What is one of the most important relationships in your YL Area?

QUESTION:  What is one of the most important relationships in your YL Area?   

(Hint:  It's not what you think.)

ANSWER: _______________________________??

The Area Director/Committee Chair Relationship

Written by Eric Protzman Committee Chair, Intermountain Young Life

The relationship between the Area Director and the Committee Chair may be the most important relationship for introducing kids to Christ and helping them grow in their faith.  Over my tenure of involvement with Young Life, I have grown more and more convicted of the truth of this statement because I’m part of the community.  I'm not staff, I’m a Committee Chair. Let me tell you what I see.

If you ask the question “who really owns Young Life in your community?” a common response is “well, um, actually, it's the Area Director or staff.” It’s true that our current model defines Area Directors as having the greatest vested interest and at times it seems like the the AD “really owns” the local ministry, but if that is our reality we ignore and neglect a tremendously significant group:  the local community and the YL Committee!  As a missional organization, a Young Life staff-person may serve in several communities in their tenure, while the adults who make up the local Committee remain. The adults in a YL Community communicate the ministry of presence as strongly as anyone in town!

The flawed premise of exclusive Area Director ownership can promote the ‘outsourcing’  of ministry to kids in a local community to the local Young Life staff.  However, my growing conviction is that a community has a responsibility for the engagement of kids in their town with the Gospel; it is non-transferrable. Intentional cleaving of ownership from the community leaves key adults underutilized.  We can find ourselves waiting for a list of ‘tasks’ from the Area Director and take on only what we feel like taking on ranging from very much to very little. We treat what help we provide as a gift to the AD, not a responsibility to our kids. In the end, we are delighted to help, but we have missed the true calling because….

There is a Better Way

There is a better way:  100% joint responsibility and ownership between the Committee and Local YL Staff.

When the Area Director/Committee Chair relationship holds 100% joint responsibility for everything that happens in the Young Life Area there is a durable focal point for ministry that belongs to both the community and the YL organization.  There is division of labor tied to gifting and skill sets but the ‘secret sauce’ is not shared labor it is shared responsibility. AD's work hard, but they often work alone. In our 100% model, we are truly in this together.

There are numerous benefits to a strong relationship between the Committee Chair and AD because 100% joint responsibility says, 'whatever happens in the Area, good or bad, is at the feet of the Area Director and Committee Chair.'  Not one...Not the other...Not sometimes. It's always and both. Or, as we have become fond of saying - “It’s Our Town, Our Kids!”

By sharing the responsibility of the local Area between the Committee Chair and AD we gain wisdom, a partner, a friend, a brother or sister in Christ, experience, and know how.   If we don’t get this relationship right we can live in frustration and tension.  However, when the responsibility is jointly held you may discover a deep respect, admiration and love for each other.  The YL staff I have worked closely with have truly become some of my favorite people! I have seen them grow in their gifting, calling and leadership.  To be transparent, I have been changed too. Even though they may transition to other communities or roles, they have kept the same priority of having a strong relationship with their local Chair and I have now seen this model work repeatedly.

When the Committee Chair and Area Director share a common vision and commitment to the local ministry - the result is transformative.  We are in it for each other.  We are in it together. We do have a lot of work to do, but we do not walk in fear. It feels so good to have a partner. It feels so good for our efforts to be focused on introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. If this kind of relationship is what you long for with your Committee Chair or Staffer, the following 4 steps are a good place to start.

4 STEPS to building healthy relationships between the Area Director and the Committee Chair:

1) Protect a weekly one hour face to face AD/CC meeting time (meet by phone as a last resort).

2) Start your meetings with prayer for your relationship, your community and your kids.

3) Tackle the topics, of Faith, Family, Fears and Ministry - nothing is out of bounds.

4) Connect, follow up and encourage each other several times over the week and create a partnership.

