At the NATIONAL YOUTH WORKERS CONVENTION, we stopped youth workers from all across the U.S. and asked them to share a 10-second youth ministry tip.

THE 10-SECOND TIP:

“Always say ‘Yes,’ whenever possible.”

MY ADDED THOUGHTS:

“Yes” is a powerful word. When you say “Yes” to a student’s question, a leader’s idea, or a parent’s concern, you have the opportunity to communicate several important things:

• Their opinions matter
• Their feelings matter
• You see the value in their ideas
• You’re inviting them to be a part of creating something special
• You want them to take ownership of the ministry and the idea itself

If an idea is dangerous or harmful, you’ll need to say, “No.” But most of the time, you can redirect bad ideas to a better idea in 2 ways:

“Yes, but…”

This is a great way to validate an idea that starts out well but needs to be modified for you to pull it off. You can add in a suggestion of what will work or ask them to help you think of some better options. Be sure to explain why the details won’t work so that they know how to help you find ones that will.

“Yes, and…”

This response is perfect for those ideas that are 90% there, but are missing a few important elements. If you already know what additional details are needed, describe the details and then ask what the person thinks about them. If you don’t quite know what it’s missing, bring the person into the process to brainstorm how you might best use the idea.

Join us this year for the National Youth Workers Convention in Cincinnati, OH for way more tips and ministry ideas from the 50+ seminars and training opportunities. Register early for NYWC to save BIG: NYWC.COM.