Tools for Healthy Next Steps: Part Two Data Points

This is the second in a four-part series on helping young leaders get through the first year of ministry and helping them take the healthiest steps.

As we mentioned in the first post of this series, Lp gets on-site with new leaders at their one-year mark to help them take a bit of inventory on how year number one has gone and lay out a plan for year two so they can hit the finish line hirable (worthy of getting a full-time job in ministry) and highly desired (many should be after them). Anything short of that would be considered a fail on our part.

We use a few different tools we picked up through training with Intentional Churches to help in this endeavor. One tool we have innovated we call Data Points. It’s a non-scientific way for a young leader to look back twelve or eighteen months and see objectively how they’ve been doing in key areas.

We mark the data against the timeline (across the bottom) as well as a grading scale of 0-100 vertically.

The pictures shown here are actually recreated from a typical end of year assessment to set up year two (we have taken out names and specifics).

We ask the resident to think back 12 months prior. In this case, the resident began in June. “Remember back to when you began, and tell us how much FUN (green line F) it was.” We heard stories of immediately jumping in VBS, camp, and a mission trip. We heard how much fun the summer was. Everything was new. This extroverted resident was meeting new people every week at this church of 900. As you can see she was in her zone. The fun was quite high. This is pretty typical.

We then ask the resident to tell us how CHALLENGING this season was (red C line). In this case, the resident was really just observing, hanging out with students, and taking it all in. She didn’t sense a high challenge in June.

We then ask to put a data number on MINISTRY FULFILLMENT (brown line M). Many times we have to come to an understanding of what we actually mean by ministry fulfillment. You’ll see in this season that the fulfillment was quite low. “I really wasn’t getting to do much. I was just along for the ride.”

The fourth data point is on CLARITY (blue CL line). By that, we mean how clear was the resident on life direction and that this was what they wanted to do with their life. You’ll see in this season her clarity of direction was quite high. She had come out of volunteering at a church through seminary and had “moved across the country for a residency and wouldn’t have done that had [she] not been clear this was the next best step.”

We then step the resident through a typical year from the end of summer to fall kick-off, beginning of a new year, and the Easter season. Most of the time (although not always) these four seasons represent the fundamental changes that go on through a ministry calendar year.

Like many of the tools we use throughout the day, we never really know where the discussion is going to go, but it never ceases to be fascinating the trends that are uncovered. Using these tools you must be open-handed enough to allow the self-discovery to happen (even if it’s not exactly what you want to hear).

As a resident begins to get perspective objectivity begins to surface. This tool always opens up “ah-ha moments” for a young leader. In this case, as the challenge went up almost everything dropped as the resident had some failures (this is good!) in the first four months. She eventually recovered and with perspective could look back and see how challenges were met.

For a seasoned leader like yourself, this could seem elementary. Perhaps you spend every evening or every Monday morning in learned disciplines of keeping perspective on your work, but for most of us in our early twenties, this simple exercise can be the first time they’ve ever paused to reflect at a deep level.

If you ever have the desire for coaching or questions to be answered please reach out. It’s our favorite topic to discuss.

P.S. Have you checked out the podcast? Seven episodes, seven minutes in length, no guests, no hype-music.