Night after night I sat around a table looking in the eyes of men and women, young and old, from all different backgrounds, and saying “This could be an amazing ride, but I need you…I can’t do this by myself.  I need leaders and tonight I’m asking you to consider becoming one of those precious few…”

Those few later became hundreds, but regardless of how many began the climb with us, I always made sure there were individuals around me when I reached the top.

If you do not take the time to build a fence of people around you as you walk this journey, when you reach the top of Youth Ministry Mountain you will wind up calling the ambulance for yourself at the bottom.  In the beginning it is really easy to start with the mindset that you can do it all on your own.  When this is fueled by determination, your biggest challenge will come the moment you recognize you need people to catch your vision.  In the trenches it appears hard to get others to come walk alongside you, but the youth culture of this nation desperately searches for a cause to believe in and support.  With others joining you, it brings protection and accountability.  If you arrive to a place where you have at least ten or fifteen kids in your youth group, you are not physically able to take good care of everyone by yourself.  As a leader, it’s your job to proactively find individuals to help assist you, but let me encourage you that when you do, it will make all the difference in the world.