PreSchool Leadership Development Coaching-System
Content
Youth Ministry Coaching System
!
!
A Coaching System is in essence a middle management position set up amongst
your youth ministry volunteer leaders. The Coaches serve as the middle man between
the youth staff and the adult leaders. The Coach as the extraordinary opportunity and
responsibility of leading a team of adults as they lead your students.
!
Having this in place will help to free you up in some areas, allowing you to focus
your attention elsewhere. It also distributes responsibility to other leaders throughout
your ministry, giving them a sense of ownership and stewardship over the youth
program. Having more adult leaders feeling as if they have stock in your ministry is
always a good thing.
!
You will have Primary Coaches in place as well as Secondary Coaches. Their
roles and responsibilities will be dependent as to which level you want them involved.
More than likely, theyʼll be in charge of a certain student breakdown. For example, you
may have a Primary Coach and one or two Assistant Coaches over all the High School
Boy Leaders.
!
Enclosed in this packet:
Creating a Coaching System in Your Youth Ministry!
Suggested Responsibilities for Coaches!!
!
Case Study of Our Coaching System! !
!
Ideas for Advancing out Current Coaching System!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
2
6
7
8
1
Creating a Coaching System in Your Youth Ministry
I. Dream Big
Select a team of leaders to help you implement a Coaching System
!
Itʼs in your best interest to select a team of adult leaders to help you in this
process. Find sincere leaders that have your youth ministry as a priority in their life and
that you believe would be helpful in mapping out a Coaching System that best fits your
ministry. Make them instrumental in this process and allow them the freedom to dream
big. Give them responsibility in this venture. Not only will they own it more if itʼs resting
on their shoulders, but youʼll also get better results from having a team of people with all
different perspectives, and youth ministry on their hearts.
!
Schedule a series of meetings with your team where they will be conceptualizing,
vision casting, and laying down the specifics of a quality Coaching System. You, the
youth staff, need not be involved in many of these meetings. Give your team the chance
to brainstorm without the added pressure of your approval upon every idea that comes
out of their mouth.
!
For the first one or two meetings, have your team of leaders do nothing but
dream big for your youth ministry. No specifics. Just have them meet with the mindset of
“If we had as many adult volunteers as we needed, how would we run this ministry?”
Have them pray on it, sleep on it, then come back together to lay down the specifics.
Decide the ideal “shape” of your ministry
!
Decide what shape you want your ministry to have. If the impossible were
possible, how would you structure your ministry? How many students for every adult?
How many leaders per small group? How do you want to break down the larger student
groups - Jr. High Girls/Boys, Senior High Girls/Boys, or smaller? How many adult
leaders are needed to do such a thing? How many students do you want your ministry
to be able to handle?
!
This is your chance to mentally create your ideal ministry structure, and then
begin to build a foundational support system that could handle your vision.
!
II. Laying out the Specifics
Map out a time table
!
Decide when you want to implement a Coaching System. Lay out specific dates
for your leader meetings and Coaches meetings. When are you expecting an influx of
leaders and how soon do you need to have quality Coaches waiting on them? When are
2
the leaders going to meet their coaches? How long should your church incorporate a
leader push?
!
Figure out your ideal timetable, making sure all leaders know the schedule, and
begin to make strides toward your goals.
Have your team suggest all possible responsibilities of the Primary Coach
!
Have your team once again brainstorm over all the responsibilities that your
Coaches will have. Again, nothing is off limits, give your team full reign to think outside
of the box. You may be surprised by what they come up with. Again, on much of this the
youth staff need not be involved. You will however write up the final “job description,” but
for now, letʼs see what they come up with.
!
What will the Coachesʼ responsibilities be to the leaders? What will their
responsibilities be to the youth staff? Will they have their own student small group?
What extra weekly/monthly responsibilities will they have? What will they have to teach/
train their leaders? How many leaders will they be over? Will they be responsible for
recruiting other leaders? What will their relationship be to the Assistant Coach? Will
there be “term” limits? What spiritual qualifications are you looking for? What leadership
qualities are important in this role? How will they display a Servant Leadership model?
