“raising indigenous leaders”€¦ · “raising indigenous leaders” “ what we learned by...

“Raising Indigenous Leaders”

“ What we learned by interviewing 81 young urban leaders who

grew up in an urban neighborhood and who are doing relational

ministry in an urban neighborhood.”

Contact information: Marvin Jacobo. mjacobo@scyfc.com

Contact: Marvin Jacobo. mjacobo@scyfc.com

THINK

TEAM How can I Use these Findings to Develop my

volunteers and staff ?

What Stuck?

“Heads Up”

• “Parking lot” questions or thoughts that you

want addressed but may need to wait until

the end of the workshop.

• Appendix at the end of your notes show the

graphs from the survey.

Share your story of being

discipled toward being a leader. (Groups of 3)

Pay special attention to:

• Key people who have had significant,

positive influence on your development.

• Key experiences that strengthened or

deepened your faith commitment.

• Key steps in helping you mature into

leadership (3 Minutes)

Raising Indigenous Leaders

Why this is so important.

What’s the best strategy?

What does the research say?

How can we increase our knowledge?

How can all this shape our ministries?

Indigenous Leadership

Research Project

• How did we do it?

• Answering the question:

• What factors contribute the most to

developing urban indigenous leadership?

How did we do it?

Indigenous Leadership

Research Project Key Findings:

1. Relationships matter most.

2. Catalytic life events move young leaders

forward.

3. Young leaders must develop internal

motivation.

4. We must provide leadership

opportunities.

5. Relational mentors are the key.

Relational mentors are the key!

Mentorship is “a spiritual growth

relationship in which a more mature

person helps to guide a less mature

person within the context of a close

relationship.”

It is about a consistent, ongoing

relationship of listening, learning,

dialog, and challenge.

Relational mentors are the key!

Relational mentorship =

indigenous leadership

No relational mentorship =

no indigenous leadership

Relational mentors are the key!

What “good activities” might urban

youth workers be spending their

time doing if they aren’t laser

focused on executing a

mentorship/discipleship strategy?

The Research Shows:

Relational mentorship =

indigenous leadership

No relational mentorship =

no indigenous leadership

The Process

Relational Mentorship

Spiritual Discipleship

Practical Implications

Role Models come in all shapes and sizes. Nurture a trust based relationship with a

wise one that is along in life’s journey (Mentors).

How Much Weight Have You Placed On Cultivating Both Role Models And Mentors?

Friends, Mentors, Heroes? Train your staff and volunteers To Have

Quality Mentoring Relationships That Have Purpose.

What’s Sticking?

4 “Stages” of

Indigenous Leadership

Development:

Stage 1: Initial Relational Investments

• Time Frame: 0 - 12 months-PRAYERFULLY!!

• Relationship Characteristics:

• Adult will almost always be the initiator and continue

initiating.

• Fun! But little trust.

• Point young person to make a first time decision to

become a Christ-follower.

• Word and Prayer is “peppered” into the relationship.

• ??

Stage 2: Turning Spiritual Corners

• Time Frame: 3 - ??? Months- PRAYERFULLY!

• Relationship Characteristics:

• Growing in time spent and trust.

• Youth makes first time decision to be a Christian.

• Higher commitment to club meeting and/or Bible study.

• More time in Word and Prayer together.

• Urban youth speaking into our lives.

• ??

Stage 3: A Call to Discipleship

• Time Frame: 9 - ??? months

• Relationship Characteristics:

• More closeness and trust, but still issues.

• Discipleship (vs. just friendship) is invited by adult

and defined for student.

• Relationship is more structured and specific.

• Accountability and admonishment are increasing, but

so is encouragement.

• ???

Stage 4: A Challenge to Give Back

• Time Frame: 3 - 5+ years?

• Relationship Characteristics:

• High level of trust.

• Student growing closer to Jesus and therefore

demonstrating growing victory over moral and

character issues.

• Time in Word and Prayer significant.

