Losing your main players

Today I submitted a guest post to another blog. I was going to include the line "when you lose key leaders..." but instead decided to write about it here.

Because inevitably you have leaders come and go in ministry. Some are great and a real blessing. Some are labelled "people God is still working on."

But, no matter how great or lousy they are connecting with the teens...
No matter if they have been in the group for years or only around for a relatively short period of time...
No matter if they seem to be your right-hand or just a stable face...

Losing leaders in never fun. It is always felt. It has an impact.

It affects the person in charge. It affects the co-leaders. It is felt by the kids.

In some situations, the departure is good. They are moving onto greener pastures. They are stepping into ministry elsewhere or serving as a missionary.

In some situations, the departure is far less pleasurable. The leader leaves burnout. They are neglected or feel dis-empowered. They step down from leadership and then rarely (if ever!) darken the doors of the church again.

Stopping people from leaving is like trying to stop the tide. It happens. It will continue to happen.

It's just better when they are heading in a forward direction...