A teenage Media Ministry invasion?

[Pastor Ryan]

Jake thank you for your kind and insightful words, I agree with you.

[Steven]

It appears I misspoke; I apologize. My primary concern is the communication of the gospel message, in whatever form - music, teaching, whatever. Now, as part of the media ministry, the way we communicate that message is through excellence in production. So suffice it to say that our philosophical goals are always the gospel and changed lives, but our practical goals and concerns are excellence in production, since that is our chosen way to accomplish the task. I thought that was a given in media ministry, so I apologize for not being clearer.

Again, please note that all of the reasons I gave apply only to our local church; I don't mean to make blanket statements or global generalizations. Admittedly, our youth ministries are weak - extremely ineffective and not very beneficial to those who attend. It's just "play time" with no real growth. The product of our youth ministries (and even our local schools) are not very high caliber (many of our high school seniors and graduates read at a 3rd grade level). Most of the students in our church are immature. It's a challenge to find potential quality volunteers among our high school aged students. There are several students who are a great addition to our team, but they are the exception, not the rule.

And once more, let me reiterate... our age "prejudice" - as you so eagerly and unfairly call it - applies only to our main worship service. Most of our technical ministry is composed of students. We currently have only 20 people serving in our worship center services, but over 35 serving in other areas of our tech ministry - mostly students.

[gower2352]

Originally Posted by Steven

He does, all the time

Well, it seems we're comparing apples and oranges here, and I don't want to get into a fight, so I'm going to drop it now. I guess we'll just to have to agree that we disagree.

I've done all the media work in my church since I was 14 and now I am nearing 21 and I've been the only person in my church that knows what they're doing with the media equipment so I think your basis on allowing teenagers to not work or as in your wording being selective is totally off. If it wasn't for me my church wouldn't have someone to put lyrics, announcements, sermon stuff, etc up. In all honestly there isn't one adult in my church who I think could handle the media aspect of our service.

[tedanderson]

This might be an apples/oranges comparison also, but I would have to agree with the 16 year old policy. When I was 12, by best friend and I were capable of driving a car (and often did around the neighborhood!) because were more mature than the average kids our age and could responsibly handle an automobile. HOWEVER, I would not argue that a 12-year-old should have driver's license regardless of my example.

Likewise I would be reluctant to have anyone less than age 16 in a position of accountability in ANY area of ministry. It would look pretty bad if something catastrophic happened at the hands of a minor. Even if things were beyond his control, I am sure that people in the congregation would ask why "some kid" was left in charge of what is obviously an adult responsibility.

[spedrick]

Our church media team is made up of primarily older teens and early 20-somethings. We are a portable church with a team of around 8 people to cover 5 services a week in 3 separate locations. Our team consists of the following:

Media Administrator (general oversight, but focused mainly on web and video production, flyers, graphics, and bigger picture items) - late 20's
Technical Director (me, focused on day to day runnings, training, organizing, and scheduling) - 20
6 Other Volunteers - 15, 17, 17, 17, 21, 23, 30

Out of all the volunteers, I would have to say the two most capable, reliable, and hard workers I have are the 15 year old and one of the 17 year olds. They are always willing to help and know their stuff pretty well. I even trust them to a certain degree with supervising others.

I have also had 12 year olds run part of our system before. This only occurred under my direct supervision and never during a Sunday morning service. However, it worked out OK for a youth service and I would consider them, after much training and supervision, for Sundays.

[KeckCreative]

There is merit to making sure activities one pursues is serving focused and not self focused. Interest may start out as "this is something I want to do" but it should quickly come around to I want to do this serve others. Which means, I'm driven on making sure cues are excuted correctly or audio is mixed well or I'm properly framing the camera shot, not because it will make me look good, but because helps communicate the idea more effectively to others.

I find that when people really understand how and why what they do in the service is serving other people, there is an increase in self accountability. Issues involving punctuality, attentiveness, respectfulness (of equipment and space) move in positive direction. If they are not moving in a postive direction, the root of the problem is the self vs. other focus.

I have to remind and question myself "Who and I doing this for?" frequently too. I am often guilty of falling into the self mode instead of the other mode. The key is being honest about our selfishness and working to transform back to serving others.

