Raising Indigenous Leaders

Transcription

1 Raising Indigenous Leaders What we learned by interviewing 81 young urban leaders who grew up in an urban neighborhood and who are doing relational ministry in an urban neighborhood. Contact information: Marvin Jacobo.

2 Contact: Marvin Jacobo.

3 THINK TEAM How can I Use these Findings to Develop my volunteers and staff?

4 What Stuck?

5 Heads Up Parking lot questions or thoughts that you want addressed but may need to wait until the end of the workshop. Appendix at the end of your notes show the graphs from the survey.

6 Share your story of being discipled toward being a leader. (Groups of 3) Pay special attention to: Key people who have had significant, positive influence on your development. Key experiences that strengthened or deepened your faith commitment. Key steps in helping you mature into leadership (3 Minutes)

7 Raising Indigenous Leaders Why this is so important. What s the best strategy? What does the research say? How can we increase our knowledge? How can all this shape our ministries?

8 Indigenous Leadership Research Project How did we do it? Answering the question: What factors contribute the most to developing urban indigenous leadership?

9 How did we do it?

10 Indigenous Leadership Research Project Key Findings: 1. Relationships matter most. 2. Catalytic life events move young leaders forward. 3. Young leaders must develop internal motivation. 4. We must provide leadership opportunities. 5. Relational mentors are the key.

11 Relational mentors are the key! Mentorship is a spiritual growth relationship in which a more mature person helps to guide a less mature person within the context of a close relationship. It is about a consistent, ongoing relationship of listening, learning, dialog, and challenge.

12 Relational mentors are the key! Relational mentorship = indigenous leadership No relational mentorship = no indigenous leadership

13 Relational mentors are the key! What good activities might urban youth workers be spending their time doing if they aren t laser focused on executing a mentorship/discipleship strategy?

14 The Research Shows: Relational mentorship = indigenous leadership No relational mentorship = no indigenous leadership

15 The Process Relational Mentorship Spiritual Discipleship

16 Practical Implications Role Models come in all shapes and sizes. Nurture a trust based relationship with a wise one that is along in life s journey (Mentors). How Much Weight Have You Placed On Cultivating Both Role Models And Mentors? Friends, Mentors, Heroes? Train your staff and volunteers To Have Quality Mentoring Relationships That Have Purpose.

17 What s Sticking?

18 4 Stages of Indigenous Leadership Development:

19 Stage 1: Initial Relational Investments Time Frame: 0-12 months-prayerfully!! Relationship Characteristics: Adult will almost always be the initiator and continue initiating. Fun! But little trust. Point young person to make a first time decision to become a Christ-follower. Word and Prayer is peppered into the relationship.??

20 Stage 2: Turning Spiritual Corners Time Frame: 3 -??? Months- PRAYERFULLY! Relationship Characteristics: Growing in time spent and trust. Youth makes first time decision to be a Christian. Higher commitment to club meeting and/or Bible study. More time in Word and Prayer together. Urban youth speaking into our lives.??

21 Stage 3: A Call to Discipleship Time Frame: 9 -??? months Relationship Characteristics: More closeness and trust, but still issues. Discipleship (vs. just friendship) is invited by adult and defined for student. Relationship is more structured and specific. Accountability and admonishment are increasing, but so is encouragement.???

22 Stage 4: A Challenge to Give Back Time Frame: 3-5+ years? Relationship Characteristics: High level of trust. Student growing closer to Jesus and therefore demonstrating growing victory over moral and character issues. Time in Word and Prayer significant. Youth are ready to begin relationships with other youth to intentionally take them through the mentoring/discipleship process.???

23 What s Sticking? Reflective Exercise

24 Reflective Exercise How much time during the week do you spend doing relational mentoring? How much time a week do you spend modeling relational mentoring to others? How much time a week do you spend training relational mentoring to others? Think of the youth you are building relationships with (not the youth your volunteer team is building relationships). Decide what stage they are in with you. Stage 1? 2? 3? 4?

25 Reflective Exercise Now, think of your volunteer team. Which one of your volunteers have only been able to achieve Stage 1 with an urban student? Stage 2? Stage 3? Stage 4? Do you have volunteers who aren t even at Stage 1 yet with a young person? Categorize your entire volunteer team into the stages based on the strength of their relational mentoring abilities.

26 Think What does this exercise tell you about your relational mentoring focus? What does it tell you about the relational mentoring abilities of your team?