• Youth are ready to begin relationships with other youth

to intentionally take them through the

mentoring/discipleship process.

• ???

What’s Sticking?

Reflective Exercise

Reflective Exercise

• How much time during the week do you spend

doing relational mentoring?

• How much time a week do you spend

modeling relational mentoring to others?

• How much time a week do you spend training

relational mentoring to others?

• Think of the youth you are building

relationships with (not the youth your

volunteer team is building relationships).

Decide what stage they are in with you.

Stage 1? 2? 3? 4?

Reflective Exercise

• Now, think of your volunteer team. Which

one of your volunteers have only been able to

achieve Stage 1 with an urban student?

Stage 2? Stage 3? Stage 4?

• Do you have volunteers who aren’t even at

Stage 1 yet with a young person ?

• Categorize your entire volunteer team into the

stages based on the strength of their relational

mentoring abilities.

Think

• What does this exercise tell you about your

relational mentoring focus?

• What does it tell you about the relational

mentoring abilities of your team?

Within the Mentoring Two life skills (according to the research)

that your urban youth must possess!!

①Victory Through Catalytic

Life Experiences.

②Develop Internal Motivation.

Catalytic Life Experiences

“Turning Negative Life Experiences into

Positive Life Opportunities.”

Equip our young people to Embrace and Build on

Negative Catalytic Events Rather than Avoiding them.

How Can Your Leadership Team Make Spiritual and

Relational Investments During these Events?

Can We be Intentional In our Programming So that our

Young People can be Equipped to “Turn Lemons into

Lemonade?”

Traditional (training based) Leadership Development

Programs Don’t Get Into These Issues…It’s Done Via

Relationships.

Bamboo and Urban Leadership

“Young urban leaders must have

the strength of bamboo. Able to

bend, blend with circumstances,

adjust to change, and overcome

adversity, they can meet any

challenge with courage and

compassion.”

Adapted from ‘The Tao Of

Personal Leadership’ by Diane

Dreher

Catalytic Life Experiences:

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

• Listen Well.

• Ask Good Questions.

• Remind them of God’s Love and

Grace.

• Ask them permission to ask a probing

question.

• Share your stories transparently.

Catalytic Life Experiences:

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

But Joseph replied, "Don’t be afraid of me.

Am I God, that I can punish you? You

intended to harm me, but God intended it

all for good. He brought me to this position

so I could save the lives of many people.”

Genesis 50:19-20

Catalytic Life Experiences:

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

The Lord says, "I will give you back

what you lost to the swarming locusts,

the hopping locusts, the stripping

locusts, and the cutting locusts.”

Joel 2:25

Their Past is a Mentor for Their Future

“ The Lord allowed you to go through everything

you have been through, both positive and negative,

for a reason.”

Romans 8.28

“ You might never know or understand the reasons

why you went through some things. But be assured

that God, who began a good work in you, will

complete it.” Phil. 1.6

“ Nothing touches your life unless it has gone past

God’s desk. He has allowed it because it will build

you for what lies ahead.” 1Peter 2.9

THINK THROUGH YOUR PAST

The thing, event, circumstance, or person

that affected me most in the past and still

tends to affect me most in my present role

is ___________.

It tends to affect me in this way _______.

If I imagine my past as a mentor, this is

what I believe my past should teach me _.

City Life Curriculum

2012-2013

YFC.org/citylife

Key Survey Findings (Review)

1. Relationships matter most.

2. Catalytic life events move young

leaders forward.

3. Young leaders must develop

internal motivation.

Developing Internal Motivation “Taking Personal Ownership of their faith.”

• Salt them with the Word.

• Ask a lot of questions, listen to the answers.

• Give them a dream for their life.

• Expose them to godly people .

• Give them experiences and memories.

• Equip them for life in all its’ fullness (John 10.10)

• Pray for them and with them.

Key Survey Findings (Review)

1. Relationships matter most.

2. Catalytic life events move young

leaders forward.

