As long as they all come home alive, this trip was a success and I get to keep my job.”

>

That was my attitude the first time I lead an international experience.

Fortunately, they all did come home alive! Even better, I had the opportunity to facilitate more and more experiences over more than a decade where I got to raise the bar significantly!

**Logistical Support**

There is a lot of paper work, a lot of details … building a budget, fundraising, coordinating transportation, securing visas and permission forms… The amount detailed required to facilitate an experience like this can literally be crushing. How many times have I heard a youth worker say, “I could never pull that off!”

By developing tools to lighten the load of the logistics, I can help you do more than pull that off! I can help you move beyond simply keeping students alive!

**Up the Transformational Factor**

As the trip got “easier” to facilitate. I was able to ask more and more questions about what we were actually doing and how it would impact my students and how it was a part of our bigger strategies and vision. I sought to mitigate some of the potential downfalls of short-term missions done poorly and I was able to experiment with ways to “up the transformational factor.” Building intentional missional experiences into the rhythm and overall spiritual formation strategies of our youth ministry proved to be extremely fruitful.

**Multiplication**

Seeing this fruit in our students, and learning to lead the trip in a way that I didn’t get crushed under the logistical details… I wanted to invite others into it! Eventually I was able to invite various other groups to join us, ultimately having groups of nearly 100 students and leaders participate in these international experiences.

# Speaking Ministry

🚧

DRAFT

One of the expressions of my calling and passion is to communicate the Word to young people. I’ve share in small group bible study formats, I’ve spoken at camps and conferences for groups over 300. I love being able to open the Word for a group of young people and help them find their own story there, and ultimately, the Author of their story there!

- The heart of my message is to invite students to respond to Jesus’ invitation into a NEW LIFE. And hopefully paint a picture for them of what that life can look like.

- I want to disrupt the notion that following Jesus is strictly religious and archaic.

- WHAT IF!?!

- What if Jesus ACTUALLY is who He says He is?

- What if you ACTUALLY are who Jesus says you are?