Join Team FAQPerhaps you have some concerns about committing to a year serving on one of Youth Encounter's ministry teams. You're not alone. Below we have listed some of the questions we have heard over the years as well as some helpful advice.
Q: What do you look for in an applicant?A: We focus on a person's personality to determine if he/she is a fit for our style of ministry. We need people who are suited to live in the changing environment of travelling team life as well as those who are interested in the more stable living environment of the Community Based team.
For both travelling and community based teams, music comes secondary to us. Of the entire year of ministry, you will spend only 10% of your time in music and program ministry. The other 90% of the year is spent building relationships with your teammates and with youth and their families. The focus of your team's ministry is the relationships you build with people as you travel and serve as Christian role models.
Team is physically demanding (moving equipment two or more times per day), emotionally demanding (being vulnerable and sharing in intense community) and spiritually demanding (sharing the Gospel by word and deed daily). It takes a special person to do this ministry.
Q: What is a typical day like?A: The typical day depends upon what type of team you are on.
For a travelling team a typical morning goes something like this: wake up in your host home, eat breakfast with your host family, pack a lunch, meet your teammates at the church and spend a few hours doing team activities (devotions, meetings, job time, rehearsal, etc.), pack and load your equipment, then begin the trip to your next booking. Your daily drive time will average about four hours.
When you arrive at your next booking you will meet and greet your contact, set up your equipment, eat dinner (perhaps a potluck with the entire congregation or pizza with the youth), then share a program including music, skits, puppets and a faith-sharing. After the program you will go home with a host family, hang out for the evening, go to sleep, then get up the next morning and start the cycle again! There are of course lots of different variation to this day since one day you may play at a preschool in the morning and the next day you may play at a nursing home in the afternoon. Flexibility is a big part of life on team. Teams are usually in a different place six days of the week, with the exception of retreat/event weekends. The summer schedule is different because teams help with VBS programs which last a full week. Team members typically have Mondays off, but this can change for international team members during their overseas tours. If you are on a Community Based team your typical day will be very similar to the dailly schedule of the youth worker on staff at most any church.
Q: What is the schedule like for the year?A: The team schedule for the year will depend upon the type of team it is. Team training will begin in
*International Teams will begin their four-month overseas tours in January and will have a week of vacation upon their return to the
Q: Where do teams go?A: Teams mostly visit churches but can also be booked at senior centers, community centers, hospitals, outreach centers, colleges, high schools, elementary schools, summer camps, detention centers and prisons. Most of the churches we visit are Lutheran, but this often depends on the region in which a team travels. Each region is assigned a Church Services Representative who books the schedule for the entire year.
Community Based teams are assigned to a single congregation and serve in and through that congregation for the entire year, depending upon the congregation's needs.
Q: How do teams travel?A: Each team travels in a 15-passenger van and pulls a trailer which contains all their sound equipment, sales merchandise, personal luggage, etc. Community based team travel will be arranged in cooperation with the host churhc and may include the option of using their own car.
Q: How many people are on each team?A: The average size of a team is between 5-7 people in the case of a traveling team and 4-8 in the case of a community based team.
Q: What is the average age of team members?A: Most people who join a team are in their college years, though some people join us right out of high school and some people join us months or years after they graduate from college. Every year we get a good mix! Our team members have spanned the ages between 18 and 35. National band members must at least be high school graduates, and international team members must be 21 years or older. Community Based team members must be 21 years or older with few exceptions.
Q: What if I'm not musically inclined?A: Yes, we still have a spot for you! Each electric team has their own sound technician, and if you don't have experience running sound, we'll teach you! All of our national bands are electric, as are our international teams to
Q: Do I have to raise money to join a ministry team?A: Team Ministry is a volunteer experience. We do not require you to pay any money out of your own pocket to participate in Team Ministry. We do, however, require fundraising to help cover part of the expense of sending a team member on the road for a year. Youth Encounter covers the other part with donations, grants, etc. The Development Department works with you toward a sponsorship goal of $10,000 if you're serving on a national team or $12,000 if you're serving on an international team. Here's how it works: you submit the names and addresses of at least 60 potential sponsors; then the Development Department contacts these people and asks them to consider supporting you prayerfully and/or financially. Your potential sponsors will receive a letter with details about Team Ministry and a picture of you. They will also receive a follow-up phone call a few months into your tour. Though we encourage you to reach your goal as soon as possible, you may continue to work on sponsorship throughout the entire year.
Q: What expenses should I expect during the year?A: Even though we don't expect you to pay to participate in Team ministry you will have personal expenses over the course of the year. These personal expenses include: a pre-tour physical, travel to and from
It is important to note that Team Ministry is a volunteer missionary experience. It is our hope that you will not have to spend any money to participate. You will not make any money for one year either. You will spend a year living in complete care of God and of God's people.
Q: What if I have school loans?A: College loans can be deferred during the time that you serve with us. Though we cannot guarantee that a deferment will be granted, we have a high success rate for deferrals because we are a non-profit organization and because team members are volunteers and do not receive a salary. We will provide you with the application to request a deferment. We don't want money to keep you from this experience and will therefore work with individual circumstances as they arise.
Q: How long is the application process?A: There are two steps to the application process. First, applicants fill out and submit a copy of our primary application along with a health form and three references which we can mail to you or which you can download and print from our website. Once submitted, we will review your application and decide if we would like you to continue in the process. If so, we contact you and ask you to complete some secondary application materials including an interview and an audition tape/CD. International team applicants have an additional set of essay questions to complete. Once we receive all of these materials we review your completed file and make a final decision. The application process does take a few weeks, but the ultimate length is largely up to you. The quicker you get stuff turned in, the quicker we can make decisions!
Q: Is there a deadline?A: We do not have an official application deadline. However, because we fill spots as applications are received, the sooner you apply the better.
Q: Can I apply to a specific team?A: Yes…and no. International Team applicants can apply to a specific team, but the selection committee will ultimately determine if an applicant is assigned to that team. National Team and Community Based applicants are not able to pick the region in which they will serve. You are welcome to state your regional preference but we cannot guarantee you a spot on a particular team. It is important for us to put teams together by personality and skills. We want teams to be made up of members who can cater to the needs of all the different types of people they will meet.
Q: Are you affiliated with any particular denomination?A: Youth Encounter has grown out of the Lutheran tradition and confesses Lutheran theology, but we cater to the needs of all Christian denominations. Members of our ministry teams come from a variety of denominational backgrounds. Our deep desire is to share the good news we have in Jesus with others, no matter what the denomination or affiliation.
Q: Are you the same as Lutheran Youth Encounter?A: YES! Youth Encounter is our promotional name; our corporate name is still Lutheran Youth Encounter. Our confessional theology remains Lutheran. We hope to share the Gospel with everyone and attempt to create a style of ministry that is not denominationally specific.
Q: Youth Encounter comes from a Lutheran tradition. What if I'm not Lutheran?A: Youth Encounter is excited to partner with churches outside of the Lutheran tradition and welcomes non-Lutheran participants. For more information about us and what we believe, check out our mission and theology statement at www.youthencounter.org
Q: When will I know my team placement?A: We usually do not finalize placements on our national teams until early August. We will provide you with the names and contact information of your new teammates as soon as we make our placement decisions.
Q: Is there someone I can talk to about Team Ministry?A: You have several options available to you here. You can call the Youth Encounter office and one of many staff members who have served on team would be willing to talk with you. Otherwise, we can put you in touch with any number of alumni/parents of alumni who would be willing to share their Team Ministry experience with you. To find out who might be in your area give us a call at 1-800-65-YOUTH.
For more team info, click here. |
