Wait for it… Wait for it… Wait for it… BOOM! Club, campaigners, contact work, meetings, meetings, meetings (REPEAT). As a YL leader we know how to crank out these things and more to serve the purpose of sharing the great news of the gospel. But, if we aren’t careful we can simply get off and running before we know it.
For many of us right now is the calm before the storm… the YL event storm. I think every club/area benefits from thinking through and praying for a few things to focus on this year. The options are limitless. Don’t get too analytical and experience decision paralysis. Pick a worthy aim or two and go for it. Our area picked two. Here are 25 ideas to consider:
- Prayer: Hold monthly prayer on campus
- Prayer: Assign prayer partners
- Prayer: Team leader sends out weekly prayer request text message to leaders
- Prayer: Begin a team prayer journal to keep track of requests and praises
- Prayer: Begin a prayer wall or canvas
- Contact Work: Assign leaders so a leader is on campus for the 1st 30 days of each semester
- Contact Work: Commit to handing out donuts every week
- Contact Work: Every leader identifies 3 campaigners kids, 3 club-going kids, 3 contact work kids by name to focus on
- Contact Work: Try out some contact work cards 😉
- Contact Work: As an area play the monthly contact work game
- Club: Try at least two clubs/events per semester that might fail because they are different from the norm
- Club: Plan an all-area or crash a different club once a semester
- Club: Once a month have a 100% student-led club
- Club: Make a plan to follow up with every new kid at club within 24 hours
- Club: Really work on better having better club talks (more coming on this later at YLHelp)
- Leadership: Every other week have a person who used to lead YL share with your team and pray for them before club
- Leadership: Have a local pastor come and encourage your team once a month
- Leadership: Once a month have your team meeting combined with another YL team
- Leadership: Read a chapter of Letters to a Young Life Leader to your team before club
- Leadership: Watch a TED talk once a month and ask how it could apply to YL
- Team Building: Plan a training each month (talks, skits, music, Bible, theology)
- Team Building: Plan monthly team hangout
- Team Building: Clarify leadership expectations and accountability (raise the bar)
- Team Building: As a team, maybe with campaigners, go to church together every 6th week
- Team Building: Have each leader develop personal goals for the year in three areas: Spiritual Life, YL Leadership, Life Direction. (More on this eventually… We are doing this right now)
I could add ideas for so many other categories: campaigners, camp, communication, etc. But before the YL whirlwind hits, pick two to three ideas and give it a shot, doing this might add a breath of fresh air and an occasional curveball to your normal YL leadership routines.
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