HOW TO TRAIN AND SUPPORT CELL GROUP LEADERS

This chapter is primarily for the benefit of those who do have a small group structure, but also communicates principles for the care of leaders, which is relevant to us all.

In more conservative Churches, the purpose of small groups is often more specifically Bible study.  In this case, only some of the following leadership notes may be applicable. Please feel free to take or leave what is relevant to you.

The training and supporting of leaders is a huge component of youth ministry. There is simply so much that can be learnt, and the learning of it benefits all involved!

To keep it simple, we will address three simple areas:

1. The training of leaders

2. The support of leaders

3. The way to exit leaders

The second of these areas makes up enough content for an entire book as it is so important.

(1) The training of new leaders

There are two key places where I do training with Cell leaders.

The first is through a one-off, one afternoon only, Cell Group Leader training ‘seminar’ for new leaders – as mentioned in an earlier chapter.  The reason this is such a condensed training is that I found it difficult to get new leaders to attend a four session training due to their busyness with (1) their year end exams (this is the time of year I need to raise new leaders), and (2) all their youth ministry involvements, such as their  own weekly attendance at services and cell, as well as the time I request to be given by the new P6 Cell Group leaders to getting to know the P6 youth at the Sunday School.

This one session training (leader and student notes) is included in Kick-start Resource CD in the folder ’05 – Cell Group Leader Training’. This condensed one session seminar is the first document in this folder. Note that all such attached training notes are raw (unedited), but hopefully they can be of help as you adapt them for your own use.
The second place that leaders are equipped is through the monthly Cell Group Leaders meeting. This ongoing training is especially essential for those of us in youth ministry, as our leadership will have significantly underdeveloped skill sets in very basic areas simply because they are young. As such, it could be said that youth leaders need more skill training than any other ministry’s leaders, not only because they have had no previous leadership experience or training, but also because they are so young.

This is an important point to note, for a great many times I have noted that discouragements which various of my leaders were facing could have been avoided if they could have had better skill sets, thus enabling them to avoid the problems altogether.  For example, knowing how to manage a discussion well when you have ‘jokers’, ‘moaners’, ‘non-stop talkers’, and ‘distracters’ in your group enables a useful discussion to still be achieved.  Not knowing how to manage these various ‘personalities’ leaves a youth leader at their mercy, struggling weekly to manage their members, and feeling ineffective in their role.  The leaders own youth in years, and limited confidence, magnify the challenge. Their discouragement can only be averted by dealing with the  SKILL set deficiencies.

To stress this point more, sometimes we address a problem at the wrong level. For example, some leaders in Churches like to be always ‘spiritual’. They might address discouragement in a youth leader with Biblical teaching on faith, or something similar. But they could be addressing the problem at entirely the wrong conceptual level. Sometimes as spiritual leaders we need the humility and wisdom to recognise that not everything is a purely spiritual matter. It is my experience that giving more and more encouragement to my leaders in the area of spirituality has sometimes NOT yielded results, while skill and perspective training has. It is like this because our leaders really are young. They don’t have developed leadership skills, and often don’t even have strong leadership intuition, because many of these things, developmentally, only ‘come through’ in many young people around the age of twenty.

However, in case of any misunderstanding, this is quite obviously not to say that the training of leaders does not involve spiritual content.  Their spirituality and faith are the foundation for what they do, and our first and primary concern!  We must constantly feed and encourage their spirituality.

More on the training of leaders will be discussed shortly under point (2b).

(2) The support of leader

To support leaders we, very simply, remain committed to meet regularly with them!

(a) Leaders meetings:

How we define our meeting agendas varies from person to person. The “template” agenda I use for all of my leadership meetings looks like this:

1. Worship and prayer – often also including a devotional thought of some kind.

2. Feedback – the goal is to listen before I speak (I always learn from the feedback received, and am often very encouraged)

3. Business – the goal is to (1) do it as briefly as possible and (2) to disciple through the process of it

4. Training – the goal is to disciple the leaders, be it a study or sharing on Christian character and spirituality, or a more practical training on a needed skill.

5. Fellowship (relational support) and prayer – Cell Group leaders have 30 – 45mins with their ‘Area Overseer’ for sharing and prayer together (a support structure). In other leaders meetings, we’d simply close with a time of prayer.

