Ministry by the Numbers

Every ministry must give attention to numbers. Why? Because data gives you a snap shot of where your successes and challenges are developing. You don’t have to be numbers-driven to be affected by numerical data. If your numbers go up, you feel confident. If numbers go down you start questioning the game plan. Very few ministries are impartial towards numbers. After all, coaches are judged by them, merchants succeed or fail by them, athletes are passed over or paid according to them, and pastors compliment or complain because of them. It is rare for a supervising pastor to say with a straight face that he does not care about numbers. Even when it is said, it is often out of a desire not to appear to be ruled by them or appear spiritually immature about them.

The sooner you come to terms with the fact that you are going to be judged, evaluated, complemented, compelled, compared, or competed with over numbers the sooner you can move towards a healthy respect for numbers or an immunity from number obsession.

Good data coupled with honest interpretation can result in greater effectiveness, so let me share seven positive and seven negative number points.

Positive points about ministry by the numbers.

1.      Numbers can provide a snapshot of our ministry.

2.      Numbers help determine where challenges are developing.

3.      Numbers help determine where successes are developing.

4.      Numbers can reveal the portion of the wall that needs attention.

5.      Numbers represent souls and souls are extremely important to God.

6.      Numbers allow us to measure with accuracy.

7.      Numbers call us to fervent prayer – either thanking God for his protection and favor or pleading with Him for it.

When are numbers negative?

1.      When you use them to compare your ministry to others.

2.      When you allow the enemy to depress you or suppress you with them.

3.      When you focus too much on them.

4.      When you allow them to determine your strategy or corrupt the vision God has given you.

5.      When you applaud them or yourself.

6.      When you beat yourself up over them.

7.      When you spend more time analyzing them than praying over them.

Your aim is towards balance and health. The secret is to notice without obsessing. Focus more on becoming a healthy ministry rather a bigger ministry. If you are healthy you will eventually grow. The theory of Student Ministry growth is expressed as A+H=EN>. If it is ALIVE and HEALTHY, it will EVENTUALLY and NATURALLY grow.

The responsibility for nurturing a youth group towards sustained health is just as much your responsibility is as keeping your body and mind fit for service. But patience is a continual struggle and steps towards allowing health and subsequent growth takes time. Therein lies the rub – how much time? Of course each ministry situation is different and to some degree health is dependent on the excitement, attraction and overall health of the church as a whole. Albert Einstein said "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." Be patient and remember that the best growth is gradual and steady and if it all happened at once you would struggle to assimilate students and families or meet their individual needs.

Numbers should be for our health and ministry benefit so keep them in perspective and remember that what you do is too vital, too important to be unduly distracted by a negative number game. 

“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace being build up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase”. Acts 9:31

 ^“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work”. Ephesians 4:15-16

Curriculum: Choose Wisely

Who's job is it to research, evaluate and select bible curriculum for your student ministry? In most student ministries the youth pastor is responsible for recruiting, training and nurturing small group leaders who teach biblical truth and exhibit a Christian lifestyle. The tools you select to assist your volunteers and yourself matter a great deal. When you purchase curriculum, don’t simply use it “as is” out of the box. Instead, read through it ahead of time and tailor it according to the individual needs of your students. From the mega-ministry to the mini-mart, someone should be “proofing” what is being served up on the table of truth from the curriculum tool box. A publishing company will never know your students as well as you or your small group leaders. If you have put your curriculum under a microscope you will be well informed and able to comment on any aspect of it. In many cases it’s not so much a trust issue between you and the publishing group as it is a responsibility towards “righty diving the word of truth”. It is also your opportunity to offer customization thoughts/ideas from which your small group leaders can draw from. When you take the time to know what your volunteers are teaching the parents will appreciate it and you will be conveying to your parents important a priority the small group discipleship time is to you. It is equally important that you consider having all your small group leaders using the same curriculum. Doing this allows students to be on the same page and leads your teachers towards a standardized approach in unpacking biblical content.

Consider the FIVE “T”s when selecting curriculum.

1    1.THEOLOGY: Is it theologically sound? You don’t want to miss the mark on this one. You are the gatekeeper, the filter, and the watchman.

2. TOP DOWN TENETS: Does it match up with my senior pastor and his major theological tenets? While you might think this would not be an issue with selecting student ministry curriculum it can become one. Often times a Youth Minister will inherit a senior pastor or vice versa and find out later that the two are on slightly different pages regarding a couple of theology points. If you intend to remain in your position then you need to be a team player and be willing and able to allow your theology to play second fiddle to that of the senior pastor.

3. TOOLS: Does it provide volunteers with enough quality tools to promote excellence in teaching?  Small group leaders must have access to quality commentary but equally beneficial and often compromised is a surfeit of ideas to get students connected, engaged and responsive during the bible lesson.

