When I was 14 years old, my church had the most amazing youth pastor!  Large numbers of young people came to youth groups and spent time with Gary whenever they could.  His home bustled with teenagers coming and going.  They wanted to be around Gary as much as possible.  When I was 15, everything had changed!   Gary had left to do post graduate studies and the youth groups were nearly vacant.  I learned a lesson that would stay with me long into my years as a youth worker.  Gary was a one-man show.  As much as we loved him and he reached a massive number of youth, the results were not long term.  When I accepted my first position in youth work, I was determined not to allow the whole ministry to revolve around me.  I would build leadership teams of people rather than go it alone and let the work collapse when I left.  What I did not realize was how daunting it can be to build leadership teams.  The temptation to do it all was a constant battle.  Delegating leadership was a foreign concept.  Leading teams was not something that came natural.  I had lots to learn and learn quickly!  I poured through books on leadership and tried many approaches.  Some worked, some failed but I learned much from both.  From a combination of books, experience, and convictions from scripture, I concluded and pursued the reality that teams build, so we must build teams.

Team leadership is more than just a good idea.  It is essential to effective youth work!  Stephen Covey, in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (an excellent read for leaders) says “don’t use people to get work done, use work to get people done”.  By that he is suggesting that we not use people to help us accomplish our work but rather, use our work to help people reach their goals.  Through teams we share ministry and model the body of Christ. Ephesians 4 speaks to us as leaders that we are “…to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”  Clearly youth work was never intended for individuals to go it alone!  When our work is with young people, our involvement of adults enables them to pursue the common goal of the great commission. (Matthew 28:19-20)  It also leaves a legacy.  Recently Mike sent me an email in which he shared that he was in his final months as a volunteer youth leader in a church where I used to serve.  He had never thought about being involved in youth work until I shared our vision for youth ministry over a cup of coffee.  Long after I left that church, Mike continued on in youth work.   For more than ten years, his leadership gifts have been developing and young people have benefited from his involvement in their lives.

Team leadership minimizes the weaknesses of individual leaders and brings a greater pool of gifts and talents to lead young people.  Our programmes benefit from the variety of gifts in use.  No individual youth leader has all the gifts needed to accomplish the goals that God has for us in ministry.  Young people benefit from the diversity of adults with whom they can have nurturing relationships.  Ultimately, we can communicate the gospel more effectively through a team than on our own.  Not only do young people see different aspects of Jesus’ love through our lives, some are stronger communicators when it comes time to explain the good news.

For many the reaction to a clear argument for a team approach to leadership is “that’s great but I don’t have anyone with whom to build a team.”  From the truth of scripture, to the advice of modern leaders, and our own experience, we know the importance of teams.  However, that alone does not cause all to jump in with both feet.  The practical issue many youth workers face is that the very thought of working with teens scares the living daylights out of most adults.  A youthworker in Cheshire once told me that when he started in his position, the church responded with an attitude “we pay youto do youth work, why do you need anyone else?”  The dilemma is all too common and it drives many youth workers to resign rather than land on their knees asking God to provide workers for His harvest.