[Jay Bee]

I have seen a few threads with this theme, so here's my contribution:
We have a PA team and a Projection team, both have used under 16's to great effect, and I have found that you cannot generalise (generalize if you like..) about youngsters. I had one 14 year old that conducted himself like an 18 year old and was thoroughly reliable. I have had 18 year olds that acted like 14 year olds and they soon fall by the wayside.
My only stipulation is that I ask each volunteer to fill out a form, and I will ask if they are under 18 solely so that I know that I may have to make allowances for travel arrangements etc.. As far as I am concerned, every volunteer goes through the same training - as soon as they are ready to go solo, they go solo whatever their age. If they are not ready, they have a 'minder' until they are ready (again - whatever their age).
I have found there is nothing inherently 'wrong' with youngsters, so I try to treat them exactly the same as the adults. On the whole I find that older folks (25+) will be around longer, so I prefer to have volunteers from this sector (simply because the turnover is slower). We encourage both sexes to get involved and at one time I appointed a female as our 'trainer', sadly we are currently all-male...
I split the PA volunteers into three teams, and I would hesitate to use a youngster as a team leader, but we have certainly had at least two female team leaders in the last couple of years.
In summary, in almost every case I put reliability above technical expertise - I find I can teach someone who is reliable, I can't work with someone who is not.

[Paris MkVI]

I may have added to this thread before. But it is so long now I have forgotten, so I will drop in some thoughts here. This is our way, our culture. I am not suggesting anyone should or must use the same approach.

I would not presume to speak for anyone else, of course. As for me and my church, my approach is this: Can I provide the level of mentoring, training and supervision for an individual (any individual, regardless of age) to thrive, succeed and be blessed by the opportunity to serve God and His church family? I look at those three areas distinctly.

Mentoring - Eli mentored Samuel, Jesus certainly mentored His disciples, and Barnabas and Paul could share a thing or two on mentoring. They used the model Jesus used; meet folks where they are at, not where I want them to be. In mentoring, we determine in advance what our goal is, as well as the steps for getting there. We agree together on those parameters before we even begin this journey. The interim steps and final goal(s) must be measurable. This part of mentoring is a shared Journey. I am mindful of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-26. I am looking to see if they and I are submitting to Christ. I am mindful of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 in my authority role. As a leader the responsibility for selecting the right people and preparing them is always mine. I must assess and seek Holy Spirit discernment about the individual I am considering, to be assured I can mentor and coach them for success, so they may effectively play a role bringing glory to God!

Training - We use quadranting. You probably are familiar with it, but may call it something else. It breaks down, not surprisingly, into four sections.

[1] I do and teach, you observe.
[2] I do some, you do some while I support and teach.
[3]You do most, I do little and offer support as needed.
[4] I release you to serve.

As the leader/trainer, it is my responsibility to determine when we move from one quadrant to the next. I do not move them to the next quadrant until I am satisfied they have mastered the place they are already at.

Supervision - When I release someone and they are serving, they remain under either my direct supervision or that of my team leaders. I have released them to serve, so I am also giving them some authority and responsibility together. I must keep a "finger on the pulse". But I must not be heavy-handed. I must not micromanage. If I have followed the above steps, then I can release them with both authority and responsibility appropriate to their task and skill level. I retain authority and responsibility outside their task and skill level.

Short version - they receive authority and responsibility at the tactical, or task level. I maintain authority and responsibility and the strategic, or Vision level.

That of course means when "stuff happens" the buck stops with me and I accept and receive the discipline of those in authority over me. My Vision must be in alignment with and supportive of the overall Vision of my leadership.

My view is - when one of my team members has a crash, a failure, it is as much my responsibility as theirs; perhaps even more mine. I must first determine if I failed to train or supervise effectively. My goal is to restore them; correct any support/training/supervision gap I created, and resolve the problem to God's Glory.

Even if a person has acted out deliberately in some extraordinarily poor fashion, that is still my responsibility for not catching that issue with that person much earlier in the process.

Ultimately, I always see it as within my authority and responsibility to determine if anyone (regardless of age) is ready and able to serve. If I or my team leaders cannot follow through on all of the above, then we will decline to put that person in a position that sets them up for failure. That is our responsibility to them.

