Leadership 2: COMMUNITY ENGAGMENT PART 2

INTRODUCTION

Our mission is to introduce young people to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. We cannot do this mission alone. We form missional communities of teams to do the direct ministry with

Work confidently with a diverse and ecumenical group of adults in the community: connecting parents, churches, schools and committee with the ministry and vision of YL.

Evidence of staff demonstrating this objective looks like:
  • Leads a diverse team that welcomes all orthodox Christian traditions.
  • Actively works to invite adults in the community to engage with the ministry through area times of prayer Young Life ministry.
  • Communicates and articulates the vision of Young Life to various groups of adults and community members.
  • Understands the various Christian church expressions and why it is important to connect with all churches in the area.
  • Regularly reviews Area Vision Map to consider all the churches in the area and how they might be a part of the area vision
  • Actively communicates with parents and creates opportunities to build relationships with parents of students.

The Purpose of Committee

Partnership and Team Building are two core competencies that lead to healthy and successful committees.

PARTNERSHIP
  • Local ownership is one of the pillars of a successful area. True partnership leads to ownership.
  • Partnership between the staff and committee grows and thrives by working together, where everyone is on the field, no one is sitting on the sidelines, and all are in defined roles.
  • Partnership comes from relationships and time spent together.
  • Trust is foundational for a healthy partnership
  • A healthy partnership leads to an active working committee where adults can serve meaningfully, not an advisory board where the staff and leaders do all the work.

Working well with churches and in the community helps to recruit people into active roles where they see their involvement as crucial to the health and growth of the ministry. Getting the right group of people into the right roles will lead to a healthy committee partnership with the staff.

Whether you are involved in a new start-up committee or strengthening an existing committee, the principles below will lead toward a strong and healthy committee.

TEAM BUILDING: PEOPLE FOCUS IN ACTION
PEOPLE: START WITH THE WHO

Any great team starts with the people that make up the team. When building a committee or recruiting people to a committee start with finding the right people. What are the characteristics that we should be looking for.

WHO TO LOOK FOR:
  • It is a spiritual work and consequently, we need spiritual people walking faithfully with Christ.
  • People who are interested in Young Life, leaders, and kids.
  • Team players: It is a team approach so we need people with a diverse set of gifts and skills that work well together.
  • People that are willing to work, not just advise.
  • People with organizational leadership skills. There are people to lead and tasks to be accomplished.
  • People with a servant’s heart who are willing and able to share time, talent, treasure, and touch.
  • People that are networkers and good at building relationships.
  • People that are respected in the community.
PEOPLE FOCUSED: STACK HANDS ON THE BIG THREE: WHY, WHAT, AND HOW!

Members of the committee need to be on the same page to be effective and to represent Young Life faithfully in the community. It is important when recruiting and building committees that people stack hands on Young Life’s core statements and values as well as the local ministry strategy and plan. Young Life’s Mission Statement, Statement of Faith, Mission Values, and Mission Methods are the central documents and principles for people to stack hands on. Take a moment and review those. Do you know where to find copies of those in your language?

PEOPLE FOCUSED IN ACTION: GETTING THE RIGHT THINGS DONE

When you have the right people on the team and everyone has stacked hands on the mission, values, and methods then it is easier to be faithful in getting the right things done. So, what are the right things that a committee should be accomplishing?

WHAT YOUNG LIFE LEADERS DO WITH KIDS

Contact Work, Club, Campaigners, and Camp are the core of direct ministry that were covered through Leadership 1. These are also what staff develop, coach, and supervise in volunteer leaders.

WHAT THE COMMITTEE DOES

These are the core actions of the committee that lead to a healthy and successful area. These all fall under the central theme of Partnership. They are:

  • Pray
  • Plan
  • Promote
  • Pay

A healthy committee with people in the right roles becomes a life-giving opportunity for people to serve and grow. Below is a list of typical roles on a committee. A healthy committee will have someone in each of these roles and an assistant that is being trained to take over the role.

People that are respected in the community.

