What I Learned From Leading A Cohort
After finishing 12 years of ministry, I launched my first Student Ministry Circle Cohort last fall with eight participants from all over the country to collaborate on discipling teens to be followers of Jesus in strategic and healthy ways. Overall, it was a successful nine-week run, and I am excited to announce that we will launch our second cohort at the end of February. Here are my non-exhaustive thoughts that I learned from the cohort that apply to life and ministry:
Read Challenging Books One of the books we read in the cohort is from a non-Christian author. She's a social scientist who looks at research throughout the decades to examine who different age groups are. It is a challenging read, on par with upper-level seminary-type classes. Still, it eliminates any presuppositions on who we're ministering to and shows us what it is like to be a student in 2024, Monday through Saturday. All the participants raved about the book even though it was something they never would have chosen to read themselves, and they were glad we read it together.
And that is why we have to read challenging books. Books by non-Christians, books at a higher level of learning, books that are different from two or three authors we always read. As Tim Keller once said, "When you listen to and read one thinker, you become a clone; Two different thinkers, you become confused; Ten thinkers, you'll begin developing your own voice; Two or three hundred thinkers, you become wise." Reading challenging books from a different perspective will allow you to develop your voice and become wise.
Share Your Story In the cohort, every student develops and shares a case study from their ministry. The only parameter is that it has to be something that they went through that sticks out to them and that they are willing to share. A situation with a challenging student. A last-minute change of logistics on a mission trip. Interoffice dynamics between a supervisor and employee. Letting difficult volunteers go or navigating mandated reporting situations from start to finish. So many different stories have been and could have been shared, and listening and learning from them is excellent.
Your story matters. How you walked through situations and what you learned can impact others in their ministry. And since I am no expert and don't have the secret sauce of ministry, even after all the years of ministry I have been through, I can still learn and grow in wisdom from others' experiences. 2 Corinthians 1:4 tells us that God comforts us in our affliction so that we can then comfort others in their affliction. A similar application can drawn towards ministry experience and wisdom. In sharing what I have gone through and learned, you can learn from my experience whenever you face it, even if it doesn't exactly fit. One participant who is brand new to student ministry shared in his evaluation after the cohort that the case studies alongside the reading gave him the confidence that he was in year three of ministry rather than month three.
Don't Do Ministry Alone Ministry can be a demanding and isolating profession. It's easy to feel constantly evaluated by your students, parents, and church, especially since you might be paid for your work. It's a challenging job that can take a toll on you, so doing it with others is essential. Whether you join a local network of youth ministers or a cohort to learn and develop, having an avenue to talk and share what you're going through with people who understand can be incredibly beneficial. It can boost your longevity in ministry and refresh your soul.