I am mindful that an "insignificant person" can be a significant element in growing and serving the Kingdom. The servant who recommended David to King Saul was "too insignificant" to even be named. Yet that person played a critical role in God's perfect plan [1 Samuel 16:1.]

My final thought - I do not look at a teenager through the lens of whether they are mature enough to serve. I look through the lenses above, and ask, "Can I support them and help them grow and succeed, while they are maturing?"

They are on a Journey. Just like me.

These are just my thoughts, my approach and techniques, and what my church leadership teaches and supports. I do not presume to tell anyone else what to do or critique any other approach. If you like something you see, take it and run with it. As one of my pastors says, "Eat the chicken and throw away the bones."

[Jay Bee]

I totally agree with you - I have been in church long enough to know that it is not me that is in charge even if I wore a label with 'Deacon' on it (I don't!). However I am the steward of my area of responsibility - as much there to serve the team as to lead the team.
I will mentor someone (or ensure a team leader mentors them) until they are 'ready'. I don't turn anyone away - if they get bored waiting to 'go solo' they will drift away anyway - natural wastage (or 'grace'...)
I hope I use the same approach regardless of age/sex/ability... I hope...
I think you can't go far wrong if the approach above is taken - I am keen on recognising authority and responsibility - these are key for church to work..

[videoguru]

Teens are great once you figure out how to work with yours. They have been running every soundbooth on our church aside from our Worship Center soundbooth for over 5 years now, kidz church, middle school, high school, college, special events. Our hourly media assistant staff has only ever been teenagers.

As for running our Sunday services, I use a mix of Adults and Teenagers. The only issues i find with teens is waking up early for our 8:08 service. I have one mother - son duo on a team and it works out as a double edged sword, i lose two team members if something comes up, but I also have two guaranteed workers that get there at the same time. I am very young myself and so I am able to talk with the teens fairly efficiently and they listen to me, not so for every adult working under me. Also, teens have a simplified life and do not have as much come up, especially the ones heavily involved in church bc they already block out their schedules on Sundays. Adults call out more and want to get home to watch the game.

I'm all about training up the next generation with our standard of excellence in the tasks we do for God's church.

[Beverley]

At one point we had a few youth including my Son that helped with media and sound. The biggest problem I had was them having 5-6 other in the booth with them. I didn't mind having two people up there but I had to put a stop to the part scene... A bigger hiccup came when the interim Pastors and our New Pastor now like to runs PowerPoints for the sermon. This has become more tricky because the person running the system does have to pay attention to keep up with the screens.

Now that the majoritiy of the Youth are in 11th and 12th grade and more busy with school activities, sports and jobs I can't so much as a flicker out of them as to helping. For that matter I agree with Nathan. Adult don't seem interested either. It is not like they are being asked to input the information into the system they are just being asked to run the projection on Sunday Mornings for the service.

Going on Vacation last summer put quite a strain on me becasue I could not get anyone to help. Nobody would step up to help to I had to go in and tell our New Pastor and the Music Director that we had no one to run the projector. The new Pastor was adament that he wanted to have it and finally someone step up and decided to come to Church that day to do it.

You see every time that I been sick, had to have surgery or the other things that have come up my Son normally runs it but he was going on Vacation we me so he was not available either. If we did not have a new Pastor I am pretty sure they would have been doing with out it that Sunday.

I am a firm believer that we should let the youth help when they want to if they are mature enough and able to do the job. It comes very quickly that they are too busy and just plain out don't want to do it anymore. When they are 15-18 years old it is a hard time to know where you fit into the Church and life for that matter. Too young for things or not old enough for others. It is a time when many are lost to the church until they have their own Childern later and maybe filter back in. It would be great for them to fill like the fit in always, especially in Church. It is a tough position, they still need much guidance but they need latitude to explore new things too.

[jcopeland38053]

The child has to have a heart for the work. I have been doing video/sound for 10 years now and my oldest son is now 13. About a hear and a half ago he was interested in what Dad was doing at the back of the chuch during service so I had him sit back with me on the computer. He did a great job and he enjoyed doing it. If its song slides, he has to know the songs so he can keep up if the worship leader improv's. We also have sermon notes. Those are easy. he now does it on a regular basis.---Sure there are days that he is a 13 yr old and I ahve to find someone else to run the computer, but no different than any other volunteer that I would ask to run it.