ROLES (Point person and assistant, if possible):
  • Prayer Coordinator
  • Donor Care
  • Community Contact Team
  • Church Relations
  • Event Coordinator
  • Leader Care
  • Finance Chair
  • Club Resource
  • Committee Chair
MATTHEW 9:38 LIST

Over the last year you have met many adults and are learning the importance of building a Committee. You should always have a list of names that you are praying for and that you can approach about involvement with Young Life. If you have not already, create a list to capture the names of adults that you are getting to know. Pray for them. Think about their gifts, passions, and where you see them potentially serving with YL. This list will be important toward the sustainability of the ministry whether you are staying in the area or moving on. Make sure that your Area Director and/or Committee Chair receives a copy of this list so they can be involved in developing these relationships. Stewarding the friendships that you have will help ensure that the ministry continues even if you leave. If the time comes when you do leave, it is crucial to pass along these relationships to the AD and/or Committee Chair, and whoever is stepping into your role.

Biblical Basis for Effective Committees

The central and essential context for the adult committee is found in the Bible. The Scriptures themselves are the rationale for committee structure and functioning.

We Chose to Serve

Our appointment to any mission, including committee, is Christ’s initiative. Those who serve are called to this mission at Christ’s invitation. We have an undeniable, God-given “nudge” to reach kids in our community for Jesus Christ. We who are called are also empowered so that we will bear fruit for His name’s sake.

We all do the Work

We are chosen to do God’s work in the world. Graciously, God chooses us, and then He equips us with “everything good for doing His will” (Hebrews 13:21). We offer our own unique gifts so that the entire committee will grow as individuals and jointly flourish as a ministry. ​ Under Christ’s direction, we fit together perfectly and interdependently as we do His work in the world.

We all Have Gifts

We possess different, yet complementary, gifts. The root of the word complementary is “complete,” and that is exactly what the effective committee does. It completes the gifts of the staff and leaders who volunteer. Every member of Christ’s body and every member of an area committee has gifts bestowed by grace. No one has every gift, and no one’s gifts are superfluous.

We Share in Ministry

Paul uses the body as the model of Christ’s church more than 30 times in his letters. It is his most-often-used analogy for the church. Interesting how the parts of the body, as beautiful or essential as they individually may be, lose all relevance absent from the other parts. What good is a foot without a leg to make it useful or an eye to direct its path? In the same way, the effective committee works together as one body striving toward the same eternal purpose and prize of exposing lost kids to the reality of living life with Jesus Christ.

 

The Purpose of Effective Committees

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. — John 15:16, NIV

 

Committee Purpose Statement

Our purpose is to actively support the ministry of Young Life through fundraising, securing administrative resources, and encouraging staff and volunteers. We will protect the integrity of the ministry, ensure fiscal responsibility, and pray for the spiritual strength of the leadership.

Effective Committees are Built on the Right Foundation

All members of the committee should be able to articulate the group’s basic purpose. That purpose ought to reflect the Young Life mission statement. Consider the statement below from an area committee as an example:

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ ... there should be no division in the body but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” — 1 Corinthians 12:12,25, NIV

Roles of Effective Committees

Committee members share ownership of the ministry with the local staff and regional director. Your role as a committee member will be to:

  • Help create the vision to reach every kid in each middle school and high school in the area.
  • Pray for all facets of the ministry.
  • Ensure the integrity of the local ministry.
  • Promote Young Life in the community.
  • Raise funds to guarantee the local budget.
  • Monitor the financial affairs of the area.
  • Support and assist Young Life staff and leaders who volunteer.
  • Provide leaders with input and advice.
  • Maintain the continuity of Young Life in the area.
  • Work with the regional director, especially during staff transitions.
ACCOUNTABILITY
  • Do you have a vision for engaging with adults in your community and inviting them into your ministry? HAVE
  • Are you actively praying over adults on your Matthew 9:38 List to be part of your committee? ACTIVE
  • Are you and your team working to invite adults from the community into this ministry? Does each member of your team also have a Matthew 9:38 List that includes adults from their churches? SHARED
  • Are adults engaging with your ministry regularly and do you have an active committee that is supporting the local ministry? GROWING
ACTION STEPS
  • Review your Matthew 9:38 List and talk with your supervisor about adults in your community who you should begin praying for as potential committee members.
  • Plan an event for potentially interested adults where you can share the vision of your ministry. How will you engage your whole team in inviting others? Where will you meet? What will you do? What pieces need to be part of the event to help adults catch the vision of Young Life? Make an initial plan and bring it to your training meeting to discuss with your trainer. Be prepared to also talk about this with your supervisor.
  • A committee is a part of the bigger missional community in our area. How are you engaging committee and interested adults in a regular prayer plan for your ministry and area? Come with ideas and be ready to discuss this at your next training meeting.
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