Introduction

Every decision you make is viewed through a lens of risk and anxiety. This article will help you identify your filters, how they impact your ministry decisions, and the benefits of adopting a high-risk/low-anxiety approach to next-gen ministry.

What is High-Risk/Low-Anxiety?

All people, teams, ministries, and churches operate in one of four boxes depending on how they approach risk and how they experience anxiety. Knowing how you work—as an individual and a leader—will increase your self-awareness and improve your effectiveness in ministry. Here are some basic descriptions:

• Low Risk – Sticks to traditional ideas, hesitant to try new things, and tends to avoid taking risks.

• High Risk – Tries new things, experiments, takes on significant challenges, thinks “outside the box.”

• Low Anxiety – Minimal worries, carefree, light-hearted, and unafraid to fail.

• High Anxiety – Worries a lot, is concerned about what others might think, fears worst-case scenarios.

The combination of these factors produces four possible ways you can operate. Below are descriptions of each one.

Scenario 1 – Low-Risk/Low-Anxiety

You are not a fan of taking risks, but you also don't worry too much about it. You are satisfied with how things are and don't feel a strong urge to explore new possibilities. This is a common trait in established churches or pastors who have been in ministry for a long time and prefer to stick to their tried and tested methods. However, such individuals or groups rarely experience growth, progress, or forward momentum.

Scenario 2 – High-Risk/High-Anxiety

You are willing to take risks but feel anxious throughout the process. While people like this may exist, I have never met anyone like this in ministry. Maintaining both extremes can be challenging, and often, the anxiety eventually overpowers the willingness to take risks.

Scenario 3 – Low-Risk/High-Anxiety

This scenario is a combination of the worst of both worlds. You tend to avoid taking risks while also experiencing a lot of anxiety about things. You tend to be careful and restrained, and worry often consumes your thoughts. You may find yourself constantly thinking phrases such as "That won't work," "What will people think?" or "Have we thought through every contingency?"

Additionally, you tend to see the flaws in ideas before you see their benefits or potential. You may see yourself as a realist, but others could see you as a pessimist. Ultimately, this is one of the least effective ways to do ministry. You expend a lot of energy on thinking through consequences and impacts, but, in the end, you make little headway forward.

Many traditional Hmong churches operate like this. They are risk-averse but often worry about everything—saving face, offending people, and following cultural expectations. Many board meetings are spent saying “no” to ideas, often for well-thought-out but cautious reasons. These churches value stability and tend to play it safe.

Scenario 4 – High-Risk/Low-Anxiety

This is when you’re willing to take risks without significant worry or stress. You aren’t afraid of new ideas or experimentation. If something doesn’t work, you learn from it and move on. Leadership conversations are focused on potentials and possibilities, not fears and concerns. Ministries like this are usually more innovative and open to fresh perspectives.

5 Benefits of Being High-Risk/Low-Anxiety in Ministry

1. It Empowers Leaders

Adopting a high-risk/low-anxiety approach in ministry empowers leaders by giving them the confidence to make bold decisions without the paralyzing effects of fear. This freedom fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility, encouraging leaders to step out of their comfort zones and lead with conviction.

2. It Creates a Culture of Experimentation

By valuing risk and minimizing anxiety, a ministry cultivates an environment where experimentation is not just accepted but encouraged. This culture breaks the shackles of “we’ve always done it this way” and allows for exploring new ideas and approaches, leading to dynamic and evolving ministry practices.

3. It Fosters Creativity and Innovation

This approach to ministry paves the way for creativity and innovation, as it removes the fear of failure that often stifles new thinking. In such an atmosphere, team members are more likely to propose unique solutions and creative ideas, driving the ministry forward in fresh and exciting ways.

4. It Makes Ministry More Enjoyable

High-risk/low-anxiety ministry transforms the work environment into a more enjoyable and fulfilling place. Leaders and members feel more relaxed and engaged, knowing they can pursue ambitious goals without dreading negative repercussions, leading to a more positive and passionate involvement in ministry activities.

5. It Promotes Trust in God

Embracing a high-risk, low-anxiety mindset in ministry inherently strengthens faith and trust in God. It reflects a deep-seated belief that God is in control despite uncertainties and challenges. This reliance on divine guidance and providence fosters a deeper spiritual connection and reliance on God’s direction in all aspects of ministry.

