L1-02 Incarnational Ministry and Contact Work

INTRODUCTION

The idea of contact work is built on an understanding of how God chose to communicate His character to mankind. John 1:14 says “the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We go to young people for the same reason that Christ came to us—to reveal God to them. Loving them in order to gain an opportunity to preach to them is manipulation. You must love them because they need love, because God loves them and wants to love them through you. This concept is one you may have to grow into, but with Christ in you, the incarnation is still in process in the world today.

Evidence of staff demonstrating this objective looks like:
  • Can define the philosophy of incarnational ministry and how Jesus’ incarnation informs how we do ministry in YL.
  • Understands and can explain the three levels of contact work and the purpose of each.
  • Understands and can explain the three groups to do contact work with.
  • 20-30% of weekly hours are spent in all three levels of Contact Work
  • Meets 1-2 new kids each month (KKBN) to pray for
  • Volunteers on their team all spend 1-2 hours a week in contact work
  • Actively trains other leaders in contact work by bringing them along to regular contact work times.
CONTACT WORK: A BIBLICAL FOUNDATION

Jesus is our example for contact work. He spent enough time with common people that He was often criticized for being a friend of sinners (Luke 15). He taught that where He spent His time and how He conducted His ministry was an expression of God’s passion for the lost. Based on the stories we have of His life, Jesus spent more time with people in the streets and in their homes than meeting them in the synagogue.

​ Our impetus for contact work, specifically with those furthest out, unaware or uninterested in who Jesus is can be seen in this quote by Pope Francis:

“You, who work in the field of youth ministry, do valuable work for the Church. You are the ones who accompany young people on their path, helping them to find the way that leads to Christ. More than promoting a series of activities for young people, you walk with them, accompanying them personally in the complex and at times difficult contexts in which they are immersed. And in this connection, a true dialogue can be engaged in by the one who lives a personal relation with the Lord Jesus, which overflows into the relation with others.”

A Biblical basis for contact work can be seen throughout scripture. Below are a few references for you to look up and be familiar with for your next training dialogue. Set aside some time to read through them all, noting what stands out to you and what connections you make with your understanding of contact work.

Life of Christ:
  • John 1:10-14
  • John 4:1-42
  • Luke 5:27-31
  • Luke 15:1-2
  • Matthew 4:19
  • Matthew 9:35-38
Life of Paul and New Testament:
  • Philippians 2:5-11
  • 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6
  • 1 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 8
  • 1 Corinthians 4:5
  • Colossians 1:15
  • Colossians 4:5-6
  • Hebrews 1:1-3
We go to young people for the same reason that Christ came to us - to reveal God to them.
Three Levels of Contact Work:
  • Being seen: being seen wherever kids are, becoming a part of the environment, your presence speaks of your interest in their lives, hang out where kids hang out within your context of ministry (this may include parent/guardian approval)
  • Talking: having conversations with kids and developing relationships, speaking about things that are of interest to kids (become a student of their world)
  • Doing: hanging out with kids, building memories, developing trust, intentional, initiated and focused.
Three Groups of Kids:

It can be helpful to intersect the three levels of contact work with the three general groups of kids that we interact with.

  • Discipleship kids or “Engaged Kids”
  • Club Kids or “Involved Kids”
  • Non-Club Kids or “New Kids”

It’s best to be intentional in your approach/strategy for contact work! The ideal is all three levels of contact work with all three groups of kids.

LETS TALK ABOUT IT!

We can agree with the idea and value of contact work and even articulate its importance to others, but the more important thing is that we actually do contact work. We need to be growing in our expertise of doing contact work and also learning how to instruct, motivate and lead others in doing their contact work.

Let’s be honest—contact work can be intimidating. You’ve probably heard the phrase that comes up when you are in the world of kids, “Don’t you have any friends your own age?” And if you haven’t, you will. We are doing cross-cultural ministry. We are crossing boundaries and breaking down walls and stereotypes. We must ask ourselves some questions. What exactly are our fears? What are some steps to help us overcome them?

A good first move forward is to create a Contact Work plan! It’s ideal to create a routine or rhythm in our approach to kids — it’s good to have a plan that holds you accountable! Vary the type and time you plan to do contact work. When you go, don’t give off the impression that you are there to build your club. You’re there to build relationships.

Each time you are preparing to go do contact work, ask yourself the following:
  • Have I spent time in prayer for kids that I know and kids that I have yet to meet?
  • Why am I doing contact work at this particular place or in this way?
  • What do I expect to accomplish? Who am I trying to see and why?
  • What is my goal for contact work today?
MAPPING OUT YOUR PLAN

As you begin to form a plan for Contact Work, a great cultural intelligence exercise may help! One of your assignments for this post is to go explore your community and pray for God to open your eyes to opportunities for Contact Work. Schedule a few hours to walk all the streets of your community. If you don’t currently have one, maybe you’ll need to begin with creating your ministry map. Take notice of what your community looks like as you survey the streets. Perhaps you’ll pray differently for your community. Perhaps your plans for living out your calling will be impacted in new ways. Where are the schools in your community? Where are students hanging out after school? Where are the main bus and tram stops that students in your community use? What else do you notice? Prayer walks can help open our eyes to the opportunities God has placed right around us.

You will also receive a tool to help you evaluate your contact work. It’s creatively named the Contact Work Evaluation. This tool is helpful in generating conversation and evaluating a week or two-week period of contact work. Simply fill in events or kids’ names into each box to capture a period of ministry. Do not include Young Life events like Club or Campaigners. The goal is to capture what our contact work looks like outside of these events.

This process can both affirm the great work that is being done and also highlight some places that might need focus in the week or weeks to come. Knowing that we cannot be in all places with all people at all times, sometimes there will be empty boxes. That’s okay.

The contact work evaluation can be a tool for working with your volunteer leaders. At a leadership team meeting have each leader fill out the evaluation. Then facilitate a discussion. Where were we strong? Where were we weak? What do we want the next week or two to look like? Who can be at what events and who can follow up with which kids? etc. You can also use this document individually with a leader as you are working to develop the depth and breadth of their contact work or if you are needing to help them see some deficiencies.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Do you, and each of your volunteer leaders, HAVE a plan for Contact Work at all three levels with all three groups of kids?

  • Are you, and each of your volunteer leaders, ACTIVELY doing all three levels of Contact Work with all three groups of kids? Are you ACTIVELY spending 30% of your time in Contact Work weekly? Are each of your volunteers spending 2 hours a week in Contact Work?
  • Do you have a way to SHARE your experiences and the new names of kids you are getting to know?
  • Are you GROWING the number of kids you know and GROWING the depth of relationships leaders have with kids through Contact Work?
ACTION ITEMS

Complete the assignments below and send your responses to your trainer before your next meeting.

  • Complete the Contact Work Evaluation by tracking your contact work over two weeks. Take a volunteer leader with you as much as possible and keep track of who went with you on your evaluation sheet as well.
  • Keep track of how much time you spent doing contact work over these two weeks. Did you fall into your 25-30% of your weekly hours range?
  • Spend some time assessing how you and your volunteers are doing in contact work with the accountability questions above. Where are you (your volunteers) now? What do you need to do to move to the next step?
Contact Work Evaluation Document
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