Author: Pastor Steve Duffy
Creating opportunities and equipping young people to own different parts of ministry doesn’t come easy. Further, there is the temptation to overrun them while they are getting started in doing the work of the ministry. In general, every parent-guardian has a similar temptation with responsibilities they turn over to their young person at home. What might we do as young people are growing and learning through their initial experiences to encourage them in the journey rather than overrun their efforts?
It is helpful to think about a few general activities of equipping; 1) identify, train, and open an opportunity to lead/own a part of the ministry, and 2) to observe, provide feedback, and continue to nurture them in their growth.
For the first part, identifying the right students is important. I don’t want to just hand over any responsibility to any student. The requirement has to be more than someone that is breathing! There is some work involved in trying to find a good fit, especially when it comes to responsibilities of leading others, or other responsibilities that require planning and organization. Their observed maturity and character matters. So to does their spiritual giftedness, talents/skills, and fit in terms of working solo or interacting in a team. Parental input is always important to check on all the previous, but also to assess commitment and availability from their perspective. As all the previous are considered, then door must be opened from them to step into and actually ride bike with training wheels.
I use the training wheels analogy because it reminds me of teaching my own kids to ride a bike. As they started out with a small bike with training wheels, there were many indicators that they were new at it; difficulty in getting a start given the unfamiliarity of the peddling motion, constant side to side correction in steering while riding down the sidewalk, lack of knowing how to use the brakes (and therefore steering into the grass to stop), etc. As time went on it became clear that my child was mastering movement, steering, and brakin. So much so that I was imagining them without training wheels. So there is that moment when the words “let’s try this without training wheels” is heard. And with that, there go the training wheels and the for a bit it seems we are back at square one. The previous skills now need to be refined to accommodate the extra attention needed on balance. Not long after my kids mastered that which put them on a path of increased skill and eventually graduation to larger bikes.
I share all this because I recall often the temptation to reach over there and grab the handlebars or the back of the seat to help correct them as soon as I saw the wobbly handlebar motion or the possible collision ahead. And at times I did this prematurely rather than let them course correct as part of the learning. This is the temptation with helping students lead or run parts of the ministry. I have to be ok with the training wheels and the awkward navigation of their initial attempts in doing the work of the ministry knowing that they will continue to learn and grow
Photo by Alejandro Lopez on Unsplash