If you honor these four simple steps - you will tranform this critical relationship and you will be able to watch it ‘trickle down’ to the rest of the Committee and Community.  Trust me. The Committee Chair is the highest level of volunteerism in your local area. The Area Director is the Senior staffed position in the local area. If the relationship between these two roles embraces the command to ‘love one another’ (John 13: 34-35)  then you stand as an example for everyone else in your community. It’s ‘Our Town, Our Kids!’

Feel free to contact me with questions or let me know how it goes!

Eric Protzman, Committee Chair (ericprotzman@mac.com)

You Have Never Seen This Kind of Cow!

The Central American Camp On Wheels (C.O.W.)

Written by Rodolfo López and Kevin Suwyn

Young Life Staff are Creative, Entrepreneurs and Innovators.  Innovation is not just something we are giving attention to now - but rather - it IS who we are as missionaries, pastors and leaders. Over the past few decades the International YL staff and leadership have exemplified the heart of Innovation as much as anyone in the Mission. Taking a concept from the ‘idea’ stage to something that is translatable across geographies and leadership is sign of a true genuine ‘movement.’  One such idea that has slowly made its way across the mission is the Camp on Wheels or COW.  

There are a few simple steps/questions that a leader needs to answer to create a Movement/Innovation.  Read below to see how the staff in Central America answered those questions step by step.   

Step 1:  DEFINING the Problem/Opportunity

We know it’s true: camp was the best thing to have ever happened to so many of us as teens. Marty Caldwell and Dan Jessup were prodding us to consider how mobile camping could help us with high quality camping even though most countries don’t (and probably won’t) own their own facilities.  We had to take everything we loved about the ‘core’ of YL Camping and fit it to our International ‘context.’  

Step 2: DEVELOPING a Solution

As we met together to consider, dream and pray with the local Costa Rican team, other questions came to the surface as well: 

• What about the thousands (and millions) of our young friends who won’t ever get to go to camp? 
• How do we remove hurdles of funding and distance?
• How do we train and support new ministries (countries) in leader-centered, gospel-centered camping?
• How could we take camp to them, if they couldn’t come to us?

This pushed the conversation to new places as we considered implementing a Camp on Wheels.

Step 3: DECIDING what to Measure

In a “Mega Club” (a one-day activity) we have the capacity to bring together more than 700 kids simultaneously, providing a place that is safe, healthy and fun. We have witnessed first-hand the success of this project as a highly attractive and innovative tool for the most disinterested kids to hear about Jesus. In Costa Rica, the last five COW's have been a key strategy to helping double our impact of kids reached over the year. 

In countries like Nicaragua, we have had the opportunity to carry out a series of Mega Clubs helping local areas impact more than 3000 kids over a months’ time (30% being first timers). This happens in coordination with local team of volunteer leaders and community adult support who are the key facilitators during these events.

The teams in Panama, Honduras, and El Salvador have benefited tremendously by traditional-camping support, and now have developed their team toward healthy leader-centered and gospel-centered camping. COW still is on-call to join in, but as countries have grown, more responsibility is being taken locally in each country.

Step 4: DESIGNING the Pilot

Going back to the planning stage: We moved forward, not really knowing what to build but knowing that we needed to act on something. We shared ideas with Skeet Tingle (Camp Manager at Wilderness Ranch) who made vital decisions, built the COW, packed it, and shipped it. Meanwhile, in Costa Rica we worked on the “urban day camp” or Mega-Club idea. 

• The COW team would work in concert with the local area leaders, prepare a place, obtain the permits, and involve parents and former leaders. 
• Leadership teams would invite their far-out friends and campaigner groups would join this effort as they reached out to their friends as well. The COW team was gathering volunteers to set up, run, and take down the “camp.” 
• One version of COW would be this amazing day event with unique leader/kid events, hospitality, and closing with an evening club event.  This also became a way to model and reinforce great “club” principles and proclamation to the local leaders.