What It Looks Like at RiverLife

At RiverLife, one of our leadership values is that we are high-risk/low-anxiety. This value plays out in two ways in our leadership.

First, we are high-risk/low-anxiety in our ministry decisions. We value innovation and are not afraid of trying something new if it helps us further our mission. We are open to experimenting with new ideas; if it doesn't work as expected, we move on to something else. While we consider any concerns from our team, we don't let those fears drive our decisions. Nobody should be criticized for trying something new that doesn't work. We view it as a learning opportunity to improve our ministry.

Second, we are also high-risk/low-anxiety in our relationships. We lean into courageous conversations. These are difficult and uncomfortable conversations where we must coach someone under our supervision or address a sensitive issue. While some people have left the church because of these difficult discussions, we believe true gospel transformation happens through conversations like these. We understand this can be challenging for some of our second-gen Hmong leaders, and we actively coach and model this behavior for them.

How About You?

So, how do you handle risk and anxiety? Whether you're aware of it or not, you already land in one of these four groups. And it influences everything you do in ministry. That’s why this idea is so important to understand.

If you don’t already land in the high-risk/low-anxiety box, explore ways you can shift by embracing risk or reducing anxiety within your team and for yourself.

What’s Novembering?

Every year since our launch, we have reserved a Sunday in November for a special service called Novembering. This service is dedicated to remembering and honoring our loved ones who have passed away—be it parents, grandparents, spouses, children (born or unborn), aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, or even pets.

Many people eagerly look forward to this service every year.

This service is comparatively quieter and more reflective, and our worship songs are usually slower and more contemplative. The staff and leaders also dress in black, as if attending a funeral.

While it might be too late for you to do a Novembering service this year, these are ideas and practices you can incorporate into any of the holiday services to honor those for whom the holidays can be painful as well as joyful.

Watch our latest Novembering service from the St. Paul campuses.

Four Reasons We Do Novembering

1.  The Holidays Can be Hard

If you’ve lost someone you love, the holidays can be a difficult time, especially if it’s the first time you have that empty chair. We hope that Novembering can help people enter the holiday season with a little more hope in Christ, comfort in one another, and healthy grieving skills.

2. Grieving Well Brings Healing

Grief is a complex, painful emotion that we all experience differently. But one thing is true—most of us don’t know how to grieve well. We know dozens of unhealthy ways to grieve, like burying our emotions, overworking, or self-medicating with food or alcohol. Novembering attempts to lead people in emotionally healthy, biblical models of grief.

3. Healing Happens Together

Western culture tends to grieve privately, but much of the world is communal and grieves corporately. There is healing that happens when we grieve together. That’s why funerals, wakes, and memorials are so vital for the grieving process. (This idea was inspired by a Ronald McDonald House collection box.)

4. The Church Should Model Lament

The Bible is full of lament—people pouring out their emotions of deep sorrow, grief, or remorse. One-third of all psalms are individual and corporate laments. After thousands of years, we still have plenty of reasons to lament, but we don’t do it nearly enough, especially in the Church. Novembering is our intentional effort to give time and space to pour out our hearts to God and one another

Components of Our Novembering Services

Our annual service has a familiar format that we follow each year. Though we don't use all seven components every time, we do use many of them. Some elements have become traditions for us, so we use them every year.

Slower Worship Songs

Our worship leaders tend to choose slower, more meditative worship songs and often perform with smaller bands or play acoustic sets. Some beautiful and timeless hymns are also included in our worship services as they help in creating a calming, serene space where people can feel the peace and comfort of God. Depending on the theme of the teaching, we sometimes end with a more celebratory praise song to uplift the congregation.

Teaching on a Lament Psalm

Our sermon is always focused on a lament psalm. There are plenty to pick from! We take this time to explain the characteristics of biblical lament and emphasize the importance of both complaint and praise in healthy grief.

Skills Lesson on Grief

In some years, we also include a short instructional teaching on some aspects of grieving well. We have covered topics such as ambiguous loss, the ball-and-box analogy, the non-linear approach to the stages of grief, and more.

