Intentionality in goals is a key to increasing results
Leadership habits not only teach something to our youth; they reinforce it – shifting it to long-term memory and application.
One of the habits I identified numerous years ago related to the FIRST gathering of any church small group or youth group, at the start of a new year.
Level #1 intentionality: Identify ‘your five’ (those each member desires to encourage toward faith in Christ)
- Annual habit: The activity includes listing (1) their names, (2) any hindrances to faith – for prayer and conversation, and (3) their interests – which are good connection points personally, and for your small group.
- Quarterly habit: If the leader gets a copy of first names and interests – small groups / youth groups could do TWO socials per team based around their listed friends interests. (15 groups members, listing 5 friends each, yields 75 people’s interests. There will be common interests!)
- Monthly habit: You then pray for these friends every month as a group.
- Monthly habit: On a different week of each month you create opportunity for testimony relating to anyone a group member has attempted a spiritual conversation of some type with… This applauds the action you desire (attempting conversations), while providing encouragement.
Any leader actually doing this will soon know the results – and will rave about this like I do!
Habits build culture. Culture will yield results!
Level #2 Intentionality: Establish a wider picture of personal growth goals
This relates to the first discussion of the year – an includes the above as a subset.
This is ‘level two’ leadership, for those beginning to perceive the PATTERNS that exist in leadership. If results are random, you can’t repeat the results. If you can learn why the way you led one year yielding great results – it might be repeatable (and the things noted here are).
- January: Have your youth set personal goals in various areas at the start of the year.
- Discussion guide: View a suggested ‘first discussion guide for the year’ here – while considering the thinking it represents.
- (Please forgive the terrible formatting.)
- Remember:Request and collect a summary of each person’s goals, including their ‘five’ (name +interests) afterward
- To perceive: Their goals are your mandate / ‘permission card’ for speaking into things in the year ahead. Their goals empower your discussion topics and application points – to help them achieve the goals THEY defined. However, beyond this you could remind different ones individually at various points in the year of their goals and things they could do to succeed in them.
- Discussion guide: View a suggested ‘first discussion guide for the year’ here – while considering the thinking it represents.
- June: Plan to revise this with all member in a discussion time in June or July – with a copy of their goals placed back in their hands.
- November: Then plan to revise (for testimony) the same again as a final discussion time on their desire to grow – timed near the end of the year – for a final time giving a copy of their goals back to them for discussion.
If you kept THEIR goals alive – some might some grown in some significant ways.
> These are then called testimonies – bringing encouragement, then strengthening momentum.
> Note: They can now TESTIFY to the MEASURABLE growth that occurred in their lives because they came to your youth group because of your INTENTIONALITY!
(Potentially every person could testify! That is quite-some achievement. When you get that kind of testimony, year-upon-year, you will get a new kind of momentum too – with group health, vibrancy, positivity and growth all enhanced.)
Intentionality is key to results in disciple-making!
- Could you put notes in your calendar relating to the points above?
- Could you then run that first discussion – collecting goals and each persons ‘five’ to bring a new level of INTENTIONALITY to your disciple-making?
I’ve done it, and I’ll never look back.
(Note: A PDF of the discussion guide is above.)
