UECF logoUnited Evangelical Christian Fellowship Church (UECF)130 Ferris Pl, Westfield, NJ
Chapter 32 of 40

Today’s Mission

Today’s Mission

smileyDay 30

Final Balcony Day

Finished—Sort Of

If we’re going to grow up in Christ, we’ve got to change every day.

If we don’t, we’re not growing up in Christ . . .

we’re just growing old in Christ.

STEVE FARRAR

You know what you call someone who runs a marathon very slowly? A finisher.

The runner who finishes the 26.2 miles in 6 hours and 18 minutes gets the very same medal at the end of the race as the runner who finishes in 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Today you are finishing your thirty-day marathon. And you’ve likely learned a few things:

  • You’ve learned that focus works, while random attention to a random collection of priorities seldom creates any real change.
  • You’ve learned that with the structure you’ve put in place, building next year’s volunteer team will not be nearly so time consuming.
  • You’ve learned that, no matter how old you are or how much you have known about youth ministry, you have continued growing in your craft of ministry and in your love for God.

    • I hope you’re feeling a little end-of-the-marathon, exhausted encouragement right about now. As you finish this project, pray one more time for each of the folks who will partner with you in ministry in the coming year. Thank God that you have been blessed with a team who will walk with you through (and periodically create some of!) the mess of ministry. And rest in the reality that you have invested in something that will bear more fruit year after year.

    Congratulations, finisher.

    Today’s Mission

  • Compile all your volunteer documents into a single notebook or folder (either in a physical notebook or on the computer, with the file backed up and shared with at least two other people). You’ll want to include your
    1. youth leader directory
    2. major event calendar
    3. youth directory
    4. child protection and screening forms and policies
    5. job descriptions
    6. letters or emails you have sent out that can be templates for the recruiting process next year
    7. “Improving Our Recruiting Process” document, with notes you have kept throughout this process of things you’d like to do differently in recruiting next year
  • Select a date to begin the recruiting process next year, and mark it boldly on next year’s calendars (your personal calendar and the ministry’s major event calendar).
  • Send confirmation letters or emails, expressing your enthusiasm and gratitude to all the volunteers who have agreed to serve in the coming year, both partners and helpers (see sample below). Include
    1. the individual’s job description
    2. their starting date for working with the youth
    3. the date for the leader orientation
  • Double check to make sure that you have all your communication deadlines firmly on your calendar, including
    1. when you will publically commission your leaders
    2. when articles about your leadership team will appear in the church newsletter, on the church website, in the youth ministry newsletter, on your Facebook page and so on.

    • Note that in we’ve included a master task list outlining all the missions from day one to day thirty.

    Sample volunteer confirmation email

    Dear [NAME],

    Thank you so much for your willingness to serve in our youth ministry this coming year! Your work as a [ROLE] will be invaluable for our church and our kids!

    The purpose of this email is to confirm the role that we have talked about for you and to give you a few details that will help you launch well.

    First, I have attached a copy of the job description we created for your role. Hopefully, what you find there matches what we have talked about. But if you see anything there that doesn’t accurately reflect your understanding of what you agreed to, just let me know and we’ll work through the concerns you have.

    Second, I want to remind you about our youth ministry leadership team orientation dinner scheduled for [DATE AND TIME] at [PLACE, ADDRESS]. At this meeting, we’ll be gathering all our key youth leaders for the fall. We’ll be able to get through our business quickly and have plenty of time to enjoy getting to know each other afterward.

    Third, your first day in your new role will be on [DAY, DATE] at [TIME] in [PLACE]. If you can arrive about fifteen minutes early, we’ll have time to pray together with the other leaders and make sure all our bases are covered.

    I’m so looking forward to working with you this year. Thanks again for saying yes!

    Please call [NUMBER] or email [EMAIL] if you have any questions or things you need to let us know about.

    Blessings,

    [NAME]

    [TITLE]

    Ministry Architects Guarantee

    If you work this thirty-day process one to two hours a day, six days a week for thirty days and it does not create significant change in your ministry, Ministry Architects will gladly refund the cost of this book and offer a credit of $20 toward any downloadable resource in our online store at ministryarchitects.com. For both the refund and credit email [email protected].

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