March 2019

Actually, any ministry with more than a few students could consider this an unreasonable request. Even Jesus, while on earth, had his ministry limits—and he had the whole 'divine perfection' thing working for him. We’re all limited in what we can do, and that’s one reason I work hard to build a team that shares the load in meeting needs and discipling teenagers.

At my next volunteer meeting, I shared this incident so that our volunteers could understand how important their support is to our youth ministry. And their support of our youth ministry is more than just ministering to teenagers on a weekly basis. Being supportive is also about supporting the ministry’s vision, supporting me as the leader, and growing in their role to strengthen our youth ministry.

Here are a few ways you can be supportive in your youth ministry outside of your weekly commitment to teenagers.

Support your ministry’s vision. It’s imperative that you understand the vision and purpose of your ministry. Take some time to better understand your ministry’s vision and then educate others in your church about what your ministry is about. Your support in this area is vital to the health and success of your ministry.

Support the lead youth worker. As a volunteer, you may be responsible for a group of students, a certain event, or a specific “piece” of the youth ministry—which is great. But the lead youth worker has the responsibility of overseeing all of the moving pieces—the people, programs, parents, expectations, and more. Regardless of whether this person is paid or a volunteer, he or she is probably juggling many different needs and commitment levels. And this person needs a team of volunteers who believe in, encourage, and support him or her.

Support and fulfill students’ needs. It takes an entire group of people to minister to the students in your ministry. You can further support your youth ministry by assessing the needs of your students and then figuring out how to best fulfill those needs. You can’t meet every need yourself—neither can the main leader. You need a team to work together and support one another. A healthy team will begin to see the needs of students met.