ELEVATE COMMUNITY: Two combined influences increase the odds

Connect everyone to a caring leader and a consistent group of peers

My oldest daughter, Hannah, loved basketball, and I learned a lot from watching her play the game. I discovered that the right coach can make all the difference. The next time you watch a basketball game, focus on the head coach moving along the sidelines with the players, giving constant instructions.

Maybe the most mysterious part of the game is how the players seem to have supersonic, laser-focused hearing. They can actually filter out the echoes of the gym floor, the roar of the crowd, and the shouts of their own parents to tune in to the solitary voice of the coach.

I remember watching Hannah shoot eight three-pointers during one particular high school basketball game. At the end of the game, I ran up to her excitedly because I just knew all she wanted was my affirmation and approval. She asked me, “Dad, did my coach say anything to you about how I played?”

I said, “What does it matter what your coach said? Your father is here!”

“But, Dad, did Coach Brown say anything?”

Suddenly, it dawned on me that my daughter had crossed a line. She was more concerned about what the coach thought than she was about what I thought.
The reality is that a time comes in all children’s lives when they seem to care more about what another adult says than they care what their own parents say. That’s why it’s important to start early in a child’s life establishing the right coaches.

When we talk about elevating community, we are talking about strategically placing coaches in the lives of our children and teenagers.

At Horizon we work very hard in making sure we have consistency in leadership in all of our small groups.  This goes all the way from birth-high school.  When people ask us how often they should serve we say, "Our goal is for there to be a consistent face in the classroom or small group every week.  We hope you can be that consistent face."  It's interesting to me how much this works.  I find that leaders step up to something worth their time.  We have better leaders I believe with our kids because we expect more from them.  To often people play to the lowest common denominator and if we say that a volunteer to could once a month to every week (which by the way is the case) then most would chose once a week.  Like the principle says, it is about building community.

What options do you give volunteers to serve with you?  Do you see that they play to the lowest common denominator?