Welcome to part 4 of a special 5 part podcast series. Zac and Chad will walk you through the five stages of youth ministry growth in what we are terming as the Youth Ministry Roadmap. You will learn what phase your ministry is currently situated in, and how to get to where you want to go.
If you haven't read and listened to part 1 then go here first. But also make sure and check out part 2 here. And part 3 here.
Roadmap Phase 4: Scale
If you have done the hard work of developing for a few seasons (12-24 months) then you are probably set up to do the expanding work of scaling your ministry. The hard work of building, the patience of developing, is rewarded with the gift of scaling.
Scaling your ministry means at some level you have found out what works. So much so that you have refined the process and are now starting to give some of the ministry leadership away.
This might look like adding more small group leaders (cause your small groups are awesome and you train leaders well!). This might look like adding interns because people in and around your ministry want to help out in a way above and beyond just volunteering. This might even look like replicating your whole youth ministry in a new campus or a new middle school only setting. The possibilities are endless, but because you spent the time developing you trust that the processes are good and are ready to be given away.
The move from developing programs into processes means that we are not just training leaders for work, but equipping leaders to lead out.
When you are approaching your ministry with scale, the work of developing now becomes delegation. The mindset shifts into what work can be given away. Adding these new and layers of leadership fuels our ministry’s growth.
If you really want growth you have got to learn how to scale.
This is a challenging task because it represents a shift in mindset for you the leader. It will be uncomfortable, at first, to give away parts of the ministry you spent so much time developing, but trust us when we say, this is how your ministry will grow.
Train your leaders to be great now but also great in the future
Operating Question: What fuels my ministry’s success? Where can we add layers of leadership to grow this youth ministry?
A key example of scale would be adding new small groups or staff to your ministry mixture.
Say things are going really well and you feel established in your key processes (volunteers, student leadership, parents) and programs, what’s next?
Adding a staff member or intern would be great, but what will they do? How have you prepared yourself for this boost?
Adding small group coaches is a great idea, but have you cultivated a sense of importance for this boost?
Maybe that small group of 9th grade girls is expanding and you want to encourage more growth by creating a new group that some of the girls would join to create space for other as to join.
How do you scale appropriately? What is the right order or progression?
You could get to the next place, the next level, the next phase if you only knew how to get there
This is the importance of finding a guide. Someone who has been there before and can help lead you to lead others. For all of our YMB members this is the importance of mastermind groups and coaching. It is hard to know what is next unless you have help.
Youth Ministry Booster Masterminds are tackling questions like:
- How did you scale your small group ministry?
- How did you get to the place of having an amazing intern ministry?
- How did you add staff people to your team?
- You have house groups that meet all over your city? How did you swing that?
If you are not a part of YMB's community then check it out today with a 2-week free trial.
What About You, Which Phase Are You In?
If you’re at this phase, did this episode resonate with you? Let us know in the comments!
OR, if you’re at this phase but we didn’t talk about what you’re going through, tell us that as well.
OR, if you’ve been at this phase before, can you tell us a story about what you remember from this stage?