In talking with some other Pastors on this chapter, I am aware that there is variance in how Pastors manage their ministries. For me, I seek to deal with business matters with our leaders using a short ‘briefing and prayer time’ we have before each service. This is intentional as it removes the need to discuss much business in the above mentioned meetings.  The above mentioned monthly meetings are also two hours long, and preceded by having dinner together (an additional thirty minutes). Thus we can accomplish the above mentioned purposes (feedback, business, training and relational support) in a single monthly meeting, and avoid the need for any additional meetings.

One of my Pastor friend’s is unable to find a time at which all his leaders can meet for so long.. So his monthly meeting is shorter, and deals only with the vision of the ministry, planning and prayer. To address the leaders need for sharing, caring, training and teaching they have additional ‘leaders cells’ where leaders gather twice a month for these purposes.

The number of meetings you will need per month is up to your discretion.  The above, however, does cover the needed purposes in maintaining group identity, relationships and vision, as well as providing the needed ongoing training and motivation, and all in a maximum of one extra meeting per month.

However, occasionally within the above structure, there have been times when our leaders have felt the need for even more personal support (as many cannot attend a Cell Group with their own peers due to their involvement as leaders). Some meet for prayer and sharing 30 minutes before our youth services. At times, there have been Bible study groups, where leaders have met with someone older on Sundays for an hour or more before the Sunday services start.  Keeping our leaders feeling fed and encouraged is important!

In our Cell Group Leaders meetings, the last portion of the monthly meeting is a time of sharing and prayer in small groups. For this, our leaders meet with their ‘Area Overseers’. These are senior leaders whose role is to care for and support the Cell Leaders under them. (Their role is the content of point (c), later in this chapter). The main question they discuss in these fellowship times is, ‘How are you, your group and your members going?’ This question is probing for needs in three areas:

(1) the health of the leader,

(2) the health of each  group in its dynamics / relationships, and

(3) any particular needs of individual members.

The leader can then respond as needed, whether it is encouragement and prayer at the time, or following up with someone afterward. This mutual sharing and caring is very important for the leader’s health! While these are programmed to take up to 45 minutes, most opt to stay on longer.

While I would love to have all skill and perspective training for leaders held in separate seminars, thereby being able to give more time each month to the casting of vision, relationship-building, encouragement and prayer, we have to work with our realities.  For us, the reality is that our leaders are busy students, have various sporting / musical / cultural  involvements, a number are in young adult cell groups, and they all also come to our Sunday adult services. They cannot afford to attend too many extra training’s. Their parents also agree on this.  We therefore adapt as needed – the meetings are full, but can accomplish their purposes to a reasonable degree.

I note also that our leaders meetings are said to be ‘monthly’, but in practice we actually only have eight per year.  This is because we (a) replace two meetings with leaders retreats (held in the June and December school holidays), and (b) take May and November off (and also sometimes October) as this is when many are having their exams.

(b) Ongoing intentional training content

There are three areas we can consider in the training of our leaders – the head, the heart and the hands

– The head is about knowledge and perspectives

– The heart is about spirituality and motivations

– The hands are about skills

All three areas need attention!  The heart, however, is the most important!

For a list of possible areas in which to disciple Cell Group Leaders, see attachment ’05 – Topics to Train Small Group Leaders in’ in the Kick-start Resource CD. This is an example of the content I covered with our leaders through the monthly meetings in the year 2009, just as an example for you.

Because opportunities to train and encourage the leaders are limited, I make the best possible use of the meetings, usually having a heart encouragement (like a devotion) as well as a practical skill training (as you would already know from the above agenda).

Regarding skill training: I reiterate that skill training is VERY important when working with young leaders, as most of their struggles stem from basic skill deficiencies because they are young and new to it.  I give my proper Cell Group Leader training through these leaders meetings, a small piece at a time. What they receive in the introductory four-hour training session is really just an introduction to get them started.  They do need more content than this – but it is a case of working with the realities of time constraints.

A selection of training sessions (teacher and student notes) can be found in the folder titled ’05 – Small Group Leader Training’ on the Kick-start Resource CD. This includes 7 training sessions and 7 seminars , with both teacher and participant notes for each session.

