This page was set up in a frequently asked question (FAQ) format. By clicking on the questions you are interested in you will move to a concise response. You may also elect to scroll down the page. Several answers include links to additional pages or worksheets that can be opened and then printed off using Adobe Acrobat. Additionally Volunteers can pose their own questions or responses utilizing the feed back link at the top of the page.

As you ponder these FAQ's consider these two lessons learned;
Whatever happens it will never go farther than the investment and accountability that begins locally in the vision, planning and efforts of adults.
Military teens are hungry for the Good News of Jesus Christ, and they will respond to caring, nurturing and authentic adults.

1. What can I do to begin or improve the youth ministry at my chapel?

2. What are chaplains and why are they so important?

3. What does my Chaplain need in order to help me?

4. What are four steps to take that will pay long term dividends?

5. How do I find help?

6. What will be my biggest challenges or short cut temptations?

7. How can I do student fundraising so we can go on big trips?

8. I need help this week! Where can I get it?

9. What kind of resources do I need, to get started?

10. How could a YFC ministry center out in town help me? 

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1. What can I do to begin or improve the youth ministry at my chapel?

Step one is always praying. There are so many "can do" folks in the military. Many are motivated by need. Consider not doing youth ministry until you decide what you're going to take off your plate first. One of my encouragements is always to go deep within yourself to determine that getting involved with students is a step the Lord has for you. Out of that time should come a commitment level, time period and some direction.

Then go talk to your chaplain. As simple as it sounds there are so many frustrated volunteers who go out on a limb, fail to ask how, do not ask for the proper support and then hold the Chaplain responsible. They never decided together how to go forward! Oh, it even gets worse. Then the temptation is to hold other adults who do not come to assist and help you responsible for not reading your mind about the great vision the Lord gave you!

The key item you're looking for is alignment with chaplains and other adults. You have to wrestle and come to consensus on issues like; expectations, (stated & unstated), programming goals, volunteer training, tempo, promotion, volunteer recruitment and screening, support/resources (People, things and finances).

As a note of encouragement, "Anything is better than nothing." Never, ever, beat yourself for what does not happen. Be faithful and keep moving, that is enough. The youth ministry you are a part of could look like four kids coming over twice in a semester to cook spaghetti in a couple's home or maybe end up with a thriving weekly program that busts out at the seam and is impacting your local High school or Middle school. The goal should never be numbers. If you want a benchmark then measure your success by examining, "Is one generation of the faith community passing the best parts of it's faith on to the next?" Top of Page

2.      What are chaplains and why are they so important?

There is a much more thorough and "technical" explanation in the section for Executive Directors but suffice it to say that chaplains are responsible to encourage and support all efforts related to allowing service members and their families to express their faith. Translate that for teenagers and it means the Christian adult communty creating; a safe place, opportunities to interact with other teens, encouragement of faith questions, and the experience of service.

Chaplains are there to help you! Without their help and assistance it is unlikely you will go far. Helping each other, you will both benefit and most of all, the youth ministry will benefit as you and your Chaplain mutually decide on key areas of roles and responsibilities. They will supply the support and cover for the items you will need to move forward first in the command, then adult and finally student community.     Top of Page

3.      What does my Chaplain need in order to help me?

Attitude, organization and a plan. It's that simple. The right attitude begins with believing the Lord has called you to work with the youth ministry and that the Chaplain is an advocate and asset. Begin there and you and your chaplain will both have lots of grace for the "stuff" that comes along with deciding to organize a ministry designed for teens. Herding cats would be easy compared to maneuvering the pitfalls and challenges of youth ministry.

Regardless of how aggressive or successful you become as a chapel youth ministry, if you want to drive your Chaplain and the chapel staff crazy and eventually wear out your welcome, make everything a last minute emergency.

     The Installation Youth Ministry Manuel Template is an approach to a semester of planning you may find helpful. Plans always lead to budget and a sample approach is listed in Financing Your Youth Ministry Budget., which contains sample budgets . Regardless of whether you use these samples as a reference or some other option you will quickly discover that planning week to week is maddening and frustrates everyone. It is easier to execute a plan then plan as you go.   
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4.      What are four steps that will pay long term dividends?

Advocate: Setting the foundation by getting key people on the bus and making strategic decisions is a great way to go. Sometimes it doesn't work like that. Sometimes you start with four kids over at a movie at your house and six weeks later there are thirty kids. Hey, you need adult help! That's youth ministry. When you discover it go get help! Youth ministry is about the adult community recognizing and facilitating whatever it is we finally figure out the Holy Spirit is doing. Think of it as a small fire that you want to stoke and you'll have a great picture. When you see it happening go get help! The Chaplain, other adults, etc... Learn to tell the story.

Train: What ever place you start at you can get better. There are so many options. Sit down with your Chaplain and ask them what they know. Read Doug Fields, Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry.  Attend a week long Youth Specialties Convention. Consider hosting an YFCMYM training weekend. Training is always a great way to invite and get other adult volunteers involved. There are also plenty of great Video Curriculums available such as Equipped to Serve by Tiger McCluen or Purpose Driven Youth Ministry by Doug Fields. These are great resources because although they are best done in small groups they can be passed on between members of a group if that's the only way it is possible to get the group on one sheet of music. There in is the key, "Don't think in terms of what you can't do; think about what is available."

