I have experienced many issues since taking the reigns of a youth ministry, a church team that ministers to 11-14-year-olds. And in that time I have experienced the immense value of having a “Timothy” to advise me, to share the struggles and triumphs, and to provide greater certainty for the future of the ministry.

Becoming an overseer of a ministry is exciting. You begin with ideas of how to create an effective ministry, how to bring people to Christ, how to strengthen those in your care. However, in time, problems arise: numbers don’t increase as quickly or by as much as you would like; you become uncertain of whether you are leading your team well; you feel tired and overwhelmed; you become concerned about what will happen to the ministry when the time comes to take a step back.

I have experienced all these issues since taking the reigns of a youth ministry, a church team that ministers to 11-14-year-olds. And in that time I have experienced the immense value of having a “Timothy” to advise me, to share the struggles and triumphs, and to provide greater certainty for the future of the ministry.¹ In short, your Timothy is your second-in-command, your adviser and your protégé—just as Timothy was to Paul. How then has this worked in my ministry? How can you actually get started with your Timothy?

Step 1: Care, encourage and ask

First I ask Timothy about their life, making sure I know what else they’re involved with.² This may seem like an odd thing to do, but before I give them more responsibilities I want to make sure that I am not going to overburden them. Of course, I usually already have an idea of how their life is going—but I want to be sure. Next I tell them what a great job they have been doing, listing specific examples. Finally, I ask them if they would want to be trained as the team leader, and before they answer I explain the responsibilities they’d be agreeing to.

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