Remember the last time you had a major challenge in the office. Now recall the last minor challenge you had to face. If you’re thinking honestly you likely had one within the last day or so. If you can’t think of one then perhaps you’re not attempting to improve anything coming out of your office.

Now, there are several opportunities to provide ourselves personal challenges and improve ourselves, and the work we do. But, what about the challenges that come our way without invitation? This could be an angry parent within youth ministry, a challenging core team member, a non responsive family in the Religious Education Program, or a few youth or child who present all the great challenges we face in ministry.

What is your plan of facing these challenges? I have participated in and witnessed some of the following:
· blame it on someone else and forget about it
· “deal with it tomorrow”
· ignore it completely
· act as if the issue will not escalate
· write down what you need to do with good intention, but then never evaluate again
· have a core team meeting about the challenge, but fail to give any leadership or direction on the issue
· ______________________ (name your failed attempt here)

Below is a good formula to help you face most challenges you will face in parish or school ministry. Note: This assumes a prayerful and sacramental life of the leader.

M – Main issue. What is the main challenge or issue you are facing? It is very easy to have a team meeting talking around an issue for an entire hour, but only be talking about the symptoms and the consequences of the main issue. As the leader you have be able to step aside from the group venting, discussion, or even complaining. Listen to what the group is saying and use leading questions to help them come to a conclusion of the main issue is.

Let’s use an example from the article on Small Group Do’s and Don’ts. You find your leaders discussing how the youth don’t respond in the small group. You find the group blaming cell phones, attention spans, family life, and dating among the teens. This may all be true and present many struggles, but you as a leader need to identify the main issue. These are issues you can’t change in a small group so is there something in the small group that needs to change? Help your core team direct their attention with a purpose to an actual solution by first identifying an actual fixable issue. For example, perhaps the questions asked in the small group are only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, which give the youth an opportunity not to share anything.
A – Assess all solutions. Once the main issue is identified, begin a brain storming session that allows for productive, concrete solutions. Remember all ideas should come to the table because even a bad idea could lead to the productive and concrete solution needed. After several solutions have been offered, selected one or maybe two solutions that will be put into effect.

P – Plan your direction. Gather the one or two solutions and now plan the direction the team will take. Provide concrete ways to execute the solutions. Don’t simply say, “Okay, let’s begin this next week.” That will last quite literally for five minute into next week and then the challenge will present itself again and old habits will spring to the foreground.

Perhaps your direction will include a list of “if, then” statements. You could plan for asking open-ended questions instead of closed questions, or ask different questions to different youth in the group to further engage them. You could even make it a team rule to always ask a follow up question to the answers provided. Either way, you need an actual plan of attack, not merely an intention.

S – Schedule an assessment. How will you know your plan worked? You have to schedule an assessment of one week, two weeks or the like. Set the expectation with your team how you will be evaluating that the plan is working. Perhaps you have to create an easy follow up form that the team fills out at the end of the youth night describing the successes and failures of the planned direction. Whenever your scheduled assessment is, follow up and adapt your plan if necessary. Always remember fine-tuning will be needed. The key here is to begin with a challenge and end with a good habit to better address the issue.