Jason Carr Writes

* Please note- this is a serious and wordy post. The Student Ministry/ADD side of me apologizes for the length but is pleasantly shocked that I could actually sit down and write this much without one stupid joke in it. Enjoy…

I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of student ministry is some form or fashion at North Point for the better part of the last decade. I’ve been on staff here for the last few years with some incredible staff and volunteer leaders at Xtreme. All that to say, I’ve been ridiculously blessed to be surrounded by some incredible leaders.

Yesterday I was in a conversation with someone I work with about an idea we are chasing. We’ve been talking about the idea for a little while and I found myself in the conversation saying something similar to the steps below. Now, that’s crazy. When I was a young leader in student ministry I definitely had vision, but I was all over the place literally. I would be speaking all over, leading all kinds of groups and burning both ends of the candle as quickly as I could. If there was an idea, then let’s add it onto the list of things to do and chase after it.

Now, I’m all for being incredibly sensitive to God’s Spirit leading us and I always want to be open to His leading my life. I’ve also learned that He’s given us the wisdom and common sense to be as effective as possible if we not only trust Him, but lean on the things he’s given us to be the best we can for His Kingdom.

So we’ve had an idea worth chasing and I found myself thinking through this path below. Our current challenge is that if it’s an idea that is worth pursuing, we need to understand it takes time to do that. We have way too much going on right now and we are not going to change the DNA of our system over night. All that to say here are some things I’ve learned about chasing new ideas in your ministry… from a highly relational formerly non systematic person.

* Define the problem/challenge

What is the “thing” you keep thinking needs to be addressed? What is the thing you keep hearing from people involved in your ministry? (For me, this issue is birthed from conversations with small group leaders, students, families and staff.) Talk about the idea with trusted friends and boil it down to the basic question- what is the problem I’m trying to solve here?

* Collect data/information

Once you define the problem- create a way to get some information to help you being to create a solution. For us that means a “focus group” of students to being with what we are thinking about. We’ll get their thoughts and that will help us more clearly define where we are. Thanks to my scientist problem solving fearless leader Coach Shef, I’ve learned a lot about the wisdom to having the right information and data before you can clearly move forward. Once you collect the data, spend some time analyzing and talking through what you discover.

* Clarify the win

Take the problem and the data and let them collide. Looking at the 2 of these things will help you more clearly define the “win” or how you want to solve the problem you are looking at. If we are honest, most of us start here before we do the first 2 steps. That’s not wise because many times the win is simply our thoughts based on past experiences or personal preferences, not the current situation. Let those things guide you, but you need up to date information to most clearly define the win.

* Create the system

Now’s the fun part. What are you going to do to help solve the problem? What are the steps that will get you there? Who needs to be involved? What resources do you need? How do you do all that with the resources and margin that you have? Take all that and create a plan that will allow you to being to solve the problem.

* Implement the system

Now comes to roll out part. Tactfully take the system you created and roll it out to who will benefit from it. Be wise to help that group understand that the system is a solution to a known problem if need be. Change can be hard for some and takes some getting used to. Implementation can be a long process in some cases and will need some patience and wisdom to do rightly. I’ve learned that it is wise to be fully behind a new system- if you are not those who are going to benefit from it will likely not be too.

* Refine the system

Now that you’ve begun to move towards solving your problem, take time to regularly evaluate how it’s going. It is working? Does it need to be fixed? In my experience this can be tough sometimes because once we get to the implementation stage we start focusing on other problems or simply move on. It’s always wise to take time to refine the system to be the best it can be.

Again… it takes a lot of prayer, Biblical wisdom and counsel to walk through many of these things. I’ve been so blessed to not only have that, but leadership who allow me to not only work in our system, but to trust God to keep making it the best it can be.

So what is the problem you are thinking about now? How are you going to trust God to help you create a plan to solve it?