3. Young leaders must develop internal

motivation.

4….

Provide for them

Meaningful Leadership

Opportunities

“The whole cause of our ministry must also be

carried on in a tender love for our people. We

must let them see that nothing pleases us more

than what profits them. We should show them

that what does them good does us good also. We

should feel that nothing troubles us more than

what hurts them.” English Puritan Richard Baxter, 1700.

“ Watch Your Walk: Ministry From a Heart of Integrity.”

“Love Them…Love them Sincerely…

Love them for a Long Time.”

Questions?

Contact information: Marvin Jacobo. mjacobo@scyfc.com

Project Work Product

• 81 Indigenous Leadership interviews transcribed

• 81 Indigenous Leadership interviews transcripts coded

in a statistical analysis program

• Numerical rankings of the 81 interviews in spreadsheet

form

• Multiple spreadsheets and graphs that explore the

different cross sections of the data

• A one page summary of our most critical research

findings

• Recommendations for the practical applications of our

research findings

• Recommendations of further research that could be

pursued as a result of our findings

•Family influence (both +/- influence) decrease as

person moves into ministry.

•Exemplars influences decreases as person moves

into ministry.

•All relationships decrease in influence (save

mentors) as intrinsic motivators increase.

•Identifying Mentors increases significantly as person

moves into ministry.

•Family (the absolute value of the two scores together

+/-) is an even higher influence number than mentors.

•Negative exemplars were very small in comparison to

the positive.

•Role of Mentor from growth into ministry is critical,

because of the weight of working through the

emotional/thought process of catalytic events (see

Holistic Domain Observations).

Practical Implications

Relationship Generated Ministry is our Strategy.

Which Relationships are most impactful and when on life’s journey?

Train Your Staff And Volunteers on how to practice Relationship Building Skills

Overcoming Life Crisis

Negative To Positive Catalytic Life

Experience

E.G. Joseph, School Dropout, Poverty

What Did The Data Say?

• The (-) to a (+) Catalytic Experience is the

most commented upon factor from the

social domains

• These catalytic experiences are most 0

50

100

150

200

250

Initial Growth Ministry

All Results

ongoing special leader opp catalytic intrinsic mentors

friends family exemplars bible prayer

Relational mentors are the key!

Groups of 5 (10 minutes) 1. Define close/trusting - How do you know that the urban

youth had begun to trust you? How long does it take to

build trust? How do you get to that place of closeness

and trust?

2. Define consistent - How often should you meet with a

mentee? How many hours a week might you spend with

them? Why? What do you think it communicates to urban

youth if we aren’t consistent with them?

3. Define ongoing - How long should we mentor them for?

When should we expect for them to be mature (say

mature enough to be Volunteer in Training and eventually

Volunteers/Staff?) What if they are too old for our

ministry?

Overcoming Life Crisis

Negative To Positive Catalytic Life Experience

E.G. Joseph, School Dropout, Poverty

What Did The Data Say?

• The (-) to a (+) Catalytic Experience is the most commented upon factor from the social domains

• These catalytic experiences are most frequently commented upon during initial and growth stages

• A substantial drop in references occurs when young people move into ministry stage

Practical Implications Equip our young people to Embrace and Build on

Negative Catalytic Events Rather than Avoiding

them.

How Can Your Leadership Team Make Spiritual

and Relational Investments During these Events?

Can We be Intentional In our Programming So

that our young people can be equipped to “turn

crap into fertilizer?”

Traditional (training based) Leadership

Development Programs Don’t Get Into

These Issues…It’s Done Via Relationships

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Initial Growth Ministry

Relational Results

mentors friends family exemplars

Raising Indigenous Leaders:

God cares about it more than you!

“May God himself, the God of

peace, sanctify you through and

through. May your whole spirit, soul

and body be kept blameless at the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The one who calls you is faithful

and he will do it.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Practical Implications

Role Models come in all shapes and sizes. Nurture a trust based relationship with a

wise one that is along in life’s journey (Mentors)

How Much Weight Have You Placed On Cultivating Both Role Models And Mentors?