Poems or Readings

When it comes to addressing grief, we find it helpful to include emotional and visceral content such as poems or readings. Among our top choices are the cute little book Elf Help: Grief Therapy, the poem “i carry your heart with me” by e. e. cummings, the reflection “The Blessing Hidden in Grief” by Henri Nouwen,  or the anonymous poem “Lend Me Your Hope,”

Videos about Grief

We also like to play a video or two as an alternative means of engaging with the topic of grief. One of our perennial favorites is The Mourning Booth by the Skit Guys. This year, we also used “Forsaken” by Journey Box Media

Candle Lighting

This is one of the most powerful moments in the service. Beforehand, we set up a table of votive candles, like you might see in a Catholic church. We invite people to come up and light a candle in memory of a loved one they have lost. Sometimes, we play music while other times we sit with the silence. It is a truly beautiful and meaningful experience.

Open Mic Sharing

During the candle lighting, we also invite people to share the names of loved ones they’ve lost. Sometimes, people will share a memory or story as well. We request everyone to keep their remarks brief to ensure that everyone has a chance to share. This can go 10-20 minutes, sometimes with dozens of people sharing. I It is an emotional time, filled with tears, but it is also surprising to see how many people share smiles and fond memories.

A Novembering Benediction

There’s one more reason we do a Novembering service—because grief and comfort are fundamental to our sanctifying relationship with Christ. The Apostle Paul describes it beautifully in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”

Introduction

Creating the correct values is crucial to generating a team of enthusiastic volunteers who work together toward a common mission. In contrast, if values are not set or completely absent, the volunteers can become unfocused and disjointed, often driven by their opinions, motives, needs, and fears.

In this post, we will introduce RiverLife’s seven volunteer values and explain how they have established a culture of effective ministry for next-gen Hmong. This culture has proven to be particularly effective for those who have been hurt by the church or feel far away from God.

How We Developed Our Volunteer Values

RiverLife has a remarkable volunteer culture that developed right from the start. As a mobile church, we relied on a team of volunteers every week to unload, set up, and take down everything. Our volunteers were crucial to making our services possible, and every week, we worked together as one. We didn’t have to work hard to create a volunteer culture; being a mobile church necessitated it.

However, after a few years, we moved into a permanent church home, and I read about the challenges churches face in maintaining their strong volunteer culture after such a move. This prompted us to write down our volunteer values for the first time. We documented some of the things we consistently said to our volunteers and some underlying values that needed to be articulated.

What Values-Driven Unity Looks Like

If you are Hmong or belong to a collectivist culture, you are already familiar with people sharing common values and working together to accomplish something remarkable.

Think of the last time you attended a Hmong funeral and observed 20-30 family members chopping, cooking, serving food, restocking water, and cleaning tables. This group of highly motivated volunteers works together towards a common goal.

Have you ever watched a group of txiv tsev (men) cut down a large tree together? It’s incredible… and terrifying. However much OSHA might disapprove, they are still a group of highly motivated volunteers working together to achieve a common objective.

Now, imagine if you could have a group of volunteers like that. Here are seven volunteer values that can help. Feel free to use any or all of these in your ministry.

Value #1 – We Serve Because of Jesus

We love others because Jesus first loved us. We serve others like we’re serving Jesus himself.

There are a lot of reasons why somebody serves in church. Some people may want to give back, support the church, socialize with like-minded individuals, utilize their talents, or simply avoid sitting through the service. While these aren’t all bad reasons, ensuring that everyone serves primarily because of Jesus is essential.

Value #2 – We Are Relentlessly Others-Focused

We leave the best for our guests.

I am constantly challenging people to prioritize other people's needs ahead of their own. This is one of the critical values that has helped us create such a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

We ask our volunteers to park far away so that we leave the closest spots for others. (I often say, “If you didn’t grumble because of how far you parked, you didn’t park far enough.”)

We tell our volunteers to sit in the front of the sanctuary or the middle of the aisle so that we can leave the preferred aisle seats for others.

We even tell them to take the crumbled donuts with squished frosting because we want to leave the best donuts for others.

Value #3 – We See New People As Guests Not Visitors

Visitors are strangers in a new place. Guests are treated special.

Minor language changes can significantly affect how we communicate with others. When people visit museums, parks, or other cities, they simply visit. However, when they come to RiverLife, they are our guests in our home.

This slight shift in language sets the expectation of a warm, welcoming, and inclusive environment for everyone who walks through our doors. It communicates that we are excited to have them as part of our community, even if it's just for one Sunday morning. It conveys our desire to build meaningful relationships, extend Christ-like love, and foster a sense of belonging from their very first encounter with our church.

