Youth
workers need to have a holistic view of ministry—stay too focused on today and
it can be hard to remember where you were headed. But if you're always looking
ahead, you risk not handling today well. Here are a few thoughts that may help
you tackle today AND tomorrow effectively.
Right In Front Of You: This Week
What needs to be accomplished right away this week? Go practical instead of tactical; make a "to do list" or use an app to help guide your time and projects with due dates this week. The "This Week" stuff is the nitty-gritty tasks you simply must accomplish. Put your head down, and work through the list you made at the beginning of your week.
The
Small Picture: The Next Season Ahead
This is where you move from the day-to-day tasks and make sure you're tracking on the big-picture details of what's next. This is making sure the discipleship retreat camp deposit is in the mail, but not necessarily programming the event itself. This is making sure you have a speaker lined up, but not necessarily knowing the menu that's planned.
The Big Picture: This Coming Year
Occasionally, throughout the year, find some time to make sure the big-picture vision is in place. Check the pulse of your leaders; look back on goals you set from the year before; work through your vision statements and learnings from a recent book or seminar. Determine what's broken and what's doing well, lay out strategies to address the weak points in your discipleship process. This is a mix of practical (calendar planning) and tactical (is what we have planned truly helping us to accomplish our vision?).
The Lifetime Achievement: Your Legacy
This is the biggest picture of all: what you will leave with your church when you leave, or the legacy you leave behind when God decides your time here is done. Don't text and drive or it may be sooner rather than later. Too many youth workers live in the day-to-day world and never take a step back every few years and really wrestle with your calling again and see what God may be up to.
This is where you move from the day-to-day tasks and make sure you're tracking on the big-picture details of what's next. This is making sure the discipleship retreat camp deposit is in the mail, but not necessarily programming the event itself. This is making sure you have a speaker lined up, but not necessarily knowing the menu that's planned.
The Big Picture: This Coming Year
Occasionally, throughout the year, find some time to make sure the big-picture vision is in place. Check the pulse of your leaders; look back on goals you set from the year before; work through your vision statements and learnings from a recent book or seminar. Determine what's broken and what's doing well, lay out strategies to address the weak points in your discipleship process. This is a mix of practical (calendar planning) and tactical (is what we have planned truly helping us to accomplish our vision?).
The Lifetime Achievement: Your Legacy
This is the biggest picture of all: what you will leave with your church when you leave, or the legacy you leave behind when God decides your time here is done. Don't text and drive or it may be sooner rather than later. Too many youth workers live in the day-to-day world and never take a step back every few years and really wrestle with your calling again and see what God may be up to.
Consider
planning your week with an appropriate amount of time given to each of these
categories. Focus on the tasks of the week, be familiar with the season ahead,
make sure you know where you are headed and every once in a while, and wrestle
with your legacy for good measure, too.
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