Friends, Mentors, Heroes Train your staff and volunteers To Have

Quality Mentoring Relationships That Have Purpose

0

50

100

150

200

250

Initial Growth Ministry

All Results

ongoing special leader opp catalytic

intrinsic mentors friends family

Practical Implications

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP INTRINSIC MOTIVATION?

Pray for your young people

Salt them…create a thirst in them for the things of Christ…including the Word.

Year long Curriculum Will Be Rolled out in September

Blogs beginning in April will discuss this

Regional Conferences…3 hours of training…practical roll out ideas for you

0

50

100

150

200

250

Initial Growth Ministry

All Results

ongoing special leader opp catalytic intrinsic mentors

friends family exemplars bible prayer

Practical Implications

What specific valuable Ministry Opportunities

can you create For Young Leader Prospects?

We learn best by doing.

How do you develop intrinsic motivation in

your young people and volunteers?

You “salt them”...you create thirst for the Lord

and his Word by creating a thirst in them.

You pray for them and ask the Holy Spirit to

whisper to them..or hit them over the head!

Practical Implications

Ground them in God’s Word not in you.

Direct them to the Word.

Equip them to live by God’s values not rules.

Don’t give them the answers let them discover.

How do you train volunteers to do this

Conclusions In your efforts to raise indigenous leaders:

Are you promoting and emphasizing the need and value for raising urban leaders?

How do these insights spur your thinking on how to better raise leaders?

Much more training to come on this topic:

3 hours of training at Regional (you, volunteers, young people

Year worth of curriculum “turning evil into good.”

Blogs that will raise questions for discussion and give direction on how to best use these findings.

Conclusions

What do you take home from this and implement?

Questions????

Let us know what you need from us.

“For what is our hope, our joy, or

the crown in which we will glory

in the presence of our Lord Jesus

when he comes? Is it not you?

Indeed, you are our glory and

joy.”

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

“For now we really live, since you

are standing firm in the Lord.

How can we thank God enough

for you in return for all the joy we

have in the presence of our God

because of you?”

1 Thessalonians 3:9

Relational mentors are the key!

Relational mentorship =

indigenous leadership

No relational mentorship =

no indigenous leadership

“As apostles of Christ we could

have been a burden to you, but we

were gentle among you, like a

mother caring for her little children.

We loved you so much that we

were delighted to share with you

not only the gospel of God but our

lives as well, because you had

become so dear to us.”

1 Thessalonians 2:6b-7

“For you know that we dealt

with each of you as a father

deals with his own children,

encouraging, comforting and

urging you to live lives worthy

of God, who calls you into his

kingdom and glory.”

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

1Thess. 2.12

Encouraging:

This is about affirming and blessing. It is finding

your mentee doing something right and praising

them. Rewarding what you want repeated. It is

helping them discover their unique gifting and

contribution.

Comforting:

Is all about helping your mentee through the

difficult things. When life gets hard and when

ministry gets hard, we walk alongside to provide

comfort and support.

1Thess. 2.12

1Thess 2.12

Urging: Is about challenging your mentee-nudging them and

pushing them to improve and grow. It is about

stretching them and not letting them settle.

Relationship(Trust): Is what gives me the right and insight to encourage,

comfort and urge my mentee on toward the likeness

of Christ.

Paul’s Strategy

2 Timothy 2.2

“You have heard me (monologue/dialogue) teach

things that have been confirmed by many reliable

witnesses. Now teach these truths to other

trustworthy people who will be able to pass them

on to others.” (NLT)

Jesus’ Strategy

And He went up on the hillside and called to Him

[for Himself] those whom He wanted and

chose, and they came to Him.

Mark 3.13 (AMP)

“More time spent with fewer people equals

greater impact.”

“ The amount of life change in a mentee is

equal to the amount time spent with the

mentor.”