Like many of you, we get the opportunity to do a lot of youth work in the local secondary school. On a weekly basis we provide lunch-time clubs, we walk around the school grounds building relationships and we have even started teaching a few Religious Education lessons. For the lunch-time clubs, the school gave us a disused classroom in which to meet…and I mean disused in every sense of the word!
But recently the school allowed us to repaint and decorate this space. We are nearly finished with the project. And this week while we meticulously peeled off tape, cleaned light covers and scraped up accidental drips, I remembered why it was so important to do a thorough job in situations like this. (And no, it’s not just because it fits my perfectionistic tendencies!)
For many of the staff, this will be the only time they see any of our work. And it will be the only thing they will use to decide if we are any good at what we do! Most teachers will never come into the classroom when we are leading a lunch-time talk or group game. And members of the senior staff will never see us offering a listening ear to a broken-hearted teenager whose world has just collapsed. The only thing they will see is the classroom we just painted…and by it they will judge how seriously and how professionally we take our role of caring for youth.
It is no different in a church setting. How clean do you leave the space behind you when you leave? For many in the church this will be the only tangible piece of data they have to assess your abilities. The lead minister will not be there when you teach the Sunday school lesson. The elder team will not be at the Friday youth club. But they will be there to see if you have left a mess behind.
You may not like it. You may think it’s not fair. But it is reality. And, if you want to grow in your leadership and influence…if you want to be the kind of youth minister who’s voice can help lead the church into the future…you will learn that one of the most important things you can do is keep the youth room clean.
Categories: Youth Ministry Resources
Updated: 28 Mar 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Hi everyone! I am Jamie Gurling and I started studying at Reign this year. I am 19 and from Glasgow in Scotland. I left high school in 2022 and I thought the next step was obvious, to go straight into further education, just the same as everyone else. So, I followed the norm, moved city […]
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Updated: 18 May 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
As a ministry we have been reviewing how we deliver the degree progamme in a way that fits both our vision and DNA, whilst still providing quality training for the next generation of disciple-making leaders. From September 2023 we implemented some changes and we are excited to see how God is going to lead us […]
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Updated: 26 Apr 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve – designating them apostles – that they might be with him and that he might send them out…” (Mark 3.13-14) Where do I start? I had just started my first real ministry role in […]
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Updated: 29 Mar 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Is Bigger Better? The bigger your youth group, the better, right? We get a special energy from the buzz of a crowd. We believe that when we’re connected to more people we’re able to have more impact. But is this really the case in youth ministry? Most of us have the feeling that this approach […]
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Updated: 22 Feb 2023 | Posted by: kmckinnon
If you were to attend one of our Expand Training Experiences you will hear our team talk about discipleship. That’s because it is the foundational to who Reign Ministries is. During our Expand: Online training you will learn the tools to help you be effective in your discipleship of young people. Watch the video below […]
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Updated: 8 Feb 2023 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Where Is God Calling Me? I have a calling to youth ministry. But 30 years ago – I had no idea! I remember sitting in a marquee at a Christian music festival as a teenager, listening to a speaker talking about ‘Hearing God’s Call’. This was something I was wrestling with, so I figured that […]
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Updated: 8 Apr 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Exciting news! Reign Ministries is excited to announce we have a new college we are linking with for an undergraduate degree! Moorlands College will be the new home for our degree students from September. For over 20 years, Reign Ministries has played a key role in the development of a youth pathway for an undergraduate […]
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Updated: 24 Mar 2025 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
Learning from those that have gone before you. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” writes the wise King Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He saw that life can sometimes resemble a treadmill, where history simply repeats itself and continues in a loop. […]
Read moreUpdated: 16 Dec 2024 | Posted by: Charlie Morris
After a few years of considering this move, the trustees and leadership have decided the time is right to try and sell the building we affectionately know as “the moto” (in it’s former life it was a motorcycle sales and repair shop). This building has served the charity well over many years, as a base […]
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