Additionally, we made plans to send the COW to new country ministries with a team. This augments the substandard camp property with a camp-in-a-box set of resources. But even more importantly, brings COW-brought training, a camp speaker, and head counselor when needed. This allowed the receiving team’s leadership to focus on bringing their kids to camp and being the camp leaders.

Step 5: DELIVERING A Model

What came out was a "complementary" approach of truck/trailer and key "space" and "wow" components:

• Augment a rented property having basic services for traditional camp in new countries.  This provides an excuse to send seasoned leaders to support the new work, do assigned team training, and model Christ-centered, leader-centered camping. It was a hit.
• Mega-Club set up in the center of cities, offering simple points of leader-kid connection like carnival games, inflatable climbing wall, wii, octoball, field hockey etc. This has supported area leadership right at home, within walking distance, and in plain view of where kids live:  culminating in the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

We are thankful to God for the creative and innovative way He has surprised us through COW and we are also very thankful for all the people who in one way or another support us, be it through prayers, volunteering or giving financially. This keeps us dreaming of reaching the next kid.

Think About The Llama!

Written By Dan Jessup

My leadership strategy and thinking has changed some over my 30+ years of leading in Young Life.  Today, I think a lot about the llama.  Yep, since you can find these wild and unruly beasts all over South America in the Andes Mountains, I sometimes ponder, what would happen to the mission I lead if I got run over by a llama?  What would happen if I were trampled to death?

Think about it:  one day I will not be leading Young Life in Latin America and the Caribbean, which means that one day, someone else will.  Have I led and am I leading with intentionality so that we have a robust, thoughtful, proactive succession plan (that’s corporate speak for good leadership development) in the works, just in case the llama makes his move?

Jesus knew he had only three years to prepare the leadership to spread the Gospel.  Paul seemed to know that his time on earth was finite, so he got after it with a vengeance.  The apostle Paul sure seemed to think this way in 2 Timothy 2:2. Jesus seemed to be clear in Matthew 28:18.  But for much of my 30+ years of leadership I did not think this way.  I lead, albeit unintentionally (this is the heart of the problem!), as if I would be leading forever.  Things are different now. 

Leadership Trees

For our division, there are two simple strategies that are crucial for combating the llama: the Leadership Tree and the Second Branch Project.  Chances are you have seen the Leadership Tree, you understand the principles, and you have taught the principles.  My question is, do you actually have one yourself?  Do you have one on paper, in your Bible that you look at and pray over, or pull out at area meetings and regional retreats?  Answer:  I do.  In fact, every senior leader in our division has one and by the end of this fiscal year, every volunteer leader in the division will have one!  I might suggest, if you don’t have one in writing, it is likely that you are more susceptible to the llama than you might want to admit.

Second Branches

Second, we have intentionally expanded the influence of the Leadership Tree by identifying the “next best leadership” in the division in what we call the Second Branch Project.  Here’s the simple thinking: I am fairly confident that I will develop the people on my leadership tree (those on my “first branch").  However, those on my “Second Branch” meaning someone else’s “First Branch,” are the next, next future leaders of the mission.  The Second Branch Project is a way for our divisional team to keep in front of all of us who we see as the next best leadership in the development process.  

All of this is just another way of saying we take Jesus’ words seriously about “go and make disciples.”  In doing so, we have a very intentional system of making disciples.  It is more than having a good club,  good campaigner program, large area ministry, good numbers at camp, or a kicking region.  This involves senior leaders being good senior leaders by recognizing one day, the llama will win.  When he does, our intentionality of leadership development will be what determines how well the mission grows and expands long after we are dancing in heaven!  This is not morbid; on the contrary, this is how we should lead with the Spirit as Paul and Jesus led.  

So I say – “think about the llama...”

Enjoy, 

Dan Jessup

Want to create your own Leadership Tree?  Here's a simple download where you can make your own!

Need training on Second Branches?  Contact:  Scott Miedema - smiedema@hotmail.com