Etc...
Have your team suggest all possible responsibilities of the Assistant Coach
!
Have your team come up with some responsibilities of the Assistant Coaches.
Will their role be any different from that of the Primary Coach? Or will they just be
training to be a Primary? Will the Assistant Coachesʼ responsibilities be dictated by the
Primary Coaches, or will he have a predetermined set of responsibilities?
Combined their suggestions and write up an official “job description”
!
Keeping in mind everything that your team suggested, write up a final job
description for the Coaching position that best suits your vision and needs of your
ministry. Remember in most cases these Coaches will be volunteer leaders and you
want to make sure that, while creating a position of heavy responsibility, you give them
what a volunteer can handle, while still producing superb results.
III. Selecting a Coach Your Leaders Deserve
Who would be an extraordinary Coach?
!
Pray that God will bring the right leaders into light. Look around at your current
leaders. Ask yourself if anyone youʼve already selected to be on your team has the
suitability of a Coach. Who else in your church has a passion for youth ministry as well
as a passion to bring up leaders? Decide who best fits your responsibilities and
3
approach them with the finalized version of the “job description”, written by the youth
staff. Make sure the Assistant Coaches not only agree to their role, but to that of the
Primary Coach as well.
IV. Implementing the Coaching System
Plan an event where you, the youth staff, will introduce the Coaches
!
This event has to be intentional, with the purpose of introducing the Coach as a
direct representative of the youth staff. It may not suffice to introduce them at a regular
leader meeting, especially if they have been a youth leader for quite some time, - it
simply wonʼt have the same impact. The leaders, both old and new, need to hear it from
YOU, what the new Coaching System looks like and the Coachesʼ responsibilities.
!
The leaders need to know everything they should expect from their Coaches.
This will help to smooth out any rough spots that may surface, especially with the
leaders who have been leading for quite some time and may have an “entitlement”
mentality. You owe it to your Coaches to paint a vivid picture to their leaders of what
they, and you, should expect out of the Coaches.
!
This initial meeting will pay off dividends in the end if conducted right. You can
save your Coaches a lot of distress by laying out a clear understanding to your leaders
that your Coaches are in a leadership position and are a direct representative of you
and the youth staff.
!
It is up to you whether or not you want to introduce your Coaches to the students
in their new role. It will most likely depend on the responsibilities you come up with
concerning the Coachesʼ interaction with their student groups.
Give your Coaches sufficient time to spend with their leaders
!
In disseminating your Coachesʼ responsibilities, youʼll probably institute one that
has your Coaches planning their own outside-of-church-meetings and unity building
events, however, it is imperative that you plan your new Coachesʼ first meeting with their
leaders. Make sure they are given the opportunity to talk to their new leaders, cast their
visions, and take their own leaders suggestions about the direction of their student
groups.
!
This initial meeting has to take place. Do not simply jump into the grind of your
Coaching System without giving your Coaches proper time to express their visions to
their leaders. It may be proper to allow time for this during the same meeting that you
introduce your Coaches to their leaders.
Step out of the way
!
From this point on, give your Coaches the freedom to shepherd their leaders.
Youʼve selected them because they were quality individuals that youʼve trusted with your
4
ministry and you believed them worthy to lead, and lead successfully. Obviously all final
decisions need to be filtered through you, but let them know they are free to be
Coaches.
!
You may see all of your Coaches heading in different directions. This isnʼt a bad
thing. You never know what the end results may be. You may have one set of Coaches
hosting regular youth ministry training events while another team is taking their student
group through a community outreach program. As long as you and your church
approve, and you feel youʼve got a good handle on things, let your Coaches lead their
student groups and adult leaders as they see fit.
V. Ongoing Implementations:
Allow “Coach Time” during your regular leader meetings
!
