Check it out!

Dave was featured in this month's GROUP Magazine with an article he'd written about the benefits of outsourcing within ministry. It's SUCH a good article that while I'll link it through here (and a couple other places above), I'll also copy & paste it at the bottom so you can see it here. I really enjoyed reading this article when Sam's print copy came in last week-while I'd never really heard of GROUP before (when others around the office had mentioned them, I politely smiled & did the 'sure I know what you're talking about nod' that actually means 'I have no idea but don't want to be the only one not knowing.' Know what I mean?) but I was pleasantly surprised at what a great magazine & resource it was. So go ahead, check it out- but remember, if you're looking for outsourcing opportunities around here, Christian Endeavor-Mid Atlantic is the perfect spot for your youth or young adult group. Not only our the work camps we offer FABULOUS (absolutely not an exaggeration!) but our summer camp/conference is legendary. We'd love to see you around this summer, or even in the next few weeks for some FREE workshops or a Fall Workcamp- will you be there?

The glory of owning your limitations and partnering with other ministries that have strengths where you’re...weak.How long before everything—everything—is outsourced? I just called the store we bought our microwave from and spent half my time talking to a service rep in Manila! And McDonald’s is already testing outsourced operators for its drive-through windows. I don’t understand all the ins and outs of the global economy, but I do know that outsourcing is a great option for youth ministries. Reasons? I’ve got three of them.
Reason #1Leverage Your Limited Skills. Outsourcing is biblical...no, really it is. In Romans 12:4-6 Paul explains that we’re “one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function...We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” We’re all part of a bigger whole, and God is not expecting us to master every talent, every gift, or every resource. In fact, he made sure we’d have to be dependent on one another.Ministry outsourcing means you proactively connect with other churches or organizations. One church might have a counseling ministry for teenagers, another might have a gymnasium, and still another might have a curriculum or program that would work great in your ministry. In my own ministry I’ve outsourced often—from borrowing tech equipment to inviting churches to join us for our annual retreat. Instead of seeing others’ ministries as walled fortresses, look past the moat and through the drawbridge gate and you’ll see lots of resources that would help your ministry. When you connect to the strengths of others, you’re living as a mutually honoring, gifted body.
Reason #2 Leverage Your Limited Time. When I started in youth ministry 15 years ago, I spent zero time online, made most of my ministry phone calls from the church office, and received a few fliers a month about area events targeted for Christian teenagers. Today I spend several hours each week on email and even more online—checking everything from news to youth culture updates. I make phone calls from everywhere using my cell phone, and I could wallpaper my office each week with the number of youth ministry fliers I receive. My time is squeezed! Even churches with paid youth workers struggle to plan and implement their youth programs without burning people out. Really large churches answer this need by hiring more and more staff. Meanwhile, smaller churches dream of adding their first part-time or full-time youth worker. Conventional wisdom has taught us that money and staff buy an effective youth program. My answer? While you’re waiting on God for the resources to expand your ministry, outsource! You want to go on a retreat? Connect with churches or organizations that will handle the programming load. Missions trip? Find a ministry that will take care of the details for you, except transportation. 1 These options may cost slightly more, but in return you’ll gain dozens of hours that you can invest in serving your young people, adult youth staff, and your own family. Outsourcing provides support for what you don’t have to do so you have the time and resources to give your kids what only you can give.
Reason #3 Cut Your Ego Off at the Pass. Most of us will never admit a dirty little secret in ministry—we don’t want others to help us. We want to build the best disciple-making ministry in our community, draw the largest numbers, and do it on our own. Simply put, we need to repent of our desire to seek help only when we’re unable to care for a need ourselves. In ministry there’s a constant pressure to perform, produce, and prosper. Years ago when I was serving a small urban church, we didn’t have the resources to pull together exciting larger events that could attract teenagers. So I connected with three churches larger than mine, built relationships with the youth workers, and together we started offering two outreach events a year for our kids. I eventually moved to the town where most of my family was living and found a new position serving a larger church. I decided I would never forget what it was like to serve in a small church. So I regularly called smaller churches and invited them to help plan, attend, and staff our annual retreats, trips to music festivals, and concerts. We also outsourced training, curriculum, and various programs that we never could have pulled off on our own. These steps made ministry more fun and much more effective than if we had tried to do everything on our own. In 1 Peter 5:5 the apostle encourages us to live with an outsourcing mentality: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”I believe the strongest youth ministries will always be those that embrace outsourcing as a central ministry principle. 2 Whether our ministries are big or small, we need creative ways to ease our time crunch while continuing to strengthen and develop the ministries in our churches. Outsource or die! What’s your choice?
Group Workcamps are a great example of this idea. The same people who bring you group Magazine, the National Youth Ministry Conference, the Live Bible, and so much more are doing all the legwork and creative planning to give youth workers a turnkey missions experience. All you have to do is show up ready to work, play, and grow, leaving you so much more space to do what only you can do—pour into your kids. For more on Group’s workcamps, go to groupworkcamps.com.
Is your ministry a practicing “outsourcer”? I’d love to hear your story. Send it to me at pace@pachristianendeavor.org. Dave is a longtime youth pastor who’s now executive director of Mid-Atlantic Christian Endeavor. He lives in Pennsylvania.