1. L E A RN F ROM O T HE R L E A DE RS from Doug Fields
FOR STARTERS
In what ways are you learning
TRAINING on the GO
A healthy volunteer is always learning. If you want that to describe you, it’s
from other youth ministry important to get in the habit of regularly asking yourself, “Am I learning from
volunteers? other leaders in ministry, or am I simply repeating others’ mistakes?” Another
question might be, “What lessons should I be learning from another leader?”
Who are two people you have By asking these types of questions, you’ll keep learning on your radar and
learned from in ministry? move along the path toward becoming an ever-better youth leader.
If there are several volunteers on your youth ministry team, you probably have
IN T HE TRENCHE S tons of experiences and lessons you can share with each other. To make this
kind of learning a goal, you must possess humility; a desire to learn requires
being humble enough to know that you always have more to learn.
Today I left a soda can on my desk,
and a few minutes later, it was full Here are a few ways you might consider helping one another to become
of ants. To remedy the situation, better learners:
I got rid of the can and scattered
some ant-killer substance; within Learn from others’ life experiences. It’s valuable to share your own life
a few minutes, the ants were experiences with the other volunteers and learn about their life experiences.
swarming in it and dying. Satisfied Not only will knowing about one another’s experiences help your ministry
with my solution, I raced off to a team, but your students can benefit from what you learn about one another,
meeting. When I returned, I was as well. For instance, imagine that a student is dealing with a tough family sit-
surprised by how many more ants uation (that doesn’t take much imagination, right?). If you know that another
had gathered and died; new ants volunteer has been in a similar situation, you’ll be able to direct that student
just kept showing up to devour the to a volunteer who’s able to use personal experience to relate to the student.
mystery ant-killer substance.
Learn from past mistakes. A common trap for those of us in leadership
Do you have the scene in your is the fear that others will see our weaknesses and failures. Though it is
mind? OK, now imagine what the
difficult to admit failures, it is often through the confession of our mistakes
scene might look like if one of the
that others learn and succeed.
brighter ants decided to do some-
thing about the situation. What if an Leaders need to be learning from one another’s mistakes and painful
ant put up some kind of ant sign: experiences. Don’t limit your sharing to your good experiences; learning from
“Danger. Stay back. Eat this and the past (all of it) is a great way to prepare for future ministry. I’ve made plenty
die!” A simple warning would have of mistakes and have seen my share of failures and hurts. But after 25-plus
saved the day for countless ants. years of youth ministry, I become a helpful asset to other leaders when I share
What’s the moral of this random those painful experiences—and what I’ve learned from my failures and hurts.
and silly illustration? First, don’t God won’t waste my hurts. He’ll use them to help others.
allow other youth ministry leaders
Train for the future. Get in the habit of arriving at your volunteer leader
to ingest ant-killing substance. A
better moral might be: Learn from meetings with the goal of sharing with others. Ask for advice, help train others
one another and warn one another, in skills you’ve developed, share the problems you’ve encountered, and make
and your youth ministry will be a commitment to keep sharing and growing as a team. As you support one
long-lasting and effective. another in your failures, you’ll create an accepting environment where learning
is valued. During your times together, look for opportunities to ask fellow
volunteers to share about what they’re learning in their ministry to students.
Learning is essential to leading. If you aren’t committed to learning, you’ll
either continue making mistakes or miss growth opportunities. Learning
from the experiences of others will maximize your ministry effectiveness
and prepare you to better meet your students’ needs.
YOUTH LEADER TRAINING ON THE GO

2. L E A RN F ROM O T HE R L E A DE R S
CONNECT to God’s Word T O T HE POINT
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and • Value learning and make
it part of your culture.
pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and • Pursue humility.
effective.” —James 5:16 • Learn from others’
experiences.
• What place does confession have in learning from
TRY I T
others?
• How are you currently learning from someone
else’s failures or successes? Find a file folder, and label it “my
experiences.” Keep it within easy
• Which of your failures and successes will others
reach. On the outside of the file,
learn from? make an identifiable grid of what’s
inside. For example, “1. personal
experiences, 2. painful experiences,
Write a response and prayer to God here… 3. ministry experiences, and
4. spiritual experiences.” Then,
every week, take some time to
write on index cards key words
that fit with each of these four
headings. Number the index cards
(1–4), and file them accordingly.
Before your volunteer meetings
(or when you’re hanging out with
youth leaders or the youth pastor),
grab the file. During your time
with other volunteers, share one of
your current stories so others can
learn from you. These experiences
will enhance your ministry to
students as well as help train other
volunteers who are humble enough
to learn.
MA K E IT PER SONAL
Permission to photocopy this handout granted for local church use. Copyright © Doug Fields. Published in Youth Leader Training on the Go
by Group Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 481, Loveland, CO 80539. www.youthministry.com and www.simplyyouthministry.com