Last month, February 18 to be exact, was my 3 year anniversary at Alexandria Covenant Church. Not long, I know, but still significant. I’ve grown and learned a lot through my time here so far. Here are some of the learning points for me. Most of them are things we all know already, but it’s one thing to know it, another thing to experience it.

1. Anything that’s instant and fast is rarely as good as something that takes time. That’s certainly true with food and it definitely applies to relationships, as well.

2. I can’t have a relationship with every kid in the youth group. With a group of around 200 active students every week, that’s obviously unrealistic, but I’d like to think I can at least have a casual relationship with most of them. Unfortunately, there are some who won’t even make eye contact with me or, if I try to initiate a conversation, it’s like sitting down to talk with a fire hydrant. Kinda disappointing, even hurts a little, but I guess that’s why it’s so important to have such a great team of adult leaders who can connect with the students who avoid me.

3. Sometimes doing the right thing means doing the very unpopular thing. I cash in chips of credibility in order to do what’s best for people when they don’t even know it or like it.

4. People’s perceptions of me usually translate into their perception of the ministry, both the good and the bad. So I try to just be myself and stay true to my values in ministry and hope that it rubs off.

5. I really need to spend more of my time focusing on what I’m good at and be more intentional about delegating everything else, or be content to let a some things slip by.

6. It’s always great to have open and honest communication with your sr. pastor. I definitely value that about my relationship with John, and the mutual respect and trust we share.

7. Not every good idea someone has is a good idea for our ministry. That’s especially true for all the church companies who are competing for our budget dollars, but it’s also true internally regarding ideas from parents, teens, and youth leaders. Sometimes I must be the guardian of the vision to keep us on course. Saying no to a good thing is often very necessary.

8. The pressure to perform and run growing programs is always there, even when no one puts it on you. It’s self-inflicted, probably based on insecurity. I have to be intentional about reminding myself that the focus should be on growing people, not programs, which is often a much slower process. See #1.

Posted on March 11, 2010