Cruise Control and Leadership

According to the US Patient Office, cruise control (also called speedostat #2519859) was developed in 1948 by inventor and mechanical engineer Ralph Teetor. With the oil crisis of 1973 cruise control became a popular option for saving gas and soon offered as standard equipment by the mid-1970s. Of course, the beauty of this technological marvel of speed regulation is that you can simply set it and forget it . . . at least for a while.

Cruise control allows drivers to direct less effort in getting where they want to go and endure less stress in the process. However, it also produced an unforeseen consequence – getting so comfortable that paying close attention to safety becomes ancillary.

Don’t Set the Cruise Control

In student ministry, be careful not to set the cruise control. Instead, strive to lead your ministry out of imaginative priority rather than dutiful auto-pilot. Leading from imagination and excitement is more productive and healthy than leading from memory. The goal is to help create and shape the future rather than simply repeating the past. It is tempting to operate a student ministry from the cruise control – set it and forget it . . . letting it run until it needs your attention at a critical moment. Unfortunately, there are too many student ministers who have set the cruise control and except for a few increases and decreases in speed, it remains pretty much the same ministry. The faces change with incoming sixth graders and outgoing graduates but otherwise, it remains very similar.  How can you tell if your ministry is running on cruise control?

Seven Signs Your Ministry is on Cruise Control

  1. Your sermons more often come from your archive file than your study file.
  2. The only thing you changed on the student ministry calendar was the year . . . again.
  3. New faces come mostly on fifth grade promotion day.
  4. The good news is that there is no bad news.
  5. You don’t remember the process of scheduling youth for baptism.
  6. The youth worship order is a template that requires only song title changes.
  7. All your student leaders are veterans.

Three Ways to Turn Off Cruise Control

  1. Calendar with Purpose: Don’t just repeat ministry events because the dates roll around. Consider the needs of the students, parents, and the targeted lost community. Let the purpose dictate the calendar rather than the calendar dictate the purpose.
  2. Calendar with Passion: Create a platform where creative minds offer alternative ministry ideas that bring passion and urgency to reaching students with the Gospel.
  3. Calendar with Vision: Plan your ministry calendar with an eye towards the future rather than the past. Only repeat ministry events that produce progress in achieving the ministry vision and goals. Don’t be afraid to drop something from your ministry calendar, especially if it does not require a ministry to produce it.

If you need a break from the fast pace of ministry management then let your volunteer team step up to assume some heavy lifting for a few weeks. It might be tempting to set the cruise control and step away but remember the long-term success of your ministry and your health depends on your being engaged and invested personally. Cruise control is great as long as it is not your priority plan for executing student ministry.


Cruise Control from Charles Boyd on Vimeo.


“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.Proverbs 13:4