2. If it’s not an adventure it’s not youth ministry.
I’m a planner, and a worrier, I like to make sure that all my ducks are in a row before an event or outing, and then I worry that some ducks will wander into the street and get crushed by a mack truck. That’s just the way I am. So when things don’t go right I have a tendency to get totally bummed.
The funny thing is that in youth ministry there are so many variables that something is bound to go wrong. And it’s in these moments of . . . “where are we? what happened to . . .? So that’s how you replace a tire on a people mover.”
So what happens when your plans go to crap? Memories happen. As a youth leader I learned that the most important thing in those “oh crap” moments is to make it fun. Don’t take yourself and your plans so seriously that if anything goes wrong it’s a failure. It’s not a failure it’s a moment to make a memory.
I started serving in a youth ministry right after I graduated from high school, and in the ten years that I was working in youth ministry as a volunteer, part time, full time, I’ve never been wreckless, never lost a kid, never even had any broken bones. But there were plenty of moments where things went against my plans and I had a choice to make, worry, or laugh. And I found the better thing to do was laugh. If I’m worried, everyone’s worried, if I can find joy, then I can pass joy to others.
So remember, if It it’s not an adventure it not youth ministry.
JasonDeuman.com 
Hey, I like these. It’s good to hear what others are getting out the youth ministry. I think I need to get a part of you that is all planning and less going haha. But one of these days. Hope all is going well back in Seattle. I’ll hopefully be seeing you this weekend!