Impulsive Joy

(If you haven’t already read the first two posts in this series, you can do so here and here.)

Part of our responsibility is to invite youth into a role they are well suited for and passionate about.  And with kids and students, you have to start by helping them with the basics.

John Wooden was arguably the greatest basketball coach, if not the greatest coach of any sport, ever. Wooden started with the basics. He went so far as to sit everyone down and teach them how to put on their shoes and socks.

Why?

Wooden knew that the high paced game of Basketball could lead to blistered feet if players didn’t take the time to get all the wrinkles out of their socks.  And severe blisters would affect anyone’s game.  He also knew that untied laces could take a player out of the game or be cause for injury.  So he took the time to cover the very fundamentals of the game.  Shoes and socks.  And he did this lesson every year — with both new recruits and returning players.

You have to start with the basics. The very basics.

How are they wired?

Where will their strengths best be used?  Our process can help kids and students figure out what they love to do.  (Often times they are still trying to figure that out!) Interview them. The worst thing you can do is just throw them into responsibility without aligning their strengths with the job at hand, fail to mentally prepare them, or fail to give them the tools they need to succeed.

There are several free online spiritual gifting tests.  I have yet to meet a student who didn’t love to learn about how God uniquely wired them.  And we can’t lead others if we don’t know how to lead ourselves…. So your strategy can help teens learn how they have unique strengths and gifts and guide them toward roles that compliment who they are.

We also have access to tools like Strengths Explorer.  This assessment is designed for kids ages 10-14.   Ministry leaders can take advantage of additional resources to help students understand and appreciate their results.

Even our youth praise teams went through an audition process.  If these kids were going to be up on stage, we needed to see that they were coordinated, that they understood the Sunday and rehearsal commitment…. We wanted to ensure they were wired and equipped for the role.  Although some didn’t make the cut, we always found other opportunities that were aligning their gifting with purpose.

What are the expectations for kids and students?

Starting with the basics includes making sure students know what is expected of them.  Communicate expectations for the role…..to the student and their parents.

Consider a youth volunteer application, personal references and a Youth Serving Covenant.  (The Youth Serving Covenant is an agreement with clear guidelines of what was expected of the youth who wanted to serve. It is an agreement between the teen, the parent and the ministry director.) For leadership positions, we also had a minimum GPA requirement and a four year age differential of who they were leading.  Those are all really important details to think through.

One of the most powerful things you can do to lean into families is to create CLEAR expectations and accountability.  You can be that second voice that helps keep kids accountable for prioritizing school work over outside commitments.

How will you train them for the role?

I like the progressive approach to start students off well.  They are paired with someone already proficient in the role and over the course of 4 weeks, it looks like this:

I do; You watch; we discuss

I do; You help; we discuss

You do; I help; we discuss

You do; I watch; we discuss

You have to have leaders already in place that can lead on the job training. No employer dedicate to success would ever throw an employee into a job without training and expect them to thrive. And we shouldn’t either.

What are your thoughts for starting with the basics?  If you have any weaknesses in your assimilation process, they will likely be highlighted when you integrate kids and students into the mix. What are you doing to help teach kids how to put their “socks and shoes” on in ministry?