“A seat at the table…” This is the metaphor I’ve been using as I seek to articulate the way I feel called to serve these days. Wherever churches or youth ministry workers are endeavouring to disciple young people… I want a seat at that table! With my passion and my experience and training I am deeply convinced I can be an asset if I can be invited to have a seat at that table.

So, thank you so much for inviting me to the table!

Allow me to lean in to the metaphor of the table.

What you’ll find below is a “menu” of sorts. Simply having a seat at the table is a privilege. And like I said, I believe I have much to offer. Allow the following “menu items” to serve as a bit of a starting point for some of the types of conversations we could have, or the more specific areas I can contribute to the conversations you’re already having about the spiritual formation of young people.

Foundational Priorities and Values

• Priority on Jesus-Centred Spiritual Formation
  • I am deeply convinced that young people today, when directed to a life of radical surrender to Jesus, have the capacity to revive the church and change the world!
  • I desire to help youth ministries move beyond “youth group” and genuinely pursue equipping and empowering young people to know Jesus and make Him known.
  • Youth ministries today often tend to underestimate the spiritual maturity teens are capable of. Too often getting stuck with a glorified youth baby-sitting service called “youth group” where young people are not invited into the radical life of transformation and sacrifice Jesus invites them into. Common systems of church-based youth group are often stuck simply helping “churched kids become churched adults.”
  • I want no part in that. Again, I am deeply convinced that young people today, when directed to a life of radical surrender to Jesus, have the capacity to revive the church and change the world. That’s what I want to be a part of.
  • I will unapologetically push to move beyond “lowest common denominator youth group” and fight for creating a youth ministry which invites young people into life-changing, life-giving, life-long relationships with Jesus Christ.
  • I hope to help churches to realize the potential church-wide fruit (not only for 12-18 year olds) of having a youth ministry filled with young people who are fired up for Jesus.
• Be a “logic disruptor”
  • Organizations can inevitably end up with blinders on - doing things a certain way “because that’s how we do it.”
  • My personality is such that I am typically not afraid to ask hard questions and call out non-functioning status quo when I see it.

Approach: Coaching Before Consulting

Perhaps it’s worth adding some framework. I use “invited to the table” illustration because I see it as a shared space. Given the choice between a table and a lecture hall, I choose table every time.

With that in mind, I want to come to the table assuming you are the expert in your context. Chances are good I’ve been in a situation similar to the one you are processing, so I hope to have a good sense of how to support you, but you are the expert — you know your students, your environment, your history, etc… In any of the areas listed below, I hope to help you gain a greater awareness of your context and the resources you already have at your disposal. I hope you help you see the challenges and obstacles in front of you from some different angles and ultimately help you create a plan to move forward into the hopes and dreams you already have.

Youth Ministry Coaching “Menu”

Having had the opportunity to be in youth ministry for nearly 25 years, I been able to learn and experience a LOT. I got to see things work, see things fail, try new things, struggle through things, re-think things, etc… I want to “share my diploma” with you! Take a look at the “menu” below.

Note: the following headings marked with an arrow bullet are collapsable.

Develop Mission, Vision and Values

Ministry Analysis and Evaluation

Discipleship Pathways / Spiritual Formation with Students

Leadership Development

Parent Resources

Building Culture in Youth Ministry

Relational Support

Personal Formation/Boundaries