Scheduling of the training: I usually place a higher emphasis on skills training in the first four or five months of the year, as I find our leaders are most able and motivated to learn these things at this time (and most required to learn them – especially for the newer leaders). I then focus on more heart matters, such as ‘dealing with discouragement’, ‘time management’, ‘spiritual disciplines’, or ‘hearing the voice of God’, to encourage their hearts later in the year. Leaders are usually more prone to discouragement in the second half of a year, especially as they begin to struggle with balancing their service with their study commitments as exams draw nearer.

Proviso: However, in the selection of what we encourage and train them in each month, my own diligence in seeking to listen to the voice of the Spirit every month while preparing the meeting agenda is the real key to a fruitful impact in their lives.  We also need to have our ears to the ground so as to know what our leaders’ felt needs are at any given point in time. A ‘word in season’ from the Lord can yield far more fruit in encouraging and motivating the leaders than any ‘brilliant’ and comprehensive training program can!  But the Lord could lead us to do a skill or perspective training as much as in giving a heart encouragement (though the latter is the more important).  These all have their right time and place.

Additional means by which to teach and train your leaders:

Other ways to feed your Cell Group Leaders include…

(a) Giving them photocopies of articles (chapters of books) to take home from the monthly meeting

(b) I have made my own books available as a ‘library’ from which they can borrow and read.  I have encouraged (and reminded) them to read two spiritual books per year for personal growth.

(c) Encouraging thoughts sent through e-mail. We e-mail our CG discussion questions weekly, and often include concise motivating thoughts and comments.

(d) Brief encouragement can be given during our weekly fifteen minute briefing and prayer time, which we have before each youth service.  At times, we have included an intentional ‘tip’ per week, to help our leaders in an area of need, or to train them with additional perspectives and knowledge when they are leading discussions during their Cell Group time.

(c) ‘Area Overseers’ to support and help leaders

As the number of Cell Groups grew, I recognised a need to have ‘Area Overseers’.  Usually an ‘AO’ oversees just two to four Cell Groups.  They are always someone who has had experience in leading Cell Groups, and who shows a particular ability in or passion for encouraging younger leaders.

What I expect of our AOs is:

1. To help each Cell Group leader establish clear goals and a practical plan for their group (The Cell leader, of course, in turn needs to involve their Cell members in this goal setting). The AO then helps the Cell leader to establish a practical plan that will realistically achieve whatever goals they have set.

2. To visit each Cell Group at least six times in the year. Most of our ‘AOs’ would exceed this minimum standard significantly.

3. To then also ‘debrief’ with each leader after visiting the group. This is about mentoring the leader.  They would listen to the leaders’ thoughts on how the Cell Group is going, what their concerns are, and to try to encourage or help them in some areas. This time spent talking is where the real ‘good stuff’ takes place.

4. To meet with me in an ‘AO Meeting’ every six weeks, or less. This meeting then enables me to gauge how they – the leader of the leaders – are going.

Regarding healthy goals

I highlight that the clearer the goals, the easier it is to accomplish them and to avoid discouragement. For example, imagine some of your leaders set a goal of seeing five salvations in the year. That is not an appropriate goal, because you cannot control it. It is, however, an appropriate faith goal, and prayer item.  A better goal statement would be that they want to see twenty friends visit the youth ministry in the year, and to share the gospel with all of them.  That is a goal they can control (as they can choose whether or not to invite friends and share). They can then pray that God would bring five to saving faith – but they should not be measuring their success on the basis of the five. They should measure their success on the basis of sharing with their twenty.  Such clarification avoids unfortunate discouragement, and empowers positive faith-based action.

I also note that taking time with young leaders to work out the basic action steps to achieve goals is essential, otherwise the time spent discussing and setting goals can be wasted.  Getting such a plan in place for a small group can take considerable time and discussion, but can yield equally considerable results.

Regarding what we do at the AO (Area Overseer) meetings

The purpose is primarily to bring a sense of unity, and some accountability, to the AOs so that they are encouraged to apply themselves to their role with diligence. The potential distraction for them is that they no longer lead a Cell Group, thus they no longer have to be at the youth meeting each week. They hence need to be self-motivated.

The key question we discuss is, ‘What support do your leaders, members and groups need?’ This again (like the question given to the AOs to discuss with their CGLs at the monthly meeting) addresses the areas of (1) the health of the leaders they oversee, (2) the needs of the members and (3) the health of the group dynamics and relationships.  This feedback is useful to me as it allows me to gauge where their groups are at, to identify areas of need, but also to become aware of any particular pastoral problems that might benefit from my intervention.

