YMB: Personal Fall Planning pt 1

Today, I want to talk about some Youth Ministry Basics and there is no better place to start than with Fall Planning.  Youth ministers often get a bad wrap on their organizational skills and I try to avoid that stereotype like the plague! Over the last few weeks I have been working on the next 12 months- scheduling events, planning my teaching, and even gearing up for Summer 2011. This week, I am putting the finishing touches on our Fall calendar and I hope to deliver the finished product (Aug-May) by August 1. Fall planning isn’t just for your youth ministry. Sure you have stuff planned for your teens but what about you and your family? How are you going to rest? How are you going to learn? How are you going to grow?

This year, I used some suggestions from Nelson Searcy concerning my personal planning calendar. While some of these suggestions have always been a part of my planning I really appreciated the concise and creative approach Nelson and his team uses when it comes to helping others plan their year. Maybe some of these things will help you as you look at what  God can do in your ministry over the next 12 months. This year, on a personal level, I am intentionally committing to spiritual growth. I want to be FAITHFUL and FRUITFUL.

Nelson suggests that to be intentional about personal spiritual growth you need to look at your calendar from four perspectives. You need to…

  1. Abandon Annually
  2. Measure Monthly
  3. Withdraw Weekly
  4. Divert Daily

Tomorrow we’ll look at taking the longview and committing the next 365 days to God through Abandoning Annually.