As a team, we've really tried to tighten things up logistically. Most of the experts on adolescent development agree that how a service feels is just as important as the content (sermons, games, etc.)
With that in mind we've realized that I need to be spending more of my time on our leadership team instead of creativity. These past few weeks stretched me a lot. I'm used to making a video or spending tons of time on a sermon. Those things are important, but they don't mean much if our youth don't feel welcome, safe and valued before and after our service.
I've used more 'canned' creativity that I like to admit in the past few weeks. Simply Junior High put out some great resources that got the burden of games off of my back. I never knew that creating games that middle schoolers actually like could be such a burden, but it is tough! Simple works well, messy usually works, but they can be really finicky. I love.
I'm also finding that asking for help works really well. I used to wonder why people didn't help more. I thought that they would telepathically know what needed to be done and just do it. That explains why the kinds of people who thrive on our team are thriving...they are self starters and go getters. I'm finding that if I ask for a little bit of help, and give a little bit of vision/direction, people are exceeding what I could ever do.
Volunteer youth workers that minister to middle schoolers might be the best people in the world! I know I'm biased, but that's what I think.
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