27 Within the Mentoring Two life skills (according to the research) that your urban youth must possess!! 1Victory Through Catalytic Life Experiences. 2Develop Internal Motivation.

28 Catalytic Life Experiences Turning Negative Life Experiences into Positive Life Opportunities. Equip our young people to Embrace and Build on Negative Catalytic Events Rather than Avoiding them. How Can Your Leadership Team Make Spiritual and Relational Investments During these Events? Can We be Intentional In our Programming So that our Young People can be Equipped to Turn Lemons into Lemonade? Traditional (training based) Leadership Development Programs Don t Get Into These Issues It s Done Via Relationships.

29 Bamboo and Urban Leadership Young urban leaders must have the strength of bamboo. Able to bend, blend with circumstances, adjust to change, and overcome adversity, they can meet any challenge with courage and compassion. Adapted from The Tao Of Personal Leadership by Diane Dreher

30 Catalytic Life Experiences: Making Lemonade out of Lemons Listen Well. Ask Good Questions. Remind them of God s Love and Grace. Ask them permission to ask a probing question. Share your stories transparently.

31 Catalytic Life Experiences: Making Lemonade out of Lemons But Joseph replied, "Don t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Genesis 50:19-20

32 Catalytic Life Experiences: Making Lemonade out of Lemons The Lord says, "I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. Joel 2:25

33 Their Past is a Mentor for Their Future The Lord allowed you to go through everything you have been through, both positive and negative, for a reason. Romans 8.28 You might never know or understand the reasons why you went through some things. But be assured that God, who began a good work in you, will complete it. Phil. 1.6 Nothing touches your life unless it has gone past God s desk. He has allowed it because it will build you for what lies ahead. 1Peter 2.9

34 THINK THROUGH YOUR PAST The thing, event, circumstance, or person that affected me most in the past and still tends to affect me most in my present role is. It tends to affect me in this way. If I imagine my past as a mentor, this is what I believe my past should teach me _.

35 City Life Curriculum YFC.org/citylife

36 Key Survey Findings (Review) 1. Relationships matter most. 2. Catalytic life events move young leaders forward. 3. Young leaders must develop internal motivation.

37 Developing Internal Motivation Taking Personal Ownership of their faith. Salt them with the Word. Ask a lot of questions, listen to the answers. Give them a dream for their life. Expose them to godly people. Give them experiences and memories. Equip them for life in all its fullness (John 10.10) Pray for them and with them.

38 Key Survey Findings (Review) 1. Relationships matter most. 2. Catalytic life events move young leaders forward. 3. Young leaders must develop internal motivation. 4.

39 Provide for them Meaningful Leadership Opportunities

40 The whole cause of our ministry must also be carried on in a tender love for our people. We must let them see that nothing pleases us more than what profits them. We should show them that what does them good does us good also. We should feel that nothing troubles us more than what hurts them. English Puritan Richard Baxter, Watch Your Walk: Ministry From a Heart of Integrity. Love Them Love them Sincerely Love them for a Long Time.

41 Questions?

42 Contact information: Marvin Jacobo.

43

44 Project Work Product 81 Indigenous Leadership interviews transcribed 81 Indigenous Leadership interviews transcripts coded in a statistical analysis program Numerical rankings of the 81 interviews in spreadsheet form Multiple spreadsheets and graphs that explore the different cross sections of the data A one page summary of our most critical research findings Recommendations for the practical applications of our research findings Recommendations of further research that could be pursued as a result of our findings

45 Family influence (both +/- influence) decrease as person moves into ministry. Exemplars influences decreases as person moves into ministry. All relationships decrease in influence (save mentors) as intrinsic motivators increase. Identifying Mentors increases significantly as person moves into ministry. Family (the absolute value of the two scores together +/-) is an even higher influence number than mentors. Negative exemplars were very small in comparison to the positive. Role of Mentor from growth into ministry is critical, because of the weight of working through the emotional/thought process of catalytic events (see Holistic Domain Observations).

