Bailey Newbern is a Ministry Assistant in Student Ministry at Liberty Live Church in Hampton Roads, VA. She is passionate about discipleship and leading up the next generation of girls, especially girls in middle and high school. She also specifically loves helping young girls and women navigate through depression, anxiety, and other mental health needs through scripture and prayer.
Beginning a new year always gives me extra excitement for freshening up already established habits or implementing new ones. After being on maternity leave for three months at the end of 2024, I feel like I’m stepping into 2025 with new excitement to love on and take care of our leaders in student ministry. Here are some things that our team has done in the past and some ideas for the future.
Spending one-on-one time with leaders outside of Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.
I think it’s important to build relationships with your volunteers. Doing life with them outside of the church walls allows you to create a deeper connection with them. This could be anything from grabbing coffee or lunch to attending their child’s sporting event or recital.
Spending time collecting and sending them resources.
I feel like a lot of times in ministry we spend time reading books or listening to podcasts to learn new things to help us best serve our ministry, which is awesome and so necessary, but sometimes forget to extend these resources to our leaders and volunteers who are boots on the ground doing ministry. These resources don’t just share good information or new ideas with our leaders, but it can also encourage them and ignite a new fire in what the Lord has called them to do.
Personally reaching out to leaders throughout the week.
I don’t ever want to forget the power of what a short text of encouragement could be to someone. Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights are almost always so busy, so fast-paced, and so full of so many people. It’s nearly impossible to give each leader the attention and focus that they deserve. Checking in throughout the week allows for that deeper relationship. It allows you to be able to share with each other what’s going on in your personal lives, struggles, prayer requests.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10a) Although this verse is often related to marriage it is also so applicable to teamwork in ministry and the Christian life in general. I’m praying that the Lord will use me as a vessel in ministry to care for the people that He has called to lead up the next generation.
