Leadership 101

Your Go-to Guide for Leading Youth and Children’s Ministries into a Brighter Future

Tim Alford

• Publisher: SPCK Publishing
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780281086078
• eBook ISBN: 9780281086085
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

'Tim Alford has learnt these lessons not in the classroom but in the hurly-burly, heart breaking, inspiring world of Christian leadership. It’s required reading for every leader who wants to leave a legacy of fired up leaders who totally follow Jesus. Is there really anything more important than that?' Andy Hawthorne OBE, Director of The Message Trust

Youth and childrens' ministry is impacted by many things – from training and resources to demographic. But ultimately it is leadership skills that determine how fruitful our ministries can be.

Leadership 101 is a manual designed to equip youth and kids workers with the tools they need not just to lead, but to lead well.

Taking a holistic look at leadership, Tim Alford, national director of Limitless, explores the principles of self-leadership, culture and team building, vision and strategy and offers practical, experienced advice how to implement those principles in our Christian leadership.

Thoroughly readable and entirely applicable, Leadership 101 is the perfect leadership book for childrens' and youth workers to refer to again and again as you lead your ministry into a brighter, more fruitful, future.

‘Tim has done a great job of communicating so clearly, with very ­helpful practical application, some of the most important principles in effective spiritual leadership. I love this book and highly recommend it to anyone in any sort of church/ministry leadership.’

James Aladiran, founder, Prayer Storm

‘Leadership 101 is written straight from the trenches of youth work and is a gift to everyone involved in serving and loving young people in any capacity! Tim lives and breathes this stuff and each chapter will challenge, inspire and resource you to grow and develop as a leader to best serve the next generation. Tim does a brilliant job of humbly offering practical advice gained through many years of experience, as well as leaving space for God to speak to you. This is a must-read, either on your own or with some friends. So grab a journal and take it slowly, because, to quote Tim, “I simply cannot conceive of anything more necessary that you could give your life to than passing on the gospel to the next generation.”’

Susie Aldridge, Lead Pastor, Dreaming the Impossible, and Associate Pastor, Trent Vineyard

‘Tim is an outstanding leader and person. He models what he teaches and carries such an authority in the youth ministry ­community with humility and grace. This excellent book is packed full of practical, lived-out wisdom. I love that this book is written by a youth ministry practitioner for people working on the frontline. Like the best books, this is not meant to be read alone but in community, so read it with others, apply the wisdom in its pages and let’s see our youth ministries fly and flourish!’

Pete Baker, National Director, Pais Movement

‘Tim is the real deal – an outstanding kingdom leader with a huge depth of insight. I’ve learned so much from journeying with him and I’ve no doubt you will too as you read through this book that’s crammed with practical wisdom.’

Carl Beech, founder, Christian Vision for Men and The Edge Network

‘Practical, accessible, engaging and packed full of wisdom. This book is an absolute must-read for anyone in youth and children’s ministry.’

Gavin Calver, CEO, Evangelical Alliance

‘More than a manual and way beyond a “how to” guide, this is a ­passionate, compelling invitation to the adventure of discovering and developing your life as a leader of children and young people. Hugely practical, Leadership 101 is filled with insight and inspiration, resource and revelation. Tim is convinced that God is about to move afresh among generations of children and young people and that this is the greatest possible thing we could be involved in. Get this into the hands of every youth and children’s leader you can.’

Chris Cartwright, General Superintendent, Elim Pentecostal Church

‘Leadership isn’t in your genes, it grows from your inner life. Tim takes us on a journey into how that happens with great insights and practical lessons. You’ll want this book in your pocket, not on the shelf.’

Chris Curtis, Chief Executive, Youthscape

‘Leadership 101 is a fantastic resource enabling youth and children’s ministers to reflect and grow in their leadership. Tim has written an incredibly practical book that offers huge amounts of simple but actionable advice that will see your leadership develop and grow. Tim is not afraid to move beyond established leadership models, tackling current issues such as social media and mental health and their impact on leadership. The book is a well thought-through and challenging manual of leadership from start to finish and comes thoroughly recommended.’

Jimmy Dale, National Youth Evangelism Officer, The Church of England

‘This is a brilliant resource for youth and children’s leaders. This book provides excellent wisdom, advice and practical steps to leading well with space for reflection and application throughout. I’d highly recommend it to anyone involved in ministry to children and young people as an easy-to-read but challenging and accessible resource.’

Paul Friend, Director, South West Youth Ministries

‘There are books on leadership you know you’re supposed to read, and then there are books on leadership that you must read. This is one such book. It’s loaded with sharp wisdom and enduring encouragement fresh from the trenches of what it actually means to pastor and lead young people. But what I appreciate most about this book is that Tim so evidently loves youth leaders and knows the unique challenges we face. Passionate, provocative and profoundly actionable, this book is a gift for everyone who shares God’s heart for the emerging generations to know Life in all its fullness.’

Rachel Gardner, Director of Partnerships, Youthscape

‘This book is not only really accessible, relatable and inspiring but also excellent both for those of us starting out on our leadership journey, and for those a little further along! I would however offer this warning: don’t read this book too quickly as there is gold in here that you cannot afford to miss.’

Laura Hancock, Director of National Ministries, British Youth for Christ

‘Tim repeatedly reminds us that there is no greater privilege than being called to serve children and young people. This is evident throughout the book with Tim’s obvious love for young people, youth leaders and most importantly Jesus! This extremely readable and practical book is full of insight, wisdom and leadership gold, developed from years of being on the front line and wrestling with both the “why” and the “how” of what we do. The simple and profound nuggets of wisdom throughout this book will help you to lead yourself and the youth and children’s ministry in a much more effective and fruitful way. Read it prayerfully, wrestle with the questions and let it really shape how you serve and lead!’

Andy Harding, Executive Pastor, Central Church, Director, PowerPoint, Vice Chair, Magnitude, and founder, Lead

‘Tim Alford has learned these lessons not in the classroom but in the hurly-burly, heartbreaking, inspiring world of Christian leadership. It’s required reading for every leader who wants to leave a legacy of ...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Rise and fall
• Introduction
• Sharpen the saw
• 01
• The ten most important things a leader should do every week
• 02
• Pause, reflect, innovate, repeat
• 03
• Model it
• 04
• Choose your attitude
• 05
• Discover your passion
• 06
• Passion killers
• 07
• Humble leaders are better leaders
• 08
• Soak it up: the art of receiving feedback
• 09
• How to keep going when you feel like giving up
• 10
• The new rules of social media
• Introduction
• ‘A genius with a thousand helpers’
• 11
• Culture club
• 12
• The value of values
• 13
• Creating community
• 14
• Shoot the elephant
• 15
• The paradox of apology
• 16
• Building diverse leadership teams
• 17
• Pay it forward: raising leaders
• 18
• How to lead a volunteer team
• 19
• Thanks for the feedback
• 20
• How not to hate meetings
• Introduction
• Getting from here to there
• 21
• Define your mission
• 22
• Vision: from concept to target
• 23
• Making ideas happen
• 24
• Do less better
• 25
• How to lead change
• 26
• Wisdom and risk: embracing the tension
• 27
• How to lead up
• 28
• Killing time?
• 29
• Excellence is not a swear word
• 30
• Keeping in step with the Spirit
• Afterword