Relational Tip #6

Call in reinforcements.

I am 22 years old. I have a volunteer that I work with that could be 30 years older than I am, and has done youth ministry before. There are friends of mine, whether they are close to my age or older than me, that have had much more experience than I have in youth ministry.

There will be times when you do not understand, or know the answer to a question. Plain and simple. You are not the never ending supply of answers for students or adults. One thing that I feel like we as youth workers try to do is seem much more knowledgable than we actually are.

I am still learning about how to deal with situations, deal with certain styles of students, deal with other volunteers. Those are all examples of aspects of volunteerism that will and hopefully constantly change. With new faces, either students or adults, things will change. New leadership will bring around new ideas and thoughts and structure.

Here is the task: ASK FOR HELP!!!

There is no reason for you to put the pressure of knowing everything on your shoulders. There is no reason that you as a volunteer should be expected to know how to handle every situation. I think students get sick and tired of having adults in there lives that think and act like they know everything. I also think they get sick and tired of their peers thinking they know everything.

There will be things, aspects, circumstances that you will have more knowledge about than someone else. There will be times when I will not know how to talk about parents, or sex, or how to deal with certain drama. That is what the beauty of working on a team is. You dont have to know everything. You can ask for help.

Dont try and take on the world, it is too big for you to handle by yourself. Ask for help.