A few months ago I appeared on the fantastic youth ministry podcast 'The Longer Haul ' to talk about ministering to introverted students. This is an issue that keeps coming up, and I think represents one of the fundamental missteps youth ministry can take.
For those of us who prefer reading to listening, I 've taken some of my key thoughts from the podcast and written them up here as notes. Enjoy!
The Extrovert Epidemic
Much of our youth ministry is focused towards the extrovert, which follows a cultural pattern of being driven towards them too. Our school rooms and classes, for instance, are geared towards controlling and regulating the extrovert by putting them in rows, or engaging and energising the extrovert by pushing group discussions …show more content…
Very true! There are of course many extroverted youth workers, especially new or younger youth workers. Extroversion is not necessarily the best ingredient for longevity. Introverts more naturally allow their teams to outgrow them, run with ideas and create a space and flavour that reflects more than one person. Introverts often create safer boundaries, develop more realistic goals and allow more open dialogue for change.
Extroverts may need to learn this behaviour, as they are often the charismatic force that drives content, holding ideas close, while not always delegating effectively. This of course is not always true, but the intro-extroversion line seems to me to be a key player.
I believe that youth ministry models and strategies, on a whole, tend to lean towards the extrovert. It certainly seems at least, that developing extroverts in youth work is more well-established. So we will attempt here to bring in some balance, by developing specific ideas for developing introverts.
What Is An …show more content…
It is of course very possible to be an internally processing extrovert, or an introvert who is energised by carefully cultivated social times. Just one of the reasons we shouldn 't be too prescriptive with any of this!
5 Principles For Introverted Youth Ministry
Jody pointed out that you will need both introverts and extroverts on your team to reach a diverse group. He 's bang on the money again, and we will now talk about putting some principles in place to get the most out of exactly this kind of team. Both introverts and extroverts will need to learn new habits and develop a wider awareness and tolerance, which, if trained and led well, will lead to quality, long-lasting youth ministry!
This requires more than just giving introverts space, as the extrovert will be tempted to fill any space that you give. This needs a rethink of our models to develop introverts intentionally and consistently alongside extroverts. Hopefully these 5 principles will be a good start to this process.
1. Stop using the word 'everybody '
"Everybody get up and jump!"
"Everybody stand up and stay something about
For those of us who prefer reading to listening, I 've taken some of my key thoughts from the podcast and written them up here as notes. Enjoy!
The Extrovert Epidemic
Much of our youth ministry is focused towards the extrovert, which follows a cultural pattern of being driven towards them too. Our school rooms and classes, for instance, are geared towards controlling and regulating the extrovert by putting them in rows, or engaging and energising the extrovert by pushing group discussions …show more content…
Very true! There are of course many extroverted youth workers, especially new or younger youth workers. Extroversion is not necessarily the best ingredient for longevity. Introverts more naturally allow their teams to outgrow them, run with ideas and create a space and flavour that reflects more than one person. Introverts often create safer boundaries, develop more realistic goals and allow more open dialogue for change.
Extroverts may need to learn this behaviour, as they are often the charismatic force that drives content, holding ideas close, while not always delegating effectively. This of course is not always true, but the intro-extroversion line seems to me to be a key player.
I believe that youth ministry models and strategies, on a whole, tend to lean towards the extrovert. It certainly seems at least, that developing extroverts in youth work is more well-established. So we will attempt here to bring in some balance, by developing specific ideas for developing introverts.
What Is An …show more content…
It is of course very possible to be an internally processing extrovert, or an introvert who is energised by carefully cultivated social times. Just one of the reasons we shouldn 't be too prescriptive with any of this!
5 Principles For Introverted Youth Ministry
Jody pointed out that you will need both introverts and extroverts on your team to reach a diverse group. He 's bang on the money again, and we will now talk about putting some principles in place to get the most out of exactly this kind of team. Both introverts and extroverts will need to learn new habits and develop a wider awareness and tolerance, which, if trained and led well, will lead to quality, long-lasting youth ministry!
This requires more than just giving introverts space, as the extrovert will be tempted to fill any space that you give. This needs a rethink of our models to develop introverts intentionally and consistently alongside extroverts. Hopefully these 5 principles will be a good start to this process.
1. Stop using the word 'everybody '
"Everybody get up and jump!"
"Everybody stand up and stay something about