Most ministries will have weekly youth leader meetings before or after the youth
event. Make sure you allow sufficient time for your Coaches to take over and address
their leaders. It may not be plausible to do this every week, but a couple of times a
month should suffice.
!
This is important for a couple reasons. For one, it keeps your Coaches in front of
their leaders and reminds them of the Coaching System. This will be especially helpful
during the early stages of the Coaching System, when itʼs still new to everyone.
Whether or not the Coach is passing information that is of substance, (hopefully it is) itʼs
important for them to regularly be in front of their leaders to remind them of the system
that has been put into place. And it will help the Coaches themselves in constantly
reminding them of their position and responsibilities as a leader.
Have weekly meetings with your Coaches
!
This is the best way for you to feel the vibe of your leaders. While another weekly
meeting may be a source of frustration, itʼs imperative that you are regularly connecting
with your Coaches. They need to constantly be reassured of your support and your
trust. If done correctly, these meetings will spur them on to do great things and will be
very affirming to them.
!
A good time to fit these meetings in may be at the end of your weekly youth
event. A quick five minute meeting should be all you need to get a grasp on how the
evening went through their eyes, get a gage on the feel of their leaders, and pass any
ongoing information.
5
Suggested Responsibilities for Coaches
I. Primary Coachʼs Responsibilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To act as the middle man between the youth staff and the adult leaders.
Sit in on student small groups, assisting their leaders in their needs.
To act as a substitute when a leader is gone.
To meet weekly with their leader at youth events, passing any word from the youth
pastors, encouraging them, and praying with them.
Meeting once a month, outside of church, to build unity and accountability.
The ongoing training of their leaders as to how to lead a student small group.
Following up with their leaders whenever they miss a night of youth.
Constantly be finding ways of giving their student groups their own identity.
What ever other responsibilities tasked out by the youth staff.
II. Assistant Coach
!
They have the basic responsibility of training to be a Primary Coach. Some
Coaching Teams may want to divide up specific Coaching responsibilities amongst all
Coaches over a certain student group.
6
Case Study of Our Coaching System
I. The Need for a Coach
!
The need for a Coach arrived when we realized that all of the adult leaders could
not possibly be getting the individual attention, prayer, training, and resources they
needed from the limited youth staff.
!
Couple that with plans to have a huge leader drive on the weekend services in
hopes of recruiting 100 new adult leaders, it became increasingly evident that the youth
staff would be challenged in sufficiently leading a group of quality leaders of that
multitude. In short, we wanted to dream big, but needed to have a smooth system of
trickle down leadership in place.
!
The youth staff wanted smaller, more personal sized small groups, which led to
the need of many more adult leaders. While recruiting large numbers of leaders is one
thing, making sure they are well trained, cared for, and challenged is quite different.
!
We also noticed that our retention rate for leaders was not so great. One of the
possible reasons for this was that they were not getting the special attention they
needed. If they had an issue in their life, work related, family, spiritual, etc., they may not
have had ample opportunities to make the youth staff aware of it.
!
We developed the idea of putting Coaches in place over the adult leaders; a
middle management kind of position.
!
II. How We Implemented Coaches
!
We broke the students into four basic groups: High School Guys, High School
Girls, Jr. High Guys, Jr. High Girls. While they can be broken down more, currently with
the staff and leaders on hand, this seemed best for now.
!
We had meetings to outline what kind of leader would be a good Coach, and
what their responsibilities would be. We combined our thoughts and ideas together, and
the youth staff made up a final “job description” based on our suggestions.
!
We also developed the idea of having an Assistant Coach for every Primary
Coach. The thought process behind this is that every Coach would constantly be
training another leader to take his spot.
!
We then approached each prospective Coach to inquire if they would be willing
and able to take the responsibility. Each prospect accepted the role.
!
