This Year… Sending New Leaders in Pairs to Teams

Over the summer I normally try to post a couple things that I learned over the previous school year. If you have anything you learned from last year that you would like to tell me about, send it my way smcgever (at) pv dot younglife dot org

We are blessed in our area to have a good leadership pipeline. It starts in WL with junior-junior leadership, strong campaigners groups, a junior leader program, and then a freshman in college year long small group Bible study and leadership training. Each year we look at the needs of each of our clubs, or new clubs that we want to start, and try to place newly trained leaders.

By and large, we have found that, if at all possible, placing people in pairs is so much better than placing individuals. There are several strengths to this approach:

1. Contact work is easier doing it with another leader. Accountability, encouragement, remembering names, strength in numbers, etc.

2. Fitting in with the existing leadership team is easier. They are not solo and then trying to find out who to click with or feeling like they are the only one out of the loop of how things are normally done.

3. Going to camp is easier. Two people fill a cabin quicker than just one.

4. Leaders will usually stay longer since they most likely will form a close bond with the other leader they come on with to the team. The ups and downs will be balanced out often by the other person.

5. It communicates a team approach from the beginning, YL ministry, and even the gospel itself, are not individualistic endeavors, they are meant to be in a community for a community.

There are a lot more things I could say, and even scriptural things, but I will save those for another time. There may even be a few potential challenges as well, but the strengths certainly outweigh these easily.

Do you have any experience sending new leaders in pairs to as leaders?

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