The leaders then give me action points that they will follow up on for the coming six weeks of their service.  I record these on a table (‘form’) I have specifically designed for this purpose (see ’05 – Area Overseer documents’ on the Kick-start Resource CD). While doing such seems, even to me, to be very formal, this table enables me to (a) check they have a copy of each Cell Group’s goals (so they can follow up on these) (b) measure how often they are visiting each Cell Group (c) hold them accountable to give diligence to supporting their leaders with the action points they said they would do at the previous meeting.

Various documents related to the management of AOs can be found in attachment ’05 – Area Overseer documents’ in the Kick-start Resource CD.

A note on leadership ‘systems’

As Pastors, we are supposed to know the condition of our flocks. Many of us are resistant to using leadership methods such as ‘inspecting’,  using ‘tables’ or ‘forms’.  This is probably due to concepts we have inherited regarding what spiritual leadership is like.  I observe that some Churches and leaders these days seek to embrace the ‘spiritual’ aspect of ‘spiritual leadership’, but compromise on the ‘leadership’ aspects, seeing these as lesser, or ‘of the flesh’.  For me, in the above given example where I eventually opted to use a ‘form’, I did this because I could not remember all the details discussed regarding the different groups and members. I thus had to humble myself to use this written ‘form’, and humbly note that it proved to be very effective. May I suggest that using a form, or so-called ‘leadership technique’ does not make a thing any less spiritual. Spirituality is about the heart.  Systems and structures are not right or wrong, in and of themselves. Such meetings can still be very spiritual, as well as relaxed and relational.  It’s about your own depth of spirituality!  To learn new skill sets for effectiveness in our work sometimes requires both humility and teachability.  It is possible we could all be more effective in some areas if we were willing to learn new things – but are we really willing to learn?  That is perhaps the real question.

The challenge of having multiple levels of leadership (in this case it was me leading six AOs who lead fourteen Cell Groups leaders who lead 120 to 160 members) is to find ways to genuinely hold those you lead to account, so that the ‘job’ actually gets done.  A shepherd should know the condition of his or her flocks, and do his or her best to ensure each member is as well cared for as possible. If we do not create and maintain suitable systems to lead larger groups, our effectiveness in discipling and caring for members is unavoidably minimised. Sometimes the limitations of our effectiveness, unfortunately, are not seen until a number of years after they have left our youth ministries. We are reminded that just because the group has a good momentum overall, this does not necessarily mean that we are being effective in discipling the members who are attending!  Quality and quantity are different things!

(d) Leaders Retreats

A fourth way we support the health of our leaders is through our leaders retreats. We hold these twice per year. Sometimes this is a single day ‘event’. Other times it spans over two or three days (including sleep over).

The retreat agenda usually includes…

1. Personal reflections (on personal spirituality)

2. Group discussion on those reflections (to support and encourage one another)

3. A time of thanksgiving, sharing testimonies of all God has done in the previous year / six months

4. Vision casting of the coming year’s / six-month’s programs

5. Group discussion to reflect on their own ministry goals for the coming year / six months

6. Teaching or training in an area of recognised need / encouragement

7. Fun (including activities for ‘informal’ team building) and food

Some tips:

– Great food is important.

– A relaxed location, such as a beach, can work well for nearly all of the above except for teaching.

– Having a fun team-building activity together is very beneficial. We have done things such as ‘laser quest’, beach games, ‘paint ball / paint war’, cycling or roller blading at a beach, etc…

If a retreat is run well, the result is a team of leaders who are strongly gelled together, both relationally and in the vision that they serve.  This is what we want.  The returns of such retreats far outweigh the efforts made in putting them together.

(e) Leaders Reports:

Just twice per year, I ask all my leaders to fill out a report (prior to our leaders retreats).  Even though this is a seemingly small thing, I include this as a point on its own as it has been a significant aid in helping me assess what is happening in the ministry, and how my leaders are going.  The purpose of the questions in the report is to (a) help the leaders reflect on their experience and learning, (b) get feedback from them on the ministry, and (c) gain feedback on how they are going personally.