After the student groups had been identified and assigned their Coaches, we
made sure the Coaches were introduced to the leaders and made it known that they are
direct representatives of the youth staff. We also made sure that every Coach had
sufficient time to meet with their team and discuss their vision and direction for their
student groups. After meeting their leaders and understanding their responsibilities, the
Coaches were then free to lead their teams.
7
Ideas for Advancing our Current Coaching System
I. Take Advantage of the Level of Student Breakdown
!
!
Weʼve got a new student “classification,” (Mid-High Girls/Boys, High School Girls/
Boys) and while weʼve always had that, with the implementation of Coaches, theyʼve
developed a new identity. This can be used for the better of the ministry by giving the
students a sense that they are part of a smaller community within the mass sea of
students. All of the sudden we have a more manageable and agile series of student
groups. I would build on this by:
• Bringing it to the Studentsʼ attention more often. It makes their community a little
smaller and a little more comprehensible.
• Each one of the four large student groups pick a cause/service project to work
towards during a semester and let the Coaches manage the details on their level.
This would make four different service projects happening in a semester, versus
one, such as Spring Crash, that would unite them behind one purpose for several
weeks/months as they build up towards the event.
• Weʼre too large to have a church camp or mission trip? Let the Coaches bring their
groups to one, or host their own.
• Once a month have a game where the four students compete against each other.
This will aid in reminding the students of their new community. Keep an ongoing
score of the games and the outcomes and at the end of the semester or year,
throw a party for the winning group.
• Maybe a once a year, have numbers boosting tournament that spans over the
course of four to five weeks. The teams compete and the score is brought over to
the next week, scoring from a variety of games, sports, and challenges, but the
biggest points booster of all - bringing friends. We did something like that in
California every year called Tournament Series and it paid off HUGE. The winning
team went to a water park or something. This would work well along side of Big
Switch.
• And any other ways to build on the community of students at this level...
II. Have the Coaches Be Intentional in the Ongoing Training of Their Leaders
!
A lot of the leaders, especially the ones that come to our ministry as the result of
a large leader push, have no experience with youth ministry, or simply mentoring a
teenager. A lot of information gets covered in the initial orientation, but after that, the
training stops. Some issues that are common to people who have been around youth
ministry for a while, and come quite natural, are sources of frustration for new leaders.
8
This will quickly lead to them feeling inadequate. Off the top of my head, some issues
that may arise, and need to be intentionally covered by Coaches:
• How do you keep a group conversation going?
• Whatʼs your responsibility when the student tells you something in confidence that
you believe the parents need to know - sex, drugs, alcohol, etc...
• How should you handle a phone conversation?
• How do you lovingly handle unruly students?
• How detailed do you allow yourself to be with your own struggles?
• We ask them to build relationships with the parents. What are some practical ways
of doing that? This freaks out a lot of leaders.
• At what level do you get the youth staff involved with discipline?
• What are some telling signs of a hurting student?
• What kinds of physical contact are appropriate?
• etc...
!
Looking back, I remember a lot of these were questions I had when I first took a
Jr. High Small Group. I had never been in youth ministry before and none of these came
natural. I can only assume we have leaders with the same questions.
!
I know another weekly or monthly meeting is not the answer, but some where
along the way, a training session, once or twice a year, with breakout groups or
something, may prove to be extremely helpful. As youth leaders, we never stop
learning, reading, and going to training events, and in some way, we should allow
learning opportunities for our leaders as well.
III. More Leader Personal Attention
!
The Coaches have to be intentional about meeting outside of church, one-on-one
with their leaders. This is a HUGE benefit that a healthy Coaching System allows for
and we have got to take advantage of it.
!
A short, one-on-one, get together between the leaders and their coaches only
has to be once or twice a semester to produce a favorable result. This will help to solve
the problem of low retention rates. If each leader feels as if theyʼre being heard, and
cared for, theyʼre much more likely to stick around. Itʼs one thing to have leader
meetings and training seminars, but every leader, one on-one-over coffee with their
coach from time to time, will send us lightyears from where we are right now. I know we
talk about personal attention, and outside-of-church meetings, but the Coaches have to
make this an intentional priority.
