Traffic Lights and Multisite Student Ministry

I have been collaborating a lot with other youth pastors that are doing multisite longer than me. I came across this info from Kurt from Saddleback on the "red light, yellow light and green light" decision making process. 

I adapted it to how we will make decisions across campuses for student ministry. 

“Red” Light: Stop: do not proceed on your own...

Red light items are the non-negotiable parts of our ministry that need to be uniform from campus to campus. Red light items might have some room for contextualization, but not much. 
-Church @ The Springs vision and strategy which is the model for our whole church.
-Our teaching/curriculum: We use the same series across campuses to unify what is being taught to students. This ensures quality, consistency and unity on what our students learn.
-Our Application, interview, background check process for leaders/volunteers.
-Our Purpose Statement and Values
-Our Ministry Names and Logos 
- Flyers, promotional materials, etc. As long as they use our logos when applicable, there is freedom in the design.
-Big Events such as Abandon, Decrease, Camps, Mission Trips.

“Yellow” Light: Proceed with caution...

YELLOW LIGHT ITEMS are the aspects of our ministry, that need to be similar to Church @ The Springs Baseline campus, but do have room for customization. While our programs should feel the same, the way they are executed has flexibility.

Some examples of YELLOW LIGHT items are:

-Our curriculum. While the style, “feel” and content is a red light issue, you have freedom to contextualize it to your setting.
-While we offer curriculum you might supplement your own curriculum with our approval.

GREEN LIGHT: Go for it! Do it however you want...

Green light decisions are what each campus leader has complete control over. The truth is, you have complete control over a whole bunch of stuff! Of course, “complete control” also assumes that nothing you do would conflict with or undermine a RED or YELLOW light area.

Some examples of GREEN LIGHT items are:

-Campus specific events (movie days, special events, service projects, etc.)
-How you show leader appreciation (Encourage your leaders! Love them! Minister to them!)

*NOTE: The Red, Yellow, Green light items will morph from time to time. We will work together to make sure there is clarity. A good rule of thumb is: “When in doubt, ask”! 

I hope this helps others that are learning to lead multisite ministries! 

Share your ideas below in the comments! 

OverHype and Student Ministry

Overhype is defined as, "make exaggerated claims about (a product, idea, or event); publicize or promote excessively."

I love the hype of a competitive game or fun event. I enjoy life and I'm sure you do as well. But what happens when we think that everything that happens in student ministry needs to live up to hype. Isn't that what students want today anyways? 

One truth that I have come back to over 10 years of learning about ministry is that if it is built solely upon emotions and without a foundation in God's Word, it will diminish. 

Here are some examples of "overhype." 
 - Social media is a continual "Hype Fest!" Do you and I really always feel like everything is amazing? I know there are days I am exhausted and other days I feel excited. Be real and don't feel the pressure to make everything just like a Disney world attraction. 

 - You celebrate numbers over stories. Now, I understand that every number is a person (who has a story, etc) but I believe that if we shared more stories of life change instead of only numerical data, we miss out on the heart of why we do ministry.

 - Packed calendar of events. The feeling to "keep the students busy" and to appease parents to be their children's social planner can be overwhelming. Say no to more events. Say no to the feeling that if we always do more and "hype" it up and beg people to come that we will see more life change. Less is more. Spend energy on the vision and strategy of your ministry at your church. Cut out the hype of busyness. 

Hype is fun. I enjoy how exciting it is to see God change lives and have a lot of fun at the same time! But, God uses the quiet, still moments to teach us about Himself, not just the loudness and busyness that our culture believes is important. 

My question for myself and to you is, "Am I just as excited about God and His mission in the mundane, quiet times during the day as much as when I'm a part of the next event?" 

What if our social media was more honest and real. 
What if we celebrated the names and stories of students instead of only how many butts are in the seats? 
What if we stopped looking for only physical results (hands raised during music, etc) and prayed for the Holy Spirit to produce fruit that remains years down the road? 

What if we led by example to live by faith and not only by the hype of emotions. 

The honest truth is...this is what our students and their parents need as well. 

Let's stop overhyping. Please. Student ministry will be better for it. 

Picking and Choosing what to Believe

We live in a culture where people enjoy picking and choosing what they want to believe. Especially if it comes to difficult passages or specific sins. 

Strong words? Well, yes. (prepare for rant)

Over the years, the church has been infiltrated with the "self-help" gospel where Jesus is a big "santa clause in the sky" that overlooks our sin and is at our beckon call. 

 What this creates is a self-centered lifestyle. Instead of obeying God's Word many learn how to use the Bible to fit their decisions. Instead of denying self, we want to gratify ourselves into a belief system that makes our lifestyle choices less about conviction and more about comfortability and conformity to "whatever else anyone else is doing" or just because 'we are free to do it."

If the culture continues to downplay sin and its affects, we simply say that the sin that murdered Jesus is not that big of a deal.

The same truth that sin is serious is that God's love is bigger still. This is why we should believe the totality of God's Word including grace and justice. Including holiness and grace. Including peace and righteous anger. 

How would our lives change if we took sin serious and stopped using the gospel as a license to continue living sinful lives and hurting others? 

God is holy. God is the almighty. God is gracious. God is our friend. He is not one dimensional. He doesn't fit into our boxes we set up to fit our lives. He calls us to die to ourselves and submit our life, beliefs, convictions in order to conform us into the character of Jesus. 

What are you picking and choosing to believe in the Bible? What are your thoughts?