10 Crucial Questions for Every Youth Ministry Leader
Asking questions is a good thing. Questions have a way of amplifying weaknesses and clarifying priorities. Perhaps that's why Jesus asked so many questions in his earthly ministry. Did you know that there are around 300 recorded times that Jesus asked questions of some sort in the Gospels? He used questions as a spotlight into peoples' souls. Sometimes the result was them repenting (Woman at the well.) Other times the result was them rejecting (Pharisees.) One time the result was his crucifixion.
Turning the spotlight of questions on can be a dangerous thing. What is illuminated can be painful to see. This is especially true when we turn the spotlight of good questions into our own souls. This blinding light can help us identify areas we need to tighten up, activities we need to cut out and disciplines we need to add.
With this as a backdrop here are 10 important questions I believe that youth leaders should be asking themselves on a somewhat regular basis ...
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1. Am I spending enough time in intercessory prayer for my teenagers and the teens in my community?
2. What areas of my personal life need shoring up so that, as I pray and minister, I'm doing so with clean hands and a pure heart?
3. Do I spend enough time prayerfully identifying the needs of my teenagers and seeking God for the right material to teach them or am I just mindlessly buying the latest youth curriculum that looks somewhat interesting?
4. What can I do to improve my relationships with the church leadership and the parents of my teenagers so that we are all fully aligned in our spiritual goals for these teens?
5. How is my marriage...really? If you're single, how strong are your friendships...really?
6. Have I recruited the right volunteers and am I equipping them to lead in a Gospel Advancing direction?
7. Is evangelism a part of our culture or just a word in our mission statement?
8. Has porn gotten a toehold, foothold or stronghold in my personal life?
9. Have I identified other like-minded youth leaders in my community to meet together for encouragement/camaraderie, gut-level honesty about challenges, intercessory prayer for our community, and strategizing for the advancement of the gospel?
10. Am I reaching out with the gospel in my own sphere of influence as I challenge my teenagers to do the same with their classmates, teammates and friends?
By the way if you want a simple way to answer a ton of these questions bring your teens and adult leaders out to Dare 2 Share Live on October 13th. It will focus on inspiring you and your group to make prayer a priority and evangelism more than just a word on a mission statement. And it could lead to developing a strong network of likeminded youth leaders in your community to help you all #RockYourCity (the hashtag for the event) for Christ!
Originally posted at Greg Stier's blog.
