If you wonder how to take care of introverts in your ministry, read on.
Recently, Susan Cain recently released a new book: Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts (A guide for KIDS and TEENS).
It landed on my doorstep and I made the clumsy assumption that I could crack it open and read a few pages without wanting to stay up until 3 a.m. reading the rest of it.
It’s a good thing I’m a mom and my kids prefer a human parent over having a sort of human that resembles a zombie to wake up to in the morning, so I didn’t stay up all night devouring it. I did read a good chunk of it in between putting a new couch together with my husband and putting our kids to bed repeatedly.
The point is: I wanted to read the whole book all at once. I wanted to ditch everything to do it. Because being able to tell a kid that they have a hidden superpower is something I want to do more often.
Reading the words “we should be scheduling daydreaming into the extracurriculars” are words I want to wrestle with. How do we do this better in youth ministry—touching all of the ways a teenager is growing developmentally?
I want to connect Susan’s ideas with the youth ministry context because one-third to one-half of the students in our youth ministries are introverted. How do we take care of introverts in our ministries?
In my ministry experiences, three-quarters of our programs and ideas nurture the extroverted nature. Think worship, think loud, think games, think camps, think…think…think…what are the ways we are intentionally giving introverts access to things that light them up and energize them?
How to Take Care of Introverts in Your Ministry
How does youth ministry as a function and as a group of loving leaders empower a quiet one in…
…the cafeteria
…the classroom
…group projects
…in leadership
…in friendship
…at parties
…with extroverted friends
…with creativity
…in sports
…with adventure
…in changing the world (there is a quiet way!)
…in the spotlight
…in their restorative niches (home)
…in their family
(These are the chapters of Susan’s book! So, we have answers! Praises and more praises.)
