Leadership Link |
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
This month we are including a snapshot of Teen Challenge in Asia Pacific where incredible opportunities exist for Teen Challenge to expand into Vietnam, Laos, Myamar, Fiji, Guam, and more.
We have also launched a new version of the Global Teen Challenge website at www.Globaltc.org providing current information on Teen Challenge around the world.
|
|
 The Need for Fellowship, by Dr. Jerry Nance
 I am writing this newsletter from Singapore where the Asia Pacific Teen Challenge conference is being held. Singapore is a beautiful nation and has an excellent TC ministry under the direction of Sam Kuna. Tonight we had a dinner with 180 staff, volunteers, donors and TC leaders from this part of the world.
The conference is well attended with TC leaders and staff who are all filled with passion for their work. I can't help but rejoice as I see how God is using so many of these leaders to impact this region of the world. The need is great and the opportunities are many, and I truly believe it is God's time for Teen Challenge in Asia Pacific.
The Teen Challenge family is so refreshing, so loving and so encouraging. Tonight I heard the South Korea director's wife, Sungjoo say, "When I left my country and I came here and met my TC family I felt such a burden leave me." She was so excited to be with a family of believers who truly understand the challenges that we all face leading a ministry like TC. This work is hard, it is intense, so many needs, so much stress, so many opportunities and so many financial challenges.
Let me tell you from more than 20 years of experience, God is our source and He will always see us through the challenges. We must understand that whatever we are passing through is only temporary and that we must hold on to our faith in His ability to help us.
When I am with a group of leaders like I am with this week, one theme rings loud and clear, "obedience." So many of my TC brothers and sisters are passing through or have passed through overwhelming challenges. They are faithful, obedient and persistent. I am so moved by the sacrificial hearts and the testimonies of God's grace. We have such strength in numbers and such freedom to laugh, cry and rejoice when we get together.
Having a family who understands you and understands the stresses and the pressures is one of the greatest blessings of life. We as leaders all need to make sure we have those we can share with, someone we can be honest with and someone we can be accountable to. As leaders we must make it a priority to be with our TC family who can help us along our journey. We learn so much from each other.
Let me encourage you to take the time for fellowship and refreshing. May the Favor of the Lord rest on you today.
Jerry Nance
|
|
New Global Teen Challenge Website
In the last few days we launched a new version of the website www.globaltc.org which is the official website for Global Teen Challenge.
One of the main reasons we made this change was when we learned that many people outside the USA were unable to open the old website because it was designed with so many "flash" files.
The new website uses a much simpler design and we hope people around the world will be able to access it much easier, even if they are using slow dial-up connections to the internet. We are planning to add a number of additional pages, so check back regularly to see what is new. It will also include a link for all past issues of the GTC E-newsletter Leadership Link.
The directory of TC Centers around the world is one of the main features of this website. In recent weeks Dave Henry, one of the Global TC staff, has been contacting TC centers around the world requesting updates on the information on each center.
Please do 2 things.
1. Please visit the website www.globaltc.org and see if the information listed on your center is correct.
2. If your TC center information is not correct, or if your center is not listed, then please email Dave Henry at Dave.Henry@teenchallenge.cc or Dave416clinton@hotmail.com and send him the updated information.
We want this directory to be current and complete, so we need your help. When we have the directory fully updated, we will send you the new report on how many centers we have world-wide.
Featured testimonies. We want to start posting a new Teen Challenge testimony each week on our website. If possible, we would like to include a picture of the student or graduate.
So please send us a testimony or 2 which we can use on this website. If you have seen the book, Teen Challenge: 50 Years of Miracles, by Dave Batty and Ethan Campbell, you will get an idea of what we want to include. That book features testimonies from around the world. We want to do the same on our website, so please send us your best ones! Please submit the testimony in English. If you also have the testimony in your own language, we will try to post it on our website in your language as well. Please email the testimonies and pictures to gtc@globaltc.org
We value your ideas and suggestions for this website, so please let us know what you would like to see added or changed on the Global TC website.
|
|
Planning for Staff Training, by Dave Batty
 With the introduction of the new website www.iTeenChallenge.org we have entered a new age for Teen Challenge. For the first time TC staff all over the world have immediate access to staff training resources on a wide variety of topics. And the added blessing is that most of these training materials are free.
If you have not visited that website yet, I would encourage you to go and check it out. There are over 50 courses ready for you to download. Our goal is to make all of these available in a variety of languages--but that will take some time. And we plan on adding a lot more courses--we expect to have 100 available by the end of this year.
We are also video taping these courses and will offer a variety of options for each course. Right now you might only find a set of notes for a particular course. Our goal is to have a video of the course, an audio file, a printed transcript of the training, a teacher's manual, a student manual, participant note sheet, a study guide, and yes, for some of these a test. We also are offering powerpoints for some of these courses.
1. Setting up your staff training program
But with all these training materials available, this website is not going to come into your center and run your staff training program. It is the responsibility of each local Teen Challenge center to set up their own staff training program to provide quality training for your staff. The website www.iTeenChallenge.org is like a library. You can go to the library to get materials, but you have to design and implement the staff training program.
