YOUTH Leader Unity
That every youth in Aotearoa New Zealand has the opportunity to encounter the love, hope, and teachings of Jesus through a conversation with or invitation from a friend.
Why should I pioneer local youth leader unity?
Would you be willing to unite where you live to help this happen there?
When youth leaders regularly meet in a city or town, it makes a measurable difference. Where they do not, few wider outreach events occur – and most youth remain entirely unreached. So we have a problem – but also a solution!
While 48% of youth leaders say they meet with other youth leaders locally, for many this is actually just meeting a friend once or twice for coffee. There is no vision or intentionality. The data showed only 20% meeting six or more times annually – and this had a measurable effect. They were twice as connected to school groups, and have twice the number of combined events.
The process is easy to understand. Meeting in a PRIVATE LOCATION, their hearts UNITE to PRAY. As they do this they see all the youth they aren’t reaching. Seeing their combined capacity, they begin to believe they could make a difference. They therefore plan to DO something about it – catalysing school groups, running more large events – and hopefully also equipping their youth.
The logical goal is that youth leaders in every city and town with a high school to UNITE at least two times per school term to PRAY about what they might be able to DO together. The results would speak for themselves.
Resources
Youth Leader Unity Discussion
Discussion amongst national youth leaders resulted in a summary page
‘Lead and Feed’ fund
A fund available to support your youth leader gatherings
How to lead a youth leaders’ network
Here are the key points — with the full guide available to download
Understand the process
Stage 1: Coffee Unity – Get to know each other
Stage 2: Prayer Unity – Pray bigger
Stage 3: Functional Unity – Able to act together
Then establish your pattern
Consider gatherings at the start of every school term.
Your key question
What could we do together in service to the mission God gave us among the young people of our city/town that we could not do apart?
Three vital areas for application
- Equipping – Empowering Youth to Share Their Faith (Conversational skills).
- Schools – Where the Mission Starts (Help youth unite to pray to do something).
- Events – Momentum Builders (Give youth events they can invite their friends to).
For a PDF booklet on HOW to lead a youth unity network — go to Godtalk.nz/unity
More on the ‘Lead and feed fund’
Where? in every city and town in New Zealand that has a high school.
Why only for meetings in a private location over food? Because conversations in Cafes often don’t go deep. As the group grows it becomes hard to hear, you don’t share as openly, you don’t dream as much, you struggle to do simple planning due to the distractions – and you are very unlikely to stop to all stand and spend 10mins in prayer too.
The data your denominational youth leader (with others) gathered EVIDENCED some of the differences REGULAR local youth leaders’ gatherings, with INTENT (see the ‘how to guide‘) can make – and have deemed this goal worth pursuing together – to see youth ministry strengthened across our nation.
Click the link above or here for more on the ‘lead and feed fund’.