However, the moment I ask for a report, I am committed to read them, because otherwise I am wasting my leaders’ time. I have talked to various older people whom I found to be strongly skeptical on ‘report writing’ in Churches.  The reason was that many reports had at one time been requested  of them, but they had no confidence that any of them were actually being read.  To them, it became viewed as a purely administrative task, and a waste of their time.

We must agree.  To ask our leaders for reports, but not read them, shows a lack of integrity and responsibility, in my view.  I have thus asked for concise reports (to make them easier for me to read), yet honest ones. I then plan out a time when I will sit down to read them all.

By reading them, I get the best picture possible of where the whole leadership team is at. And, more beneficial than this, I get honest feedback from some which they would never express in person. These reports are an opportunity for me to check if my senior leaders have really ‘caught’ all the ‘problems’, or if there are unresolved issues, discouraged leaders or a loss of focus and vision.

For an example of some report questions, see attachment ’05 – Examples of Report Questions’ in the Kick-start Resource CD.

You may not want to do this (it takes a lot of time), but I note that I also personally reply (by e-mail) to nearly every report, seeking to encourage the leader in some way.  While this does take about half a day or more, it is also a rare opportunity for me to speak into each of their lives, as I’m not able to personally spend time with every leader.  They give generously of their time and effort to serve in the ministry which I lead. I have felt that seeking to understand their report well, and to give a few minutes to encourage and thank them (and also respond to any concerns they may have expressed) has been  the very least I can do!

(3) The way to exit leaders

How we exit leaders is important. Too often leaders are made to feel that they are in some way ‘failing’ us if they choose to leave a ministry position.  You can see how it happens – a leader says they are going and the Pastor / leader immediately responds by expressing their disappointment. But could the disappointment stem from the pastor’s frustration at having to find a new leader to replace the one leaving?  This is an absolute possibility! Every leader who leaves our ministry means more work for us!  But that ‘burden’ should not be passed on to the leaving leader. It is our burden to bear!  We therefore, need to go out of our way to make sure that our leaders don’t feel this way. In reality, every leader we have will probably move on from serving in the youth ministry within five years.  At the time of writing, I have a completely different team of leaders compared to when I started, with the one exception of our youth staff (who was already a volunteer leader when I arrived), and one leader who was at that time a senior member.

How we respond when a leader tells us they are leaving

So, when a leader tells me they are leaving, I always hold back my own disappointment, and make a neutral response, such as ‘oh.’ I then gently ask something like, ‘What are your reasons?’, and then listen very carefully. As a matter of fact, they are free to leave at anytime, as they are volunteers, so I never tell them off! If they are failing to fulfill a commitment, I gently bring this up and ask them of their thoughts on the matter.  I have, on very rare occasion, expressed that a leader’s departure disappointed me, giving clear reasons in the process. But I always follow up on this immediately by affirming that I accept their decision, and freely release them, choosing to trust the intent and motives. Following this, I thank them for their service, and seek to encourage them with whatever words the Lord gives me. I want the final  feeling they get from me is one of appreciation for all they given, not of my disappointment in them that they are leaving!

I see the ‘burden’ of leaving leaders firmly as something that I, the Pastor or key leader, am supposed to carry. I do not even place that burden upon my senior leaders. I want all our leaders to always serve freely and wholeheartedly.  They can only do that if they can just as freely leave at anytime. To put the principle a different way, a person can only give you a true ‘yes’ when they can also freely give you a true ‘no’!

Beyond not making our leaders feel guilty for leaving, we turn the occasion of their leaving into an opportunity to appreciate them, to encourage them, and to raise them as role models for our youth in areas in which they have exhibited excellence or maturity.

To appreciate and care for leaving leaders…

(a) I personally seek to talk with them

When a leader tells another senior leader they are leaving, rather than directly telling me, I always seek to catch up with them for a brief talk.  The purpose of this is the same as the above mentioned conversation – to express my appreciation, but also to ensure I understand the reasons for which they are moving on, and to encourage them in every way possible.

What is not stated above is that this conversation is especially important for identifying if there are any negative reasons for which they stood down, so that their confidence for future service is not negatively affected. The real reasons and stated reasons for people stepping out of ministry roles are often two entirely different things. With this in mind, we do well to listen carefully.

Most of our leaders move on for valid reasons, such as are mentioned earlier in this book. Occasionally, there are leaders who have felt discouraged.  Dealing carefully with these leaders is  important.

