Another post from 20’s Church.
I left Heather and Maria last weekend for my roommate’s wedding in Williamsburg, Va. In my absence, I knew I would have to turn over the keys to the social media. I thought this wouldn’t be a problem because I knew there would be no hiccups in my absence.
Then I left.
I texted Heather more times than I care to admit about things to tweet and when to Instagram and how many blog posts were scheduled. I went into micro-management mode.
Why?
Our social media is my baby. I was the one who clicked on the “Sign Up” buttons on Twitter and Instagram. I was the one whotried five different variations until we landed on @20sChurch.
I imagine the same is true for many of your ministries.
Your ministry is your baby.
It’s hard to hand over the control of something you’ve raised. You feel like you care more about your ministry than anyone out there. However, for your ministry to be successful, you need to let others own it.
I stepped back from our social media on Saturday and Sunday, and of course, there were no problems. Our accounts sent out great info, and we gained followers through our new friends at Central in Las Vegas.
The same story happened at The Porch in Dallas. The Porch is the young adults’ ministry of Watermark Church and sees around 3,300 young adults each Tuesday night. This wasn’t always the case, though.
John “JP” Podluka, the young adult pastor, told us that The Porch was stagnant for a while. JP sat down with his team to see what was wrong, and at the end of the day, they landed on one idea.
“We started doing ministry through people.”
The staff started giving volunteers the chance to own the ministry. We attended The Porch on Tuesday night, and every team meeting before the night started was lead by a group of volunteers. They now facilitate an environment where volunteers can do the heavy-lifting.
When this shift happened, JP and the whole Porch team said the ministry began to explode. For having 3,300 young adults in attendance every week, the Porch staff consists of only six full-time staff. And the humility of that staff is what makes them successful.
Throughout our time in Dallas, we heard the staff time and again say that they weren’t the most well-equipped people to do all aspects of the ministry. When it comes to video, lights, music, first impressions, finances or whatever it is, Greg Crooks, a member of The Porch staff, summed it up best.
“We need [volunteers]. They’re better at it.”
When you admit that 20’s may be better at some aspects of ministry than you are, you’ll stay humble as well as empower young leaders.
If you don’t trust your 20’s, they’re going to know that you don’t value their input and then won’t feel valued. Let your 20’s grow up. Don’t micro-manage them. Let them tweet. Let them make decisions. Let them lead. Let them do ministry.
Taylor Snodgrass 