Aaron Faucett  Minister of Youth Bible Baptist Church Wilmington, Ohio

Putting together a team to lock arms with and serve a generation who is to carry on the torch of the Gospel, is a very humbling yet necessary task. These workers will serve in Sunday School, youth nights on Wednesday, and many events that will be scheduled throughout the year. We must not forget that these are volunteers. They have full time jobs and/or families at home and now they are being asked to serve an estimated 300 hours of their time per year? Below are some steps to keep in mind for these most important warriors of the faith.

1. Recruiting workers

• This first and most vital step has to be surrounded with spiritual preparation. This involves prayer, Godly discernment and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Personally, I went through our church directory and specifically asked the Lord to put the faces in front of me who He wanted to serve teenagers. We currently have 10 youth workers, which is a ratio of 1-10 students. These individuals are servant minded and have faithfully lined up with church leadership from the get go. They are seasoned in serving with the little things which carry over in the big things that youth ministry offers.
• Balancing out the ages of workers is always something to take into account as well. Some are younger and can speak the same language of a teen while others have the gift of experience and are apt to teach. Before they begin, they must take some time and pray about it themselves to make sure this is not an emotional stirring, but a spiritual one. To have a worker commit for possibly the long term will benefit unity and greater relationship building amongst the students as well.

Part 2 will discuss retaining and motivating workers.

afaucett@bbcwilmington.org