On vacation this past summer in Galveston, Texas, I saw a book for sale called Rules of Thumb, which contains 1,000 “general principles of living.” It gives guidance on things such as which puppy to pick from a litter, the appropriate age to get your child a library book and driving advice. I realized that youth ministry has a bunch of these very same “rules of thumb” that I have picked up through the years. Here are my top 10:
Number 10
Because we all know food and youth ministry go hand-in-hand, we also know a common question is how much food to buy. When figuring this out, the following simple rule applies: No one ever will be upset if you have too much food, but it’s never OK not to have enough. Do your best to estimate how much you’ll need and err on the side of too much.
Number 9
Getting more specific, when ordering pizza (the perfect, blessed youth food), if you have a general idea of how many people will be there and estimate each person will have three slices, multiply the number by three, then divide by eight (the usual number of slices). Always round up, and add one whole pizza (see Number 10). For instance, if you are expecting 25 people to come, the equation is: 25 x 3 / 8 = 9.4. Round up to 10 and add one; order 11 pizzas. If you think some will want two and some three, multiply by 2.5 instead. Also, most pizza places will give you a volume discount. Ask to speak to a manager when ordering.
Number 8
For retreats, take a plastic tarp with you to be used when unloading luggage. If the ground is muddy when you’re unloading belongings, the tarp will protect them from getting dirty, which is especially important for pillows!
Number 7
Preview all group movies or use Internet resources such as commonsensemedia.org to make sure it’s appropriate. There’s nothing worse than sitting through a flick and realizing too late that you picked the wrong one.
Number 6
On retreats, “Lost and Found” should be the very last thing you do…before you leave. Gather the students into a room and hold up the lost items. If no one claims them, don’t take them home; give or throw them away.
Number 5
Youth leaders always should keep the following in their cars: a first-aid kit, flashlight, swimsuit, towel, blanket, football, kickball, basketball, baseball and two mitts, Frisbee, Frisbee golf discs, gym shoes, bottled water, granola bars and jumper cables—all neatly organized, of course.
Number 4
When possible, recycle at group events. Not only are you being a good steward of God’s creation but you’re setting a good example for others.
Number 3
Send at least one hand-written note at the beginning of each week. Think about a key leader or student who would appreciate a thoughtful note from you and take a minute to encourage him or her.
Number 2
Keep mass e-mails as short as possible; your readers likely won’t read every word, so keep them lean. Many on your list may not open the e-mail, so put the most important info in the subject line.
Number 1
Most of us use a reminder system (i.e., Microsoft Outlook Tasks) for weekly scheduling, but use the same system for the details involved in setting up your yearly events such as retreats and mission trips or designing T-shirts in February for summer mission trips.
Now it’s your turn. What about you? If you have a good suggestion, send it to me at sylerthomas@gmail.com; the best ones might make it in a future column.
