Mapping Your Way in Ministry
I recently made a confession to a group of youth ministry leaders, and I’ll share it with you if you promise not to make fun of me. I love maps. I always have, and I think they have something to teach us about planning for ministry with young people.
When I was a kid I had a political map of the world hanging in my bedroom. I loved staring at it, memorising the names and place of countries and their major cities. I had a globe that sat on the desk my grandmother gave me. I would spin the globe, close my eye and stop the spinning with my finger. Wherever my finger landed would become the destination for my make-believe vacation. We had world atlases and road maps that were worn out from being handled so often. One birthday or Christmas, I received my own road atlas, and I was so happy because I knew my family understood me!
Before taking a family road trip, usually to visit our grandparents, I would take out the road atlas and envision the route there and back. I used to calculate the miles, figure in where we would need a pit stop, and determine the amount of time it would take us to get to the destination. Along the way I looked for the landmarks and signposts the map told me I would see. I would do the math to determine whether or not we were on schedule, and even seek alternate routes when we came up to a road closure or some other obstacle.
I still love maps. These days I use the GPS on my phone. There is a screen on the dashboard of my car that displays Google Maps, and I almost always have it on. I do the same thing every day I once did as a kid. I determine the best route, calculate the distance and time it will take me to get to work, and along the way I evaluate my progress and seek alternate routes if needed. Am I a nerd? Maybe.
Definitely. At home we have maps as artwork. We commissioned an Irish artist on Etsy.com to create prints of maps of our home towns, Mankato, Minnesota and Adelaide, South Australia. These artistic maps serve as a reminder of where we come from, where we call home. In my office I have placed two maps of the Archdiocese of Adelaide, the geographical area where we minister. I am constantly referring to these maps to place the young people with whom we come in contact, and to locate the particular communities we serve. This map helps me to determine my relationship to others.
I also love looking at old maps. When I was living in the US, I loved looking at early maps of my hometown and finding the places where I had lived long before the houses were built. Over the past year I have developed a bit of an obsession (another one you say?) for the history of Catholic community in South Australia. As I researched the early beginnings of Adelaide’s first Catholics, I would often refer to some of the earliest maps of the city. Once I identified places like Belsize Cottage, the Pirie Street Brewery, and the original ‘convent’ Mary MacKillop lived in, I set out to find out where they are in real life. By looking at the old maps I could gauge the change and development. I could mourn what was lost, and be grateful for what remains. Old maps can be useful for find our way to the future.
A few weeks ago the New Yorker published the most fascinating story about a young women who set out to help advance Pope Francis’ ecological agenda by developing new maps! She developed maps of the governance boundaries of the Catholic church, its land holdings, and even church assets that stand in contradiction to Laudato Si, such as coal mines and oil drills. She is now working with the Vatican and local churches to use the maps for the good of the planet and our future. Maps matter!
Okay, maybe I am a nerd and deserve to be made fun of for my obsession. However, I think maps have something important to teach us when it comes to developing strategies for ministry.
Maps tell us something about the terrain, the context of where we are and where we are going. Maps also give us an idea of how to get to where we want to go and what obstacles or challenges we might expect along the way. Maps provide information, like mile markers and landmarks to help us assess our progress along the way. I also like that maps can show us some historical information about what life was like ‘back then’. They can also be used to dream up new visions for what might be in the future.
Essentially, maps are strategic planning tools.
What is the context of your ministry?
Who do you serve?
Who are the stakeholders?
What is the make-up of the community?
What data do you have access to that can tell you more about them?
hat is the history of ministry in this context?
What are the needs of the community?
Where do you want to go?
What is the mission and vision of the larger organisation (school, church, community)?
Do you have a mission and vision statement for your ministry?
How does your day to day work feed into the mission and vision?
What do you want your ministry to look like at the end of the year? At the end of three years? Five years?
How will you get there?
What are practical goals and objectives you can set for your ministry?
What obstacles can you anticipate? How might you prepare to overcome these?
Who do you need to assist you along the way?
Another way to think about this is by using the Cardijn discernment and action method, See – Judge – Act.
Setting goals, and creating a roadmap for your ministry with young people will allow you to prayerfully reflect on what you do and why you do it. It will also cut out a lot of stress and messiness. Strategic planning will help you and the young people you serve to feel more successful, your supervisors and community will be able to see what you are achieving, and who knows, you may receive more support!
Map nerds unite!
Check out this resource COYYA developed for youth ministry strategic planning.