46 Practical Implications Relationship Generated Ministry is our Strategy. Which Relationships are most impactful and when on life s journey? Train Your Staff And Volunteers on how to practice Relationship Building Skills

47 Overcoming Life Crisis All Results ongoing special leader opp catalytic intrinsic mentors friends family exemplars bible prayer Negative To Positive Catalytic Life Experience E.G. Joseph, School Dropout, Poverty What Did The Data Say? The (-) to a (+) Catalytic Experience is the most commented upon factor from the social domains These catalytic experiences are most 0 Initial Growth Ministry

48 Relational mentors are the key! Groups of 5 (10 minutes) 1. Define close/trusting - How do you know that the urban youth had begun to trust you? How long does it take to build trust? How do you get to that place of closeness and trust? 2. Define consistent - How often should you meet with a mentee? How many hours a week might you spend with them? Why? What do you think it communicates to urban youth if we aren t consistent with them? 3. Define ongoing - How long should we mentor them for? When should we expect for them to be mature (say mature enough to be Volunteer in Training and eventually Volunteers/Staff?) What if they are too old for our ministry?

49 Overcoming Life Crisis Negative To Positive Catalytic Life Experience E.G. Joseph, School Dropout, Poverty What Did The Data Say? The (-) to a (+) Catalytic Experience is the most commented upon factor from the social domains These catalytic experiences are most frequently commented upon during initial and growth stages A substantial drop in references occurs when young people move into ministry stage

50 Practical Implications Equip our young people to Embrace and Build on Negative Catalytic Events Rather than Avoiding them. How Can Your Leadership Team Make Spiritual and Relational Investments During these Events? Can We be Intentional In our Programming So that our young people can be equipped to turn crap into fertilizer? Traditional (training based) Leadership Development Programs Don t Get Into These Issues It s Done Via Relationships

51 Relational Results mentors friends family exemplars Initial Growth Ministry

52 Raising Indigenous Leaders: God cares about it more than you! May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

53 Practical Implications Role Models come in all shapes and sizes. Nurture a trust based relationship with a wise one that is along in life s journey (Mentors) How Much Weight Have You Placed On Cultivating Both Role Models And Mentors? Friends, Mentors, Heroes Train your staff and volunteers To Have Quality Mentoring Relationships That Have Purpose

54 250 All Results ongoing special leader opp catalytic intrinsic mentors friends family Initial Growth Ministry

55 Practical Implications HOW DO YOU DEVELOP INTRINSIC MOTIVATION? Pray for your young people Salt them create a thirst in them for the things of Christ including the Word. Year long Curriculum Will Be Rolled out in September Blogs beginning in April will discuss this Regional Conferences 3 hours of training practical roll out ideas for you

56 250 All Results ongoing special leader opp catalytic intrinsic mentors friends family exemplars bible prayer Initial Growth Ministry

57 Practical Implications What specific valuable Ministry Opportunities can you create For Young Leader Prospects? We learn best by doing. How do you develop intrinsic motivation in your young people and volunteers? You salt them...you create thirst for the Lord and his Word by creating a thirst in them. You pray for them and ask the Holy Spirit to whisper to them..or hit them over the head!

58 Practical Implications Ground them in God s Word not in you. Direct them to the Word. Equip them to live by God s values not rules. Don t give them the answers let them discover. How do you train volunteers to do this

59 Conclusions In your efforts to raise indigenous leaders: Are you promoting and emphasizing the need and value for raising urban leaders? How do these insights spur your thinking on how to better raise leaders? Much more training to come on this topic: 3 hours of training at Regional (you, volunteers, young people Year worth of curriculum turning evil into good. Blogs that will raise questions for discussion and give direction on how to best use these findings.

60 Conclusions What do you take home from this and implement? Questions???? Let us know what you need from us.

61 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

62 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 1 Thessalonians 3:9

63 Relational mentors are the key! Relational mentorship = indigenous leadership No relational mentorship = no indigenous leadership

64 As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:6b-7

65 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

66 Encouraging: 1Thess This is about affirming and blessing. It is finding your mentee doing something right and praising them. Rewarding what you want repeated. It is helping them discover their unique gifting and contribution.

67 Comforting: 1Thess Is all about helping your mentee through the difficult things. When life gets hard and when ministry gets hard, we walk alongside to provide comfort and support.

68 1Thess 2.12 Urging: Is about challenging your mentee-nudging them and pushing them to improve and grow. It is about stretching them and not letting them settle. Relationship(Trust): Is what gives me the right and insight to encourage, comfort and urge my mentee on toward the likeness of Christ.

69 Paul s Strategy 2 Timothy 2.2 You have heard me (monologue/dialogue) teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. (NLT)

70 Jesus Strategy And He went up on the hillside and called to Him [for Himself] those whom He wanted and chose, and they came to Him. Mark 3.13 (AMP) More time spent with fewer people equals greater impact. The amount of life change in a mentee is equal to the amount time spent with the mentor.