We asked your fellow youth workers, “When a young person approaches you with an issue beyond your expertise, what do you do?”
Here’s how they answered:
Elizabeth Towns: “Pray, find a trusted expert, and move forward.”
Gayland W Grant: “Sit down and work through the ISSUE with the person and see what the real problem is.”
Bette Ireland Klein: “I can’t do what I can’t do. I pray, and ask God to guide me. Then I refer to someone with the expertise to help. If the person is unwilling to use the help, I do the best I can with God’s help and I grow.”
Brian Lee: “It depends on the issue … ultimately there is nothing beyond our expertise because the Bible is central and helpful in all issues. But if it comes down to an issue that is a dire situation, it’s best to leave the professionals to the job — not to mention legal matters are avoided when one leaves the professionals to do the work in harder situations.”
Doug Slaymaker: “Yes, pray and seek a resource for them.”
Melinda Picone Parry: “Get help.”
Angie Merkow Hardin: “Pray for Gods direction and guidance and stay present so I can follow it.”
Jason Huffman: “The worst thing to do is to try to do it all when we are in over our heads. If it’s a severe psychological/counseling issue, I refer to a Christian counselor. If it’s a deep spiritual matter and we feel unqualified, that’s what sr. pastors are for. Always pray and let the student know you are trying to do what’s in their best interest and referring out of love, not because you don’t want to help.”
Steve Patton: “I find qualified people who can help. Fortunately, we have some professionals in our congregation that can give assistance in certain areas. The tricky part is IF you use lay people, they cannot say they are offering their services as professionals. They are just being a help as a brother or sister in Christ. If you say it’s professional help — or professional counselling — you’re going to get into insurance issues yada yada.”
Jason Seay: “Listen and then find the right people to help. I stay in the mox because the last thing you want to do is appear to “dump” the kids problems on someone else. They need to know that you care enough to find better help than yourself.”
What do you think? Chip in with YOUR experiences or advice below!
