Inspired by Ashley Engleford.
Be a list maker
My brain is for having ideas, not for storing them. And can you always fully trust your memory? That’s why little lists are indispensable. Ashley recommends keeping three different notebooks: one for “quick notes,” one for important meetings with people and one for to-do lists. With the to-do list, the main thing is to number the tasks so they’re sorted by priority. Don’t pick the most fun tasks first; go by priority, from 1 to 5 and so on. Do the most important things first! Don’t forget to look through your notebooks every morning and every evening to cross off what’s done and refresh your memory.
Pro tip: Just rename your “to-do list” to “might-do list.” My hypothesis is that you’ll get a lot more done after this rebranding, because the perceived pressure is lower.
Learn to delegate
Nobody can do everything alone. “But what about the mom who lifted a car to save her child?” Sure, you can do a lot on adrenaline, but not for very long. God has given you lots of people in your church who can do more than hand out snacks and organize games. Your team often has good ideas they want to contribute. That means you need to give up some control and be willing to work as a team. Ask them how they see their own gifts, and let them get involved. Only with many different gifts and personalities can you reach many different teenagers.
Get a spiritual gifts test for young people
The next tip goes hand in hand with the previous one. One of our responsibilities as youth leaders is to equip teenagers to serve God. Help your teenagers find, develop and use their spiritual gifts and abilities. Get a spiritual gifts test for teenagers (for example, the one below), print it out, and have your teenagers fill it out at home and bring the results to the next meeting. It’s good to go through the results at home. Make notes on who would be outstanding in which area. And if you have a large youth group, delegate this task to one of your youth leaders. Find a way for every teenager to help out regularly and be creative. If you have a large group, you could come up with a rotation system where everyone takes a turn serving at least once a month. Then check in with the teenagers every three months or so: What do they enjoy? What don’t they enjoy? And then make the necessary changes.
- Spiritual Gifts Survey, a survey to print out, Lifeway
Create a file for each teenager
Each file should include complete contact information, all parental permissions (for swimming, for example), information on allergies, spiritual gifts, tasks they’ve taken on, problems, concerns, family life and so on. Every few months, you and your youth leaders should go through the files and make sure everything is up to date. An info sheet on a teenager can be invaluable.
Become a collector
A collector is someone who
- clips good articles and stories from magazines,
- visits the best blogs and websites to find material for their work,
- writes down good illustrations they’ve heard right away, and so on.
Develop a filing system for your notes where you can store them until you really need them. If something fits into several categories, just copy it and file it everywhere you might use it. Once you’ve used the material, write the date on the back so you don’t use it again too soon. I use a system similar to the one Ali Abdaal shows in this video.
Set up an email account for your youth ministry
For the email address, it’s important that the name of your youth ministry appears in it and that you check it regularly (daily: morning, noon and evening). Let the teenagers know when you check it, so they can estimate how long they’ll have to wait for an answer. This is also one of the tasks that can be delegated.
Pro tip: Alternatively, you can set up social media groups for your communities. For example, a WhatsApp group for parents and an Instagram account to promote your ministry.
Bonus: Get a work phone
If your finances allow it, get a work phone. Teenagers can call it in emergencies. Sometimes talking is better than emailing. If you have a large youth leadership team, you can hand the phone to a different leader each week in shifts.
English version: October 2026