Stories: I recall standing one leader down when he had large family problems (which were not his fault) and, given the nature of them, I felt too concerned for his emotional well being to allow him to have the added pressure of spiritual leadership in his life at that time.  While he did not request to step down I believe he appreciated this, and understood the motive was one of care and concern.  When he showed ‘recovery’ in his emotional health a couple of years later I was careful to invite him back to serve again, which he did. This, again, reassured him that there had been no question as to his personal suitability for leadership – it was a case of encouraging and teaching him that his self-care was more important to me (and God) than his service through that particularly difficult time.

Stories: I recall another leader who felt ‘burnt out’ when I arrived, probably from being raised to leadership at a young age, but was not given adequate ‘pastoral’ support. I encouraged this leader many times to step down (i.e., ‘you are free to go, ‘there is no obligation to stay…’). Eventually they were convinced I was sincere, and with great relief and gratitude did so. It took three years for their heart to feel sufficiently recovered such that they felt ready to serve again. To ensure their bad experience didn’t leave a permanent scar, I touched base with them regularly during this time, and eventually saw them return to leadership, facing and overcoming their fears from their previous experience (they were nervous), and then breaking through to serve God well (and they are still going five years later).

Stories: I recall another leader who stepped down after a short time of service, simply because they did not feel up to the role. I sought to encourage them that this was, in part, due to their young age, thus affirming the potential I believed was still in them for the role, and encouraging them to consider serving again when they are older. In this case I think we had put that person into leadership before they were ready for it. Sometimes we will misjudge a person’s readiness. We need to readily accept personal responsibility in this when we do.

(b) We thank them in a youth service and to celebrate their service

To do this this, we screen a photo montage in one of our youth services of them from their years of service, publicly thanking them, explaining the reason for which they are moving on from the youth ministry (ensuring we save face for them also), and seeking to lift them as role models to the others in their areas of strengths in the process. We then give them a book gift (of their choice), and pray for them.

When we exit leaders well, they will leave feeling that their efforts were truly appreciated. Such leaders are much more likely to serve again in another area of responsibility in the Kingdom.

Even when leaders exit because they feel a little wounded or or weary, we can still leave them feeling affirmed, and this makes a difference.  If we were responsible in any way for their weariness or woundedness, we could humbly apologise for this.  Our care and concern for them in this exiting time will likely be the determining factor in whether or not they will ever return to serve in a Church in the same way in the future.

Beginnings are important – and we give great effort to these because we personally benefit from ‘inducting’ a new leader well.

But endings are also very important – it’s just that we don’t personally benefit from our efforts in this area – but the Kingdom of God does!  A young person’s entire life is before them.  Protecting their passion and vision to serve in God’s Church in that time is a very important task!

Something to reflect upon

1. What training will you give your new leaders each year?

2. What purposes do you want to accomplish through your regular leaders meetings, and therefore how long, or how many meetings will you need?

3. What ongoing training areas do you see that your leaders will need?

4. What level, and types, of ongoing support do you see that your leaders will need, and how could you facilitate this?

5. What team-building activities might your leadership team need, or benefit from, and where and when could you accomplish this?

Consider creating a simple meeting plan for your Cell Group Leaders meetings for next year, including in the different months’ training, support and team-building applications you have noted above. With it, piece together an ‘ideal year’ in terms of what leadership equipping and support could look like.

– – – Note – – –

(The direction this book is turning now)

Having considered the areas of raising up and caring for leaders, and Cell Ministry, we will now consider some key areas that you will need to develop as a Pastor / key leader of a youth or young adults ministry.

The first is the development of the worship leaders, because the tone of the service / main meeting will be set by the combination of (1) you (the Pastor) and (2) them. Next to you, they are the most seen and ‘popular’ people in the entire ministry. Their role modeling will be observed by all. In terms of spirituality, they need to be your best, but they also need specific, and challenging skills!

The second is the management of a ministries various ministries, including how to best structure things, and tips on delegation.

There are, of course, many other areas that could be considered.  However, these two areas are hopefully relevant to all (from medium to large sized groups), and are also two significant areas for a modern day Church-based spiritual leader to learn in. This learning can hopefully help, but also save you from a few  troubles.

Beyond this we will discuss matters relating to our relationships with youth’s parents, and the wider Church, and then move on to consider a few things about young adult ministry.