Networks
Why networks are important:
- Youth workers who are involved in a local network, tend to stay longer in their ministries and have healthier ministries, than youth workers who are disconnected. The turnover, instability and inexperience of the new youth workers, contributes to the lowered influence of youth ministry. Connecting, encouraging, training and coaching, can help youth workers be healthier as servants, and more effective in their ministries.
- By connecting youth workers through networking, their efforts, plus the resources of their local church or ministry, can have a much deeper combined impact in their community, or to a group of youth.
- Networks are also needed to connect needed resources in a community that include more than just the paid youth ministers in local churches. Christian teachers, counselors, law enforcement, business leaders, community leaders and others, can all work together, to better reach the children and youth in their area.
What kind of networks?
- Fellowship and/or Prayer networks are probably the most common; of course, they usually involve a meal, such as a breakfast or lunch. ("Nothing attracts youth workers, like free food!" ... is still true.) These networks are typically very small, and may exist only for mutual encouragement. In some ways, they may function as a "small group" or "support group". Hopefully at some point, the fellowship and prayer will lead to the question, "What should we do about ____?" Answering the question, may lead to a new stage in the network's development.
- Geographic networks are defined by county, a zip-code cluster, community, etc. These networks can focus on a variety of needs, with diverse input from various stakeholders.
- School-focused networks are designed to reaching one or more schools. When enough local schools are served, a "District" network may form to connect the school-networks within their district. These networks enable a sharp-focus, with a broad gathering of varied stakeholders.
- Affinity networks are on-going groups that are formed around a common interest, or reaching an identified group of youth, such as those involved in trafficking, at-risk behaviors, pregnant teens, youth sub-cultures, or ministry models such as mentoring, sports, etc. These networks may also form to help youth workers connect and serve with their peers in an area of shared calling, giftedness or passion. Or, youth workers who want to share (or need to develop) their technical skills in media production, web design, etc. NNYM sponsors a variety of Affinity Networks with a national scope, but local affinity networks are also needed, and will fit well with our efforts in developing Leaders.
- Event-driven networks have a specific lifespan, based on a shared event. These may be city-wide efforts which have an extended life-span (12-18 months or more), such as the "Right from Wrong" campaign in 1999, "CityFest" in 2008, or more recently "1DayHouston" in 2023. They may also be community-based, such as "See You at the Pole" rallies or multi-church outreach efforts. These events can also serve as a sub-set of an ongoing network, or be the first-steps in ongoing efforts when no network exists, or trust must be rebuilt.
NNYM's model of a healthy network includes a growing balance of praying together, building relationships, developing strategies, and sharing resources.
Affiliation with NNYM:
The National Network of Youth Ministries recognizes TheNet as their local representative. TheNet of Greater Houston is the "network of networks" birthed in the mid-1990's, which is now supported by the Youthworkers Support Network. See our NNYM page for more information.
Identifying, Connecting and Strengthening ... but not Coordinating
We are not coordinating the activities of the different networks, and they are not accountable to us. Our role is to identify the existing networks, connect them to each other and other resources, then help strengthen their leaders and efforts if possible. Where networks do not exist, we hope to encourage start-ups ... but that will depend on local leadership and God's timing.
The key person in the network:
While starting, building and maintaining any network is a team effort, the key person is the network's coordinator. Often this person prefers to serve in the background as a facilitator, but their efforts (and survival) are indispensable. Most coordinators are employed by a local church or youth ministry, so their time involved in leading the network is in addition to their other responsibilities. A network's life-cycle may take years to reach a level of maturity, but it can die quickly without committed leadership.
For this reason, our local ministry is committed to serving, encouraging and supporting these network coordinators, within our limited resources. One of our best tools, is NNYM's Network Coaching Playbook and process.
How many Networks are needed?
NNYM's national goal is to encourage one network for each 80,000 in local population. These will be a variety of networking models; many of these will not be NNYM members. Our goal for our area includes all types of networks, including those serving the various denominations in our area. Based on the estimated 2022 populations for our counties, we hope to someday have identified, or help start, at least 100 networks in our area.
As of 05/15/23, we know of only 10 active networks in our Greater Houston Area.
There are many networks in our area that we have not yet identified! Many of these do not want to be identified, because they want to protect their members from marketing efforts, and perhaps to keep their group small and informal. This is understandable, so we must build trust and carefully protect it, while we attempt to identify, connect and strengthen these efforts.
| Networks Needed? | 2022 Estimates | #Networks Needed | |||
| County | Population* | % | Pop/80k | Known | |
| AUSTIN | 31,097 | 0.4% | 1 | - | |
| BRAZORIA | 388,181 | 5.3% | 6 | - | |
| CHAMBERS | 51,288 | 0.8% | 1 | - | |
| FORT BEND | 889,146 | 12.1% | 11 | 1 | |
| GALVESTON | 357,117 | 4.9% | 4 | 1 | |
| HARRIS | 4,780,913 | 65.1% | 60 | 2 | |
| LIBERTY | 101,992 | 1.4% | 2 | - | |
| MONTGOMERY | 678,490 | 9.2% | 8 | 2 | |
| WALLER | 61,894 | 0.8% | 1 | - | |
| Multi-county & Other | - | - | 6 | 4 | |
| 7,340,118 | 100.0% | 100 | 10 | ||
| *U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Release Date: March 2023. | |||||