Plan:  Here is a plan you can support. Our youth group will have a weekly bible study on Mon evenings from 1 Sept till 22 May except for long weekends. On the third weekend of each month we will have an outreach event put together by a combination of our adult and student leaders. We desire, based on resources and interest, to establish student small groups during the second semester. One month prior to beginning to meet with students we will have a volunteer coordination meeting followed by a parents meeting the second Sunday after we begin meeting with students. Volunteers will continue to meet monthly on a mutually agreed date and we will also have a parents meeting for each new semester. Here is a different plan; we will supplement our Chapel Sunday School by becoming involved in a Youth for Christ/Campus Life group out in town that occurs during the school year on Monday evenings and then go to a service projects in the summer.

Here is a plan you will find it difficult to support and recruit healthy volunteers for, "Let's start a youth group."

Planning is critical in a military environment because of the tempo and pace of the community. Fail to plan and it's a sure plan to failure. Experience has shown adults and students are available. They are waiting for someone to step forward with a plan to join. Nurture the right people and environment and the momentum and success will have its own rewards.
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5.      There's just too much going on I need help! How do I find help?

You ASK folks to become involved as volunteers by INVITING them. They will probably never come forward by dropping their kids off and noticing there are a lot of teens at your house. Instead have a plan and recruit volunteers to specific roles that THEY want to perform by calling them or asking them to attend. Start slow, "Hey can you show up and serve cookies." If you notice they enjoy themselves and put kids at ease then you go ask them for a deeper involvement. Consider even having your chaplain ask or invite folks. Whatever you do you must INVITE.

One of the keys is you don't ask a shy timid person to become your lead speaker or an audacious, belly vibrating joke teller to serve cookies. The key is to get parents and other adults involved by inviting them to perform legitimate roles THEY value. The amazing thing about this simple formula is that military folks are of the caliber and character that as needs come to the surface if these volunteers are close enough to see an issue they are capable and can confront and solve virtually any situation that can arise. If you will train and commit to their success as volunteers you will both gain a new friend through your mutual efforts.    Top of Page

6.      What will be my biggest challenges or short cut temptations?

      Not paying the price to do coordination in the adult community. It can be cumbersome but it must be done. Example: If you decide to serve food that is purchased at the commissary after your weekly event that one little decision will involve your chaplain getting it on the budget, the chaplain's assistant doing the coordination to ensure it can either be reimbursed or picked up at the commissary and all the other implied tasks. Guess what? It's worth all that effort to serve food to teens! The challenge is all the coordination necessary to make it happen. Some folks would just rather circumvent the system. "I'll just buy it." It can work short term like that but not over the long haul.

A second shortcut is trying to make one size fit all. Different programming attracts different kinds of students. Good youth ministry tailors it's programming differently for different kinds of students. For students with casual attitudes towards spiritual things do fun and exciting events. For students with questions about faith create an environment where it's safe to ask questions and get answers. For students who are committed to their faith we create opportunities for service.

Different kinds of programming are the keys to different kinds of students.  For more on this go to Programming in Military Youth Ministry.     Top of Page

7.      How can I do student fundraising so we can go on big trips?

Begin with understanding: The kinds of things youth ministry does today can seem excessively expensive. It was twenty years ago, but back then, when volunteer leaders were kids it was expensive too! All they might remember is that they paid a lot of money to go on a retreat. What they may never have known is that the church picked up some of the tab; it was a denominational retreat etc.... Today that same retreat or service project might cost $500, plus transportation. Yes, it's expensive. All I can ask is that you not allow money to be the only criterion for your group's participation.

None of the services make it easy for kids to raise money for events. However all the services have donation systems where fundraising can work if Volunteers and chaplains will sit down and decide how to make it work. Example: You want to do a car wash. Well it will have to be "donation only" and throughout the day that money will have to be treated like a designated offering, with all the inherent processing and accountability steps in place. But it can be done!

The goal should never solely be the money. Actually it's the synergy, investment and ultimately the community you build as you lead students towards a major event that makes the extra effort worth it. See STUDENT FUNDRAISING IN THE MILITARY for some additional help and insight.    Top of Page

8.      I need help this week! Where can I get it?

      You cannot make up for a lack of preparation for an extended period. But sometimes you just have to show up with the best you got. So much of this is determined by the size of your group but a great resource I use is the Youth Specialties Idea's Library on CD Rom, Version 3.0. It has a PANIC BUTTON option that will provide you a topically oriented lesson.

Time will teach you to keep an "Emergency Bag" around with at least one ready to go meeting on hand. Basically it's got  a Serendipity Bible and a collection of lessons, balls, balloons, charade cards, even a couple of music overheads and a few other items. Everyone gets caught. If all else fails order pizza and do better the next week.    Top of Page

9.      What kind of "resources" do I need to get started?

The good news is your best resource is a surrendered heart. You can add a lot of stuff, but your best asset you already have. Please look at the YOUTH  MINISTRY  RESOURCE  LIST for some additional ideas When you do begin examining catalogs and websites see them as places to go "window shopping" for ideas that will make your group work. Don't get into buying indiscriminately; on the other hand don't scrimp trying to get by. Bringing students together safely, responsibly and constructively is never an accident. When you do those three things consistently, watch out, more students will be coming.     Top of Page

10.  How could an YFC ministry center out in town help me? 

Over half of the military installations in the US have a Para church organization like Youth for Christ Campus Life in their town. These could be an invaluable asset by helping multiply ministry to military students that would never go to your chapel. 

These programs have opportunities like training or outreach and regionally oriented activities. Why reinvent the wheel when you could be joining someone else? This cuts down on planning time and multiplies contact ministry. Finally what a wonderful resource. Additionally this could be helpful in those inevitable times in the military when adult leadership is not available.

The best part is that if you look in the yellow pages and you see one of these organizations listed (see Youth Organizations) it begins by making an appointment. Include your Chaplain! If you like what you hear it's a total win-win to move forward and explore where you might be able to be mutually work together.    
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