!
9
!
!
A Coaching System is in essence a middle management position set up amongst
your youth ministry volunteer leaders. The Coaches serve as the middle man between
the youth staff and the adult leaders. The Coach as the extraordinary opportunity and
responsibility of leading a team of adults as they lead your students.
!
Having this in place will help to free you up in some areas, allowing you to focus
your attention elsewhere. It also distributes responsibility to other leaders throughout
your ministry, giving them a sense of ownership and stewardship over the youth
program. Having more adult leaders feeling as if they have stock in your ministry is
always a good thing.
!
You will have Primary Coaches in place as well as Secondary Coaches. Their
roles and responsibilities will be dependent as to which level you want them involved.
More than likely, theyʼll be in charge of a certain student breakdown. For example, you
may have a Primary Coach and one or two Assistant Coaches over all the High School
Boy Leaders.
!
Enclosed in this packet:
Creating a Coaching System in Your Youth Ministry!
Suggested Responsibilities for Coaches!!
!
Case Study of Our Coaching System! !
!
Ideas for Advancing out Current Coaching System!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
2
6
7
8
1
Creating a Coaching System in Your Youth Ministry
I. Dream Big
Select a team of leaders to help you implement a Coaching System
!
Itʼs in your best interest to select a team of adult leaders to help you in this
process. Find sincere leaders that have your youth ministry as a priority in their life and
that you believe would be helpful in mapping out a Coaching System that best fits your
ministry. Make them instrumental in this process and allow them the freedom to dream
big. Give them responsibility in this venture. Not only will they own it more if itʼs resting
on their shoulders, but youʼll also get better results from having a team of people with all
different perspectives, and youth ministry on their hearts.
!
Schedule a series of meetings with your team where they will be conceptualizing,
vision casting, and laying down the specifics of a quality Coaching System. You, the
youth staff, need not be involved in many of these meetings. Give your team the chance
to brainstorm without the added pressure of your approval upon every idea that comes
out of their mouth.
!
For the first one or two meetings, have your team of leaders do nothing but
dream big for your youth ministry. No specifics. Just have them meet with the mindset of
“If we had as many adult volunteers as we needed, how would we run this ministry?”
Have them pray on it, sleep on it, then come back together to lay down the specifics.
Decide the ideal “shape” of your ministry
!
Decide what shape you want your ministry to have. If the impossible were
possible, how would you structure your ministry? How many students for every adult?
How many leaders per small group? How do you want to break down the larger student
groups - Jr. High Girls/Boys, Senior High Girls/Boys, or smaller? How many adult
leaders are needed to do such a thing? How many students do you want your ministry
to be able to handle?
!
This is your chance to mentally create your ideal ministry structure, and then
begin to build a foundational support system that could handle your vision.
!
II. Laying out the Specifics
Map out a time table
!
Decide when you want to implement a Coaching System. Lay out specific dates
for your leader meetings and Coaches meetings. When are you expecting an influx of
leaders and how soon do you need to have quality Coaches waiting on them? When are
2
the leaders going to meet their coaches? How long should your church incorporate a
leader push?
!
Figure out your ideal timetable, making sure all leaders know the schedule, and
begin to make strides toward your goals.
Have your team suggest all possible responsibilities of the Primary Coach
!
Have your team once again brainstorm over all the responsibilities that your
Coaches will have. Again, nothing is off limits, give your team full reign to think outside
of the box. You may be surprised by what they come up with. Again, on much of this the
youth staff need not be involved. You will however write up the final “job description,” but
for now, letʼs see what they come up with.
!
What will the Coachesʼ responsibilities be to the leaders? What will their
responsibilities be to the youth staff? Will they have their own student small group?
What extra weekly/monthly responsibilities will they have? What will they have to teach/
train their leaders? How many leaders will they be over? Will they be responsible for
recruiting other leaders? What will their relationship be to the Assistant Coach? Will
there be “term” limits? What spiritual qualifications are you looking for? What leadership
qualities are important in this role? How will they display a Servant Leadership model?
