I experienced a first (and hopefully last) in my youth ministry career on Friday night.

I got the church van towed!

That’s right! I parked in an apparent tow zone when I took a group of teens downtown Friday night. I felt so stupid and angry and scared and frustrated and embarrassed and alone and helpless and… I think you get the point. Thankfully, everything worked out fine. No one was angry. No parent took their kids out of the youth group. It wasn’t brought up from the pulpit on Sunday and no one asked me to go forward. It was an event that I don’t ever want to repeat but it was also a learning experience that helped me put into practice some youth ministry basics.

Here is what I learned from the evening:

1) Make first contact with the parents.
Once it was determined what I needed to do and what it was going to take for us to get the van back I called the parents to let them know what had happened. I didn’t dance around what happened and I quickly admitted my stupidity mistake. I was able to make first contact with all but one family- their teen called them on their cell before I could. The ubiquitous nature of cell phones makes this a difficult task for sure but make sure that the parents hear from you sooner rather than later. A great side note: All of the parents were quick to offer assistance. That gave me a little confidence in a tough situation.

2) Name on the Insurance Card
One thing that would have made everything as smooth as silk is if my name had been on the insurance card for the van. (According to the impound lot) In the State of Texas, a tow company can only release a vehicle to the owner/operator of the vehicle. Our insurance card only listed the name of our church. All though I am a registered driver for the van my name was absent from the card. Make sure that your church/business puts your name on the insurance card along with any other drivers registered for the vehicle. One of my youth deacons had to come sign for me and we had to have that document notarized. Big hassle!

3) Keep Your Cool
I wanted to scream, kick, spit, and shove the valets and the (at first) unhelpful tow truck driver. Back in high school this is exactly what I would have done- I would have let my temper get the best of me. When we walked up to the spot where the van had been I immediately saw the fear and confusion in the eyes of my teens. I had to fight against pride and anger (pride in that I knew that they would begin blaming me and I felt stupid enough and anger in that I was so mad at myself and the whole situation) to put on a brave face. “Wait here,” I said, “We’ll figure this out.” I then began talking to the tow truck driver and began weighing my options. My intern said that he and the teens took comfort in seeing that I handled the situation calmly and rationally- for me, that’s a big win.

4) Don’t Park in a Tow Zone
Duh right? When I pulled into the spot I was paying more attention to the meter than the tow zone signs. We were actually parked in the last spot reserved for a restaurant. The sign warning against towing was halfway down the van (as opposed to in front of the parking spot) and I completely missed it. While I still believed that the zone was/is poorly marked that didn’t keep the van from being towed. Just be extra careful when parking in an area you’re unfamiliar with.

I hope that this never happens to you but if it does come back here and leave your story in the comments section so that I can feel like I’m not alone. have a great week!