4. TEACHING: Is the content built upon solid instructional methods? The explanation, examination, and application should reflect high retention teaching methods that demonstrate a solid grasp of adolescent development?

5.  TIMED OUT: Is it stimulating, attractive and current regarding culture, references and illustration? Just because curriculum is old does not mean it has and expiration date. At the same time, just because curriculum is new does not mean it has been built upon solid methods for teaching adolescents.

In most youth ministries, teaching students the bible is accomplished from two main delivery platforms: 1. The adolescent pulpit during a  weekly large group gathering and 2. Small group discipleship programming like D-groups, Life groups or Connect groups.

No matter what you call your teaching or discipleship delivery system, take your responsibility for selecting curriculum seriously.

In a growing number of churches, the responsibility for selecting the primary discipleship curriculum has been removed from the privy of the student minister. Why? In many cases it is because one or more of the five T’s was not carefully considered. Don’t be a curriculum slacker who lets everyone choose what they want to use without your scrutiny. Equally important is not to jump on some new band-wagon of popular publishing without careful evaluation. Someone may be an awesome camp preacher, a great writer, or extremely creative yet completely miss the mark for developing high quality student ministry discipleship curriculum. If selecting the curriculum for building disciples is your responsibility be diligent not to fumble the ball from lack of focus or give it up through carelessness.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. I Corinthians 9:22-23

 

Personality and Student Ministry

Every church and every student ministry has its own personality. Some are known for their friendly disposition while others are known for their generosity and big heart towards missions. Some are community minded while others appear more separated. In large ministries even grades can have distinct personality. I once had an extraordinarily large eighth grade boys group and their personality as a grade in our ministry was overwhelmingly that group of “extrovert jocks”. There were always new prospects showing up on Wednesday night because these guys were outgoing with regular opportunities to invite team-mates and school friends. Being the seniors of the middle school they wielded considerable leverage for outreach.
What type of personality does your group have? What type of personality do you want it to have? If you stick around long enough, your ministry can become more like you. Is that good or bad? Your personality will essentially rub off on the students, the leadership and parents. They become comfortable with how you manage the ministry and how you approach situations. In a productive and healthy ministry, their confidence in you goes up as does their trust in your decisions. Remember that you are modeling the ministry to students that you want your volunteers to imitate.
Have you ever wondered what personality types are most vulnerable to burn-out, firing or failure in Student Ministry? Which personality type tends to register more ministry success and health? Taken from Gary Smalley and John Trent’s personality type inventory, the four animal types (Golden Retriever, Otter, Beaver, and Lion) help point to an understanding of what personality types appear to enjoy longer ministry tenure. According to Ken Kageler’s study, the breakdown of personality types among those youth ministers who were fired or burned-out rank as follows:
32% are Otters
30% are Golden Retrievers
25% are Lions
13% are Beavers
In our own SME study of student ministers with exceptional tenure (7 years in the same church) we found the highest-ranking personality type was the Golden Retriever, which earned 43.5 percent. According to Kageler’s study, the dominant personality type among youth ministers in the United States is the Golden Retriever at 40 percent, followed by the Otter at 32 percent. Additionally, Kageler found that the personality type leading in numerical attendance growth among middle school youth belongs to Lions at 81 percent followed by Beavers at 74 percent, while high school youth returned a 69 percent for Lions and 59 percent for Otters.
Golden Retriever types are loyal, relational, calm, easy-going, dependable, quiet, objective, diplomatic, and humorous. It is not surprising that these personality traits would produce a youth minister with a propensity towards exceptional tenure. There is an 8.7 percent difference between the frontrunner, Golden Retriever, and the second place personality type, which is the Lion. The Lion likes authority, takes charge, displays great confidence, enjoys leading, and is very determined. Since there is significant difference between these two personality types, one might conclude good news for both. The positive reality is that both types have a good record in position tenure. While all personalities have success at longevity, the Golden Retrievers and Lions can take comfort in the solid longevity track record among their diverse personality types. While all four personality types are represented in our tenure study, the lowest ranking type is the Beaver. At 17.4 percent, the Beaver falls 26.1 percentage points below the dominant Golden Retriever. The results might persuade a search team who places a high priority on longevity to seek a Golden Retriever or Lion for a youth minister. On the other hand, Beavers and Otters might take note of their standing in order to be more deliberate in achieving skills or practices that may extend tenure. No matter your personality, you have the opportunity to impact many lives and enjoy a healthy productive ministry as God calls you and leads you to shepherding students. Remember, your ministry, over time and to a great extent, will become “like” you. So minister with excellence and enjoy what God will build through your efforts.

“Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;² and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell. Ephesians 5:1-2

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.³² Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” I Corinthians 10:31-11:1