Training with you Area Director: A Case Study
In 2011, we hired a part-time staff person to serve as our
Capernaum Coordinator. Zach Grant and
his wife, Kaley, moved back to St. Augustine, FL to take the position. From the very beginning, I wanted Zach to understand
his role and my role in Young Life. Zach
would be the primary point person for contact work, club, camp, recruiting
leaders and adults, raising campership money and co-owning the vision and
direction of our Capernaum ministry. I
made it clear that we were in this together and that I was going to help Zach
accomplish all of this…but, I also wanted him to know that I wasn’t going to do
it for him. My role was to equip Zach
with the skill-sets that he needed so that he could accomplish the vision and
goals for ministry that we set together.
Fast forward to 2014.
Zach has done a phenomenal job with our Capernaum ministry. Here’s a few of the things that Zach has done
over the last three years:
- Grown our number of volunteer leaders and adults
- Reaching kids through contact work at 2 campuses (up from 1)
- Taking more kids to weekend and summer camp
- Raising $8,500 in campership from the community
- Recruited buddies from local youth groups to serve at camp
- Incorporating a “Beyond Capernaum” piece into local church congregations
- Creating opportunities for leadership and discipleship for our older Capernaum friends
He’s done all of that himself. I’ve just helped (and cheered!) from the
sidelines. So, how did we get to this
point? Jesus, prayer and lots of TRAINING.
From the beginning, I wanted Zach in our weekly staff
meetings on Monday mornings. Our staff
meetings are a time where we open Scripture, talk about how to present the
Gospel clearly, pray for one another and our ministries, set goals and identify
priorities for the next few weeks. I
wanted Zach to rub shoulders with veteran Young Life leaders like Les Comee and
Martha Shinn. I wanted him to understand
the larger vision for ministry in St. Augustine and how he and Capernaum fit
into it. I also wanted Zach to be able
to share his victories and challenges in community – to be encouraged, prayed
for and challenged.
The other thing that we did was set a standing weekly
meeting – just me and Zach. We decided
on 8:45am on Wednesday mornings and we would meet for an hour. We started our meetings by sharing life –
talking about marriage, family, hobbies and sports. During the second half of the meeting, we
talked about Capernaum. What was going
well and what wasn’t. I’d try and ask
questions like, “what’s one thing that would completely change the ministry of
your team this semester?” Zach would
answer and then I would start planning how I could equip him to accomplish what
was needed. At the beginning of each
semester, we set goals together. I always
let Zach set his own goals. Sometimes, I
had to push him to dream bigger and sometimes I had to pull back on the reins
to keep him from overextending himself and burning out. Each week, we spend time talking about those
goals and I remind Zach about what he’s already decided are the most important
things for him to be about for the semester.
Your local Area Director has a TON of resources and
knowledge and I can promise you that they want to help you in your mission to
reach kids with disabilities. BUT, they
might not know how best to help. Now,
you can help THEM!
Here are 3 things that you and your AD could do together to
increase the excellence of your ministry:
2. Set goals at the beginning of the semester for
prayer, contact work, club, camp and campaigners. Good goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound).
3. Pick one area where you need help and ask your
AD for their help in providing resources and knowledge about how to
improve. Ask them for books, articles,
best practices and then try something!
Report back on the results.
Volunteers and staff who are willing to take initiative on their own put
wind in an AD’s sails!
Strider Stokes
St. Augustine, FL
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