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Stop Delegating!

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By Mark DeVries
1/19/2009

Show me a struggling youth ministry, and I'll show you a youth ministry with a volunteer problem.  And in many churches, the root of the problem comes from a surprising source: Delegation.  

That's right, delegation.  

If you're a typical youth worker, you've been advised more than once, "Just delegate!"  But youth workers who do "delegate" often wind up with volunteers who say things like,  

"Volunteers at this church get stuck forever."

"If you volunteer to help, the next thing you know you are in charge of the whole program

Show me a struggling youth ministry, and I'll show you a youth ministry with a volunteer problem.  And in many churches, the root of the problem comes from a surprising source: Delegation.

 
That's the last thing I want."

So I'm suggesting a shift: Let's stop delegating tasks and start developing leaders.  Here's how:

  1. Make Sure That "Leadership Development" Is at the Top of Your Daily to Do List.  In our phone coaching, we almost always ask clients for a recruiting update.  Here's a typical response: "Have I told you about how great the weather is around here?"  Let's face it.  Recruiting and developing leaders is the hardest part of most youth workers' jobs.  And therefore, the average youth worker puts off recruitment until other, more urgent tasks have been accomplished.   If you wait to recruit volunteers until the need is urgent, you can guarantee you'll be in a chronic volunteer crisis.

  2. Don't Ask Volunteers to Do Your Job.  If you are a paid youth worker, recruiting and developing volunteers is a core piece of your job.   You can find someone else to take care of the ketchup for the cookout, but you must take responsibility for recruiting.  Giving away responsibility for recruitment to a committee or to a single volunteer will almost always be an exercise in frustration.

  3. Recruit Early for the Best Volunteers.  The best, most responsible leaders often make their volunteer commitments as much as a year ahead of time (you read right).  Just try filling your ten key volunteer roles an entire year before you need them, and see what happens.  Even those who say, "This is too early to decide" will be primed for your call a few months later.

  4. Walk WITH Volunteers, Not Away From Them.  The word "delegate" literally means to "send from."  Unfortunately, most youth pastors "delegate" tasks and then essentially abandon volunteers to sink or swim on their own.  Leaders who develop leaders walk alongside their volunteers, regularly checking in with support and clarity, knowing that how easily discouragement, misdirection, and fuzzy vision can prevent volunteers from completing the tasks they were originally asked to do.


Most mired youth ministries repeat the tired mantra, "We need to depend more on volunteers."  But churches that attempt to "depend on volunteers more" without a staff person who ultimately takes responsibility for developing those leaders will find that something is always falling through the cracks, resulting in a climate of criticism, blame and burn out.  

Jesus did not simply delegate his work.  When he called his disciples, he wasn't just filling volunteer slots.  Jesus developed leaders.  And so should we.    

Mark DeVries is a youth pastor and founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a youth ministry coaching service that works with individual churches to establish sustainable, deep-impact youth ministries (www.YMArchitects.com).

Conversation

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Curtis, you are in the perfect place to be developing leaders, right now. If you can get a few other committed adults volunteers with you now, then build the ministry and learn together, you will have a very healthy and dynamic group in the future. As you get training, take them with you. To conferences, read books as a youth staff, learn together. I know for a fact the youth ministry at my church would never be where we are with out our adult volunteer leaders. The biggest thing is being humble and honest, and have a 'lets learn together' attitude. A good portion of my budget is spent on my leadership team. If you want to talk more send me an email: pastorbrian@cloverdalechurch.org

Brian Seidel 10:02:32am on 2/03/2009

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I am in my early 20s and 8 months into my first youth ministry position. How would you suggest developing leaders when I am on the "learning curve" of how to be a strong leader myself in ministry? I would think that if I had more years of experience, I would carry more clout with my ministry to be the example and developer of leadership. The truth is, I don't have that experience yet. Should I be more reliant upon experienced leaders around me for leadership development?

Curtis 2:01:54pm on 1/30/2009

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