In the near future we will offer on the website a variety of suggested schedules for training your staff. You can set up a schedule for training all new staff, training for teachers, training for counselors, training for evangelism and other outreach ministry activities, and more. We also have a course entitled "Planning for Staff Development and Training," which you can download at the website www.iTeenChallenge.org
We would like to encourage you to put in place a systematic training process for your staff. It needs to be comprehensive, where you systematically address all the key issues for effective ministry. Take time to plan out your training so keep it balanced and effective. We also want to encourage you to make this training a regular part of your schedule at least once a month.
2. Who will be in charge of staff training?
If staff training is going to be a high priority at your center, the director must be the one most committed to seeing this happen. But in most centers, the director is already overwhelmed with many other important responsibilities. Perhaps the best option is for the director to select a staff member to be in charge of staff training. Give that staff the authority and the budget to be in charge of planning and implementing the staff training program. But the director needs to check up on this regularly to make sure it is being done.
3. "We are too busy to take time for staff training"
You may say, "I would love to see our staff trained, but we just don't have time." You have to make time for what is most important in your ministry. Put it on the schedule, just like you put chapel, mealtime, and classes on the schedule. If at all possible, have some of the staff training where all the staff are required to attend. Have a local pastor or other volunteers come in and supervise the students while you have the staff training time.
Don't wait until you have the perfect program before you start systematic staff training. The only way you will move from your current place to a higher quality of staff and program is to start now with who you have. Don't make excuses--just make staff training a priority. In his book, From Dream to Reality, Jerry Nance tells how God called him to Florida to be the director of a Teen Challenge program that was filled with problems--including many of the staff. One of the keys to turning this ministry into a growing successful ministry was to make regular staff training a key priority. Looking at the growth and success of these centers today provides clear evidence of what can happen when you make staff training a priority in your TC ministry.
As you invest in your staff, everyone will benefit--first the students will benefit with more effective staff. You will also find that growing staff will stay with you longer, when they see you are committed to helping them grow and make the ministry more effective. And as your program improves, you the director will benefit. Better trained staff provide the potential for them to lift some of the burdens of leadership that now rest on your shoulders.
The August E-newsletter will focus on how you can use the "Emerging Leaders Training Program" to raise up TC students to be staff.
|
 |
|
Jamaica Report, by Gregg Fischer
 This past June Duane Henders, Global TC representative to Latin America & Caribbean, invited me to go with him to Jamaica Teen Challenge. The purpose of this trip was to spend a few days with the staff in training and also meet with the ministry leadership in developing an on-going staff training program.
It was a delight to meet Executive Director Anthony Richards and his  dedicated staff. During our morning sessions we met with all of the staff and interns for basic staff training. Some of the topics covered were Keys to the Success of Teen Challenge, Helping Students with Personal Application Goals, Writing Student Learning Contracts, and Creative Lesson Planning. We also discussed ways to increase the effectiveness of the PSNC learning contracts by utilizing input from all areas of the ministry. In the afternoon sessions with the leadership team, we looked at the staff training needs of the ministry and how the iTeenChallenge.org website could be used to facilitate these needs.
 Here are some comments from the staff:
"This training has really empowered me as a teacher and counselor."
"It was a great inspiration... a help for us to maximize our potential as Staff"
 "I'm challenged to read more and keep growing." "It has been a challenge and reminder that every staff member must keep growing and be part of the student's growth and development."
God is doing great things through the ministry of Jamaica Teen Challenge. Please pray for them as they continue to grow and expand their outreach to the hurting in Jamaica.
|
|
Update on Brent Collins
 Although Global Teen Challenge seems in most ways to be moving full steam ahead, one of our staff members, Brent Collins has been slowed down for a few months due to a recent accident. Brent co-leads and participates in a church outreach to skateboarders in the Columbus area. Two weeks ago during the session at a local skate park, Brent made a simple error that resulted in broken and dislocated bones, as well as torn ligaments around his ankle. So he won't be traveling in the near future, but does plan to be traveling a bit more slowly again by mid-September. Please keep Brent and his family in your prayers. The recovery process for such an injury can be long and difficult. |
|
Asia Pacific & Cambodia Report, by Gregg Fischer
 I just returned from two weeks of staff training in Asia. The Kingdom of Cambodia was my first stop where I was privileged to spend a number of days with Director Koy Chhim and his staff. Teen Challenge of Cambodia is a new ministry which opened in the Fall of 2008. It is exciting to see the great work that God is doing through this new ministry. The program is full and the students are eager to learn about how to live for Christ. The staff are new to Teen Challenge ministry and very interested in all the training that is available.
 After visiting Cambodia I travelled to Singapore to participate in the Asia Pacific Teen Challenge Conference. There were Teen Challenge leaders representing 16 different ministries from 12 countries. Since a number of these ministries are recent startups, the seminars on the Teen Challenge curriculum were received with great interest.
It is a tremendous blessing and honor to meet Teen Challenge workers when I travel. The friendship and fellowship is deep as we labor together helping the addicted to be free in Christ.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of this ministry.
| |
|
|
Global Teen Challenge is a service agency that exists to serve the more than 1000 Teen Challenge programs in more than 80 countries of the world. It is our desire to provide the best and latest tools available in helping individuals with life controlling addictions. According to the United Nations, more than 200 million people worldwide struggle with drug abuse. Drug users are getting younger and their use is becoming more frequent. Alcohol and drug addictions are plaguing our nations, our cities and invading our homes. We are committed to doing everything we can to reach people around the globe with life controlling problems. For more information on Global Teen Challenge, visit our website at www.GlobalTC.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(See Staff Training Course T108.01 for more information.)