No More Lone Rangers: How to Build a Team-Centered Youth Ministry

Most leaders have at least one book that has had a significant impact on their lives. For Dave Chow, an avid reader and lifelong learner, there have been many such books: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell; Visioneering by Andy Stanley; Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala; Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry by Doug Fields; The Youth Builder by Jim Burns...the list could go on for days. But occasionally, a leader gets an opportunity to write a book of his own that summarizes some of the many ways those books-combined with God's school of "hard knocks"-have changed his life and ministry. Such is the case with No More Lone Rangers. "After switching from college ministry to youth ministry," says Dave, "I realized that very few ministries understood teams. Most youth pastors had a real 'Lone Ranger' approach. Unfortunately, the longer I do this, the more youth workers I talk to, the more I realize that team ministry really is a tough concept, especially for smaller churches. Large churches sort of have to be team oriented: One leader simply cannot take care of 200 kids. But it's easier to get away with Lone Ranger mentality if you only have 30 kids. I hope my book will minister to the small church leaders the most. I want them to realize that they don't have to do this alone." The book itself is well organized, easy to read and thoroughly pragmatic. You won't get a bunch of academic theory here, just solid, proven principles for building a team-centered youth ministry. The book opens with a series of questions: "Are you getting tired? Do you feel like giving up? Are there more needs in your ministry than you're personally able to meet? You're not alone." Dave begins by casting a strong vision for team-centered youth ministry. Even though most people reading the book will already be hungry to at least learn more about team ministry, the overall message is full of excellent points that will compel you to keep reading... * "This team-centered approach to ministry can take place with a team of two or a team of two hundred." * "When teams are functioning at their best, ministry multiplies far beyond what each team member could do on his or her own." * "The long-term effectiveness of youth ministry depends on the ability of the youth worker to develop a team." But possibly the most compelling reason to keep reading comes from one of the many places in the book where Dave shares a personal insight, this time concerning the long-term benefits of team ministry: "I've seen it time and time again: A youth worker builds a ministry around himself or herself, only to see it completely crumble after he or she leaves. Believe it or not, I've even met youth workers who felt this was a sign of good leadership!" That one statement should be enough to make us all lunge for the altars. Fortunately, Dave does more than cast a vision and leave us guessing for ways to resolve the crisis. In the next nine chapters, Dave helps the reader identif

"No More Lone Rangers" blends practical ideas for establishing a ministry team with the theoretical and theological mandates for doing so. Chapter 4, "Inspiring Your Team" is an invaluable asset for all those who work with youth. It challenges us to have a specific "vision" for our ministry in our neighborhood! David gives clear, powerful and useful steps towards discovering your ministry's unique vision. This book should be on every youth worker's bookshelf, or better yet, read by the entire staff!

Dave Chow has hit a homerun. This book is not only filled with practical information that can help to empower and restructure a youth leadership team, it also inspires and informs us how to build strong teams that can impact kids. Every Youth Leader needs this book in their hands.