Etc...
Have your team suggest all possible responsibilities of the Assistant Coach
!
Have your team come up with some responsibilities of the Assistant Coaches.
Will their role be any different from that of the Primary Coach? Or will they just be
training to be a Primary? Will the Assistant Coachesʼ responsibilities be dictated by the
Primary Coaches, or will he have a predetermined set of responsibilities?
Combined their suggestions and write up an official “job description”
!
Keeping in mind everything that your team suggested, write up a final job
description for the Coaching position that best suits your vision and needs of your
ministry. Remember in most cases these Coaches will be volunteer leaders and you
want to make sure that, while creating a position of heavy responsibility, you give them
what a volunteer can handle, while still producing superb results.
III. Selecting a Coach Your Leaders Deserve
Who would be an extraordinary Coach?
!
Pray that God will bring the right leaders into light. Look around at your current
leaders. Ask yourself if anyone youʼve already selected to be on your team has the
suitability of a Coach. Who else in your church has a passion for youth ministry as well
as a passion to bring up leaders? Decide who best fits your responsibilities and
3
approach them with the finalized version of the “job description”, written by the youth
staff. Make sure the Assistant Coaches not only agree to their role, but to that of the
Primary Coach as well.
IV. Implementing the Coaching System
Plan an event where you, the youth staff, will introduce the Coaches
!
This event has to be intentional, with the purpose of introducing the Coach as a
direct representative of the youth staff. It may not suffice to introduce them at a regular
leader meeting, especially if they have been a youth leader for quite some time, - it
simply wonʼt have the same impact. The leaders, both old and new, need to hear it from
YOU, what the new Coaching System looks like and the Coachesʼ responsibilities.
!
The leaders need to know everything they should expect from their Coaches.
This will help to smooth out any rough spots that may surface, especially with the
leaders who have been leading for quite some time and may have an “entitlement”
mentality. You owe it to your Coaches to paint a vivid picture to their leaders of what
they, and you, should expect out of the Coaches.
!
This initial meeting will pay off dividends in the end if conducted right. You can
save your Coaches a lot of distress by laying out a clear understanding to your leaders
that your Coaches are in a leadership position and are a direct representative of you
and the youth staff.
!
It is up to you whether or not you want to introduce your Coaches to the students
in their new role. It will most likely depend on the responsibilities you come up with
concerning the Coachesʼ interaction with their student groups.
Give your Coaches sufficient time to spend with their leaders
!
In disseminating your Coachesʼ responsibilities, youʼll probably institute one that
has your Coaches planning their own outside-of-church-meetings and unity building
events, however, it is imperative that you plan your new Coachesʼ first meeting with their
leaders. Make sure they are given the opportunity to talk to their new leaders, cast their
visions, and take their own leaders suggestions about the direction of their student
groups.
!
This initial meeting has to take place. Do not simply jump into the grind of your
Coaching System without giving your Coaches proper time to express their visions to
their leaders. It may be proper to allow time for this during the same meeting that you
introduce your Coaches to their leaders.
Step out of the way
!
From this point on, give your Coaches the freedom to shepherd their leaders.
Youʼve selected them because they were quality individuals that youʼve trusted with your
4
ministry and you believed them worthy to lead, and lead successfully. Obviously all final
decisions need to be filtered through you, but let them know they are free to be
Coaches.
!
You may see all of your Coaches heading in different directions. This isnʼt a bad
thing. You never know what the end results may be. You may have one set of Coaches
hosting regular youth ministry training events while another team is taking their student
group through a community outreach program. As long as you and your church
approve, and you feel youʼve got a good handle on things, let your Coaches lead their
student groups and adult leaders as they see fit.
V. Ongoing Implementations:
Allow “Coach Time” during your regular leader meetings
!
