1. YOUNG LIFE
Introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them to grow in their faith

2. What Staff Wish Committees Knew About Them
Staff are the least trained and least confident in dealing with you.
We have an unusual relationship – You are our boss/peer/parent/mentor
We’re tremendously insecure about what we do vs. what the world does. We wonder about our value because only a minority in the community see our work as truly important. This may be true of our families and friends as well.

3. We’re insecure about really earning our pay and wonder if we work hard enough to deserve it.
We don’t know much at all about money.
We know we need more of your time to help you to be effective (be guests at camp, visit club, etc.) but we don’t want to ask.
Sometimes there is a leadership vacuum with our young staff. We are not experienced to lead adults, and Committee people are not experienced to lead YL in a community.

4. Our schedule is impossible to understand and difficult to manage
Our schedule is impossible to understand and difficult to manage. We never “turn off and check out”. This causes us family problems, guilt, insecurity, and frustration.
Our younger staff often need serious help with elementary life skills. Taxes, understanding student loans, professionalism, mortgages and financing, retirement and investing, etc. are issues that many of us are unprepared to deal with as adults.
Most of our staff see you as older, more experienced and therefore more capable leaders than ourselves. This makes it nearly impossible for us to create accountability for Committee people, and we tend to simply do the undone tasks and then either be discouraged, burned out, or complain.

5. We are accustomed to using language that often does not resonate with adults on Committee. “Throw your life in with us”, “Sold out to ministry”, “Dream with us”, etc. In other words, we major on relational and visionary concepts and are sometimes deficient on details on how to accomplish a task.
We really do know a lot about how ministry should be done. We’re well trained and well supervised by senior staff. But it’s very tough for us to tell you that your well-intentioned idea is out of sync with the fundamentals of Young Life’s mission.

6. CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE COMMITTEES
1. Are built on the right foundation
2. Have goals and action plans for success
3. Are structured to accomplish goals and plans
4. Understand authority and decision making in YL
5. Plan and hold effective meetings
6. Appreciate, celebrate, and say thanks
7. Evaluate themselves
8. Ensure adequate financial support
#1-1

7. COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
How a local Young Life committee organizes itself to accomplish the goals and action plans of the ministry.
#3-1

8. DETERMINING STRUCTURE
FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Does an urban ministry have different committee structural needs?
What type of committee structure is needed in a rural or suburban area?
How many staff and how many Committee members?
Does the area have one high school or more than one high school?
Are there special programs or program needs?
#3-2

9. TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE
“The 2nd Grade Soccer Team” Model
COMMITTEE
Tasks
#3-3

10. TRADITIONAL STRUCTURE WITH SUBCOMMITTEES
Tasks
SUB-
COMMITTEE
SUB-
COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE
SUB-
COMMITTEE
SUB-
COMMITTEE
#3-4

11. Use to attract new committee Use for long term or “retired” committee
TIERED STRUCTURE
CORE
COMMITTEE
Decision-Making
Administration
Event Driven
Prayer/$
Use to attract new committee
CENTRAL
COMMITTEE
Event Driven
Prayer/$
FRIENDS
OF YL
Prayer/$
Minimal Events
Use for long term or “retired” committee
#3-5

12. ADULT COMMITTEE SIZE & COMPOSITION
Size: The ideal number of committee members is between ten and twenty-four.
Composition: The committee should reflect the composition of the community.
Consider: Gifts/talents, age, race, gender, church/school affiliation, motivation to serve, qualifications
#3-6

13. COMMITTEE MEMBER CHARACTERISTICS
Walking faithfully with Christ
Confident that God has called him or her to this role
Interested in YL, YL leaders, and students
Willing to share time, talents, and resources
Involved and respected in the community
#3-7

14. COMMITTEE MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
Attend committee meetings
Support local staff and volunteer leaders
Take a leadership role in activities that support the local area
Financially support Young Life
Pray for the ministry
Attend one YL activity-club/camp/other each year
Make a two to three-year commitment
#3-8

15. MEMBER RECRUITMENT
DEVELOP AN INTENTIONAL PROCESS
Pray for potential new committee members who possess certain characteristics
Look for prospective members at YL activities
Members/leaders brainstorm potential members
Have staff approval prior to approaching prospective members
Make sure prospective members understand their responsibilities
#3-9

16. MEMBER SELECTION
DEVELOP AN INTENTIONAL PROCESS (Con’t)
Make personal contact to see if prospective members are interested
Invite prospective members to a meeting to discuss expectations
Make sure they go to camp! Also visit club.
Solicit a two to three-year commitment after they have had time to pray about their response
#3-10

17. COMMITTEE CHAIR CHARACTERISTICS
Walking faithfully with Christ (Eph. 5:14-16)
Confident that God has called him or her to this role (1 Tim. 3:1)
A leader and a motivator
Known and respected in the community (1 Tim. 3:10)
100 percent sold on YL, totally convinced of what we do and how we do it
Experienced enough in YL to appreciate our strengths and understand our weaknesses
Able to lead and facilitate meetings effectively
In agreement with Young Life’s faith and conduct policies
#3-13

18. COMMITTEE CHAIR FUNCTIONS
Represents the committee to Young Life regional/national
Stand alongside the staff and brings the rest of the committee along
Maintain close relationships with the staff so staff can communicate needs and problems, as well as successes
Act as a liaison and advocate between staff and committee
Communicate issues of accountability from the committee’s perspective
Build trust in the ministry
Provide leadership in the recruitment, selection, retention and retirement of committee members
Places committee members in positions to utilize their talents
Lead in developing a vision for Young Life’s potential in the community
#3-14

19. CHAIRPERSON RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
DEVELOP AN INTENTIONAL PROCESS
Identified/approved by Area Director
Approached by Area Director/key committee member(s)
Gain committee support for candidate
If you have more than one good candidate, let committee select
#3-15

20. PLANNING EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
Monthly meetings best
Set day, date, time well in advance
90-minute meeting
Plan with A.D.
Develop agenda and send out ahead of meeting
Think about flow of meeting: spiritual or devotional time, ministry update, old business, new business. Make it more than business. Fun is OK!
Take minutes and send them out
Special meetings may be necessary
#5-1

21. HOLDING EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
Guidelines
Start and end meetings on time
Set goals and work in teams
Let members talk and share ideas
Allow members time to develop relationships
Keep the meeting moving
Utilize process strategies
#5-2

22. COMMITTEE DISCIPLINE Action Steps
Committee chair & area director work together on difficult committee member issues
Meet with committee member(s)
Express concern
Listen to response carefully
Determine appropriate action
#5-3

23. Event Based Fundraising
Banquets may be imperative in a new area to expose people to the vision and scope of the ministry
Very useful for celebrating the work and appreciating donors
Can be an efficient way to reach lot of people with comparatively little effort
Our least effective means of fundraising – impersonal!
Requires strong leadership and a total team effort
Must be made relational by committed hosts and personal invitations
Requires follow-up! Both attendees and non-attendees
#5-3

24. Relational fundraising
Examples
TDS
Coffees, businessperson breakfasts, small dinner parties and desserts
Invitations to YL events
#5-3

25. Relational fundraising
Requires a lot of initiative and personal ownership by Committee
Our most effective means of fundraising
Most consistent with our ministry style
Builds relationships and fosters deeper involvement, perhaps Committee or other ministry functions
Particularly effective in new/old areas
Must be made relational by committed hosts and personal invitations
#5-3