I registered in an online youth ministry conference and tonight is the third installment in a four-week series. So far, I've learned ideas and lessons from the first two weeks: the importance of involving the family in youth ministry, how to disciple the youth in an online setting, and how to understand them. I've been into several youth leadership seminars and training, and I can attest to how valuable they are for the ministry to thrive. And I'm looking forward to the culmination of the online conference next week. 

Tonight, my key takeaway is this: we need to reach them before we teach them. 

Influencers

I remember when I was still new in the church where I am currently involved. I don't have friends. I talk to some people but being an introvert, such a feat churns me from the inside. But I'm glad my leaders then invested time in me. My first leader, who now became one of our pastors, challenged me to join a spelling competition just for fun. I obliged, and I won! From a timid boy, soon some youth noticed me. My leader's intention to push me into the limelight led me to have some friends, most of them became my buddies for life. 

The succeeding leaders that I had also invested time for me and several other youth my age. They brought us to places outside the church to treat, to play with us, and to celebrate our wins in life. They were eager to ask questions and are available to listen to our stories. They are hands-on leaders. 

Still, one of my older leaders allowed us to have a peek at her personal life. She told us stories and testimonies, her frustrations, prayer requests, and even questions. She allowed us to see her for who she is. She is genuine, without any pretensions. And that is one of the best traits I've learned about leadership - that no one is perfect, even the ones we look up to.

My turn

When it's my turn to lead, I tried to emulate everything I learned from my mentors. I tried to be an "encourager", a "generous leader", and a "transparent mentor". On top of these, I tried to teach my subjects everything that I think I know might help them in life. I teach them knowledge. I try to wow them with facts and information. 

But why do some do not end up the way I expect them to be? After learning, why am I not seeing results? My takeaway from tonight's lesson provided an answer: perhaps I haven't reached out to my subjects on a personal level, so the results are just superficial. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care”

Recalibration

I learned that to effectively disciple the youth under my care, I need to "know their world." Mere lessons lose impact when the recipient is still assessing whether they can trust me or not. Leadership is influence, and what we desire is to prepare people for lasting results. 

I noticed that I was effectively trained by my previous leaders because they first invested in me. They thought it is wise to befriend me, know my story, know what I like and what I don't. They jumped into my world. They won my trust. So their lessons, their instructions get through me. This relational method is as old as time but remains to be effective. And I know it will still produce results if I keep this in mind. 

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Hi, I am Marts! Aside from read.cash, I also run my blog - martsvalenzuela.com. I plan on growing my readership while learning to improve my craft and journey towards my passion to write and publish books that add value to people.

Carpe Diem!