Most ministries will have weekly youth leader meetings before or after the youth
event. Make sure you allow sufficient time for your Coaches to take over and address
their leaders. It may not be plausible to do this every week, but a couple of times a
month should suffice.
!
This is important for a couple reasons. For one, it keeps your Coaches in front of
their leaders and reminds them of the Coaching System. This will be especially helpful
during the early stages of the Coaching System, when itʼs still new to everyone.
Whether or not the Coach is passing information that is of substance, (hopefully it is) itʼs
important for them to regularly be in front of their leaders to remind them of the system
that has been put into place. And it will help the Coaches themselves in constantly
reminding them of their position and responsibilities as a leader.
Have weekly meetings with your Coaches
!
This is the best way for you to feel the vibe of your leaders. While another weekly
meeting may be a source of frustration, itʼs imperative that you are regularly connecting
with your Coaches. They need to constantly be reassured of your support and your
trust. If done correctly, these meetings will spur them on to do great things and will be
very affirming to them.
!
A good time to fit these meetings in may be at the end of your weekly youth
event. A quick five minute meeting should be all you need to get a grasp on how the
evening went through their eyes, get a gage on the feel of their leaders, and pass any
ongoing information.
5
Suggested Responsibilities for Coaches
I. Primary Coachʼs Responsibilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To act as the middle man between the youth staff and the adult leaders.
Sit in on student small groups, assisting their leaders in their needs.
To act as a substitute when a leader is gone.
To meet weekly with their leader at youth events, passing any word from the youth
pastors, encouraging them, and praying with them.
Meeting once a month, outside of church, to build unity and accountability.
The ongoing training of their leaders as to how to lead a student small group.
Following up with their leaders whenever they miss a night of youth.
Constantly be finding ways of giving their student groups their own identity.
What ever other responsibilities tasked out by the youth staff.
II. Assistant Coach
!
They have the basic responsibility of training to be a Primary Coach. Some
Coaching Teams may want to divide up specific Coaching responsibilities amongst all
Coaches over a certain student group.
6
Case Study of Our Coaching System
I. The Need for a Coach
!
The need for a Coach arrived when we realized that all of the adult leaders could
not possibly be getting the individual attention, prayer, training, and resources they
needed from the limited youth staff.
!
Couple that with plans to have a huge leader drive on the weekend services in
hopes of recruiting 100 new adult leaders, it became increasingly evident that the youth
staff would be challenged in sufficiently leading a group of quality leaders of that
multitude. In short, we wanted to dream big, but needed to have a smooth system of
trickle down leadership in place.
!
The youth staff wanted smaller, more personal sized small groups, which led to
the need of many more adult leaders. While recruiting large numbers of leaders is one
thing, making sure they are well trained, cared for, and challenged is quite different.
!
We also noticed that our retention rate for leaders was not so great. One of the
possible reasons for this was that they were not getting the special attention they
needed. If they had an issue in their life, work related, family, spiritual, etc., they may not
have had ample opportunities to make the youth staff aware of it.
!
We developed the idea of putting Coaches in place over the adult leaders; a
middle management kind of position.
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II. How We Implemented Coaches
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We broke the students into four basic groups: High School Guys, High School
Girls, Jr. High Guys, Jr. High Girls. While they can be broken down more, currently with
the staff and leaders on hand, this seemed best for now.
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We had meetings to outline what kind of leader would be a good Coach, and
what their responsibilities would be. We combined our thoughts and ideas together, and
the youth staff made up a final “job description” based on our suggestions.
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We also developed the idea of having an Assistant Coach for every Primary
Coach. The thought process behind this is that every Coach would constantly be
training another leader to take his spot.
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We then approached each prospective Coach to inquire if they would be willing
and able to take the responsibility. Each prospect accepted the role.
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After the student groups had been identified and assigned their Coaches, we
made sure the Coaches were introduced to the leaders and made it known that they are
direct representatives of the youth staff. We also made sure that every Coach had
sufficient time to meet with their team and discuss their vision and direction for their
student groups. After meeting their leaders and understanding their responsibilities, the
Coaches were then free to lead their teams.
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Ideas for Advancing our Current Coaching System
I. Take Advantage of the Level of Student Breakdown
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Weʼve got a new student “classification,” (Mid-High Girls/Boys, High School Girls/
Boys) and while weʼve always had that, with the implementation of Coaches, theyʼve
developed a new identity. This can be used for the better of the ministry by giving the
students a sense that they are part of a smaller community within the mass sea of
students. All of the sudden we have a more manageable and agile series of student
groups. I would build on this by:
• Bringing it to the Studentsʼ attention more often. It makes their community a little
smaller and a little more comprehensible.
• Each one of the four large student groups pick a cause/service project to work
towards during a semester and let the Coaches manage the details on their level.
This would make four different service projects happening in a semester, versus
one, such as Spring Crash, that would unite them behind one purpose for several
weeks/months as they build up towards the event.
• Weʼre too large to have a church camp or mission trip? Let the Coaches bring their
groups to one, or host their own.
• Once a month have a game where the four students compete against each other.
This will aid in reminding the students of their new community. Keep an ongoing
score of the games and the outcomes and at the end of the semester or year,
throw a party for the winning group.
• Maybe a once a year, have numbers boosting tournament that spans over the
course of four to five weeks. The teams compete and the score is brought over to
the next week, scoring from a variety of games, sports, and challenges, but the
biggest points booster of all - bringing friends. We did something like that in
California every year called Tournament Series and it paid off HUGE. The winning
team went to a water park or something. This would work well along side of Big
Switch.
• And any other ways to build on the community of students at this level...
II. Have the Coaches Be Intentional in the Ongoing Training of Their Leaders
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A lot of the leaders, especially the ones that come to our ministry as the result of
a large leader push, have no experience with youth ministry, or simply mentoring a
teenager. A lot of information gets covered in the initial orientation, but after that, the
training stops. Some issues that are common to people who have been around youth
ministry for a while, and come quite natural, are sources of frustration for new leaders.
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This will quickly lead to them feeling inadequate. Off the top of my head, some issues
that may arise, and need to be intentionally covered by Coaches:
• How do you keep a group conversation going?
• Whatʼs your responsibility when the student tells you something in confidence that
you believe the parents need to know - sex, drugs, alcohol, etc...
• How should you handle a phone conversation?
• How do you lovingly handle unruly students?
• How detailed do you allow yourself to be with your own struggles?
• We ask them to build relationships with the parents. What are some practical ways
of doing that? This freaks out a lot of leaders.
• At what level do you get the youth staff involved with discipline?
• What are some telling signs of a hurting student?
• What kinds of physical contact are appropriate?
• etc...
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Looking back, I remember a lot of these were questions I had when I first took a
Jr. High Small Group. I had never been in youth ministry before and none of these came
natural. I can only assume we have leaders with the same questions.
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I know another weekly or monthly meeting is not the answer, but some where
along the way, a training session, once or twice a year, with breakout groups or
something, may prove to be extremely helpful. As youth leaders, we never stop
learning, reading, and going to training events, and in some way, we should allow
learning opportunities for our leaders as well.
III. More Leader Personal Attention
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The Coaches have to be intentional about meeting outside of church, one-on-one
with their leaders. This is a HUGE benefit that a healthy Coaching System allows for
and we have got to take advantage of it.
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A short, one-on-one, get together between the leaders and their coaches only
has to be once or twice a semester to produce a favorable result. This will help to solve
the problem of low retention rates. If each leader feels as if theyʼre being heard, and
cared for, theyʼre much more likely to stick around. Itʼs one thing to have leader
meetings and training seminars, but every leader, one on-one-over coffee with their
coach from time to time, will send us lightyears from where we are right now. I know we
talk about personal attention, and outside-of-church meetings, but the Coaches have to
make this an intentional priority.
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