Value #4 – We are Dependable

We show up when we said we would, where we said we would, ready to do what we said we’d do.

I like this statement as it effectively summarizes what qualities make a great volunteer. In my experience, problematic volunteers often exhibit one or more of the following behaviors: showing up late, not showing up at all, or being unprepared. However, this value addresses these issues and encourages volunteers to be punctual, reliable, and prepared.

I will take a dependable person over a skilled person any day because skills can be taught, while dependability is much harder to instill.

Value #5 – We Do Whatever It Takes

No job is too small or insignificant.

As a new-ish church, all our leaders and volunteers must be willing to help with whatever comes up. We cannot segment ministries or think, “Someone else can take care of that.”

While we don’t do each other’s jobs, we step up to help whenever something needs to be done or somebody needs a hand.

That means that, as the Lead Pastor, I sometimes preach or pray and sometimes take out trash or unclog a toilet.

Value #6 – We Value Quality

We strive for quality, not perfection. Good enough is rarely good enough.

There is much debate within churches about this topic. We aim to find a balance between offering excellent Sunday services, spiritual experiences, and impactful ministries while maintaining a high-risk / low-anxiety approach to ministry. (More

It's common for churches to accept "good enough" from volunteers because they offer their time for free. However, we aim to encourage our volunteers to strive for something more than the bare minimum.

Value #7 – We Have Fun

We love what we do. If we’re not having fun, they’re not having fun.

I was introduced to this idea when I was a high school math teacher, and I found it to be a great alternative to the sour, angry, or bland tone that some have while preaching.

We decided to apply this idea to all our volunteers as well. When you enjoy what you’re doing, it spreads to others through your smile, tone of voice, and spark in your eyes.

No one wants to serve in a task or ministry while not enjoying it. This dissatisfaction can also spread and eventually affect everyone around them.

When we notice someone is not enjoying their volunteer role, we encourage them to speak with us about it, try a new ministry, or even take a break from serving. This approach ensures that our volunteers are happy and fulfilled, leading to a more positive and productive environment for everyone involved.

How To Create Your Own Volunteer Values

Have you ever thought about what your volunteer values are? Even if you haven't, you still have values that drive you and your volunteers. If you need to figure out what they are, take some time to brainstorm.

Think about what you tell volunteers repeatedly and the reasons behind specific actions. If you still need to figure out your values, ask someone. Start by asking them what they enjoy about serving in your organization or what one word they would use to describe your volunteer culture.

You can also think about churches or ministries you've loved and what made them special. Try to make your values both achievable and aspirational. They should represent your organization's best possible version of itself.

Once you have some words and phrases written down, refine them to ensure they express precisely what you want them to convey. Then, share them every week with your volunteers. Talk about them so often you get sick of them. And then talk about it even more.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of a church. Having great values creates an excellent volunteer culture, which makes great volunteers. And great volunteers create a healthier and more impactful ministry.

Volunteers are the backbone of a church. A robust value system creates a positive volunteer culture, leading to engaged volunteers who significantly impact the kingdom of God.

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27 Anime Jesus Posters

4.13MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

How Did This Come About?

I’ve been developing kids ministry curriculum and content for over a decade, and there is always one question that lingers at the back of my mind - How can we make teaching more enjoyable and relevant to our youngest generation?

This question stays with me every time I create new lesson plans or graphics, and sometimes, it even visits me in my dreams, reminding me that I am only getting older and more out of touch with our little ones!

One form of media that has become increasingly popular is anime and manga. Since the pandemic, these forms of storytelling, in both books and animation, have become household staples worldwide. In fact, one out of every three people watches anime or reads manga, and over 100 million households have watched at least one anime on Netflix since 2020.

As a huge fan myself, this got me thinking: how can I use the popularity of anime/manga in our Kids Ministry to make learning about Bible characters or reading the Bible more interactive and fun?

This question led me to a simple but incredibly fun idea—telling the story of Jesus as if He was an anime hero, and we used AI to help us get there!

Download Posters or Access the Canva File

27 Anime Jesus Posters

4.13MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Are you already a Canva user? Access our template directly and add it to your account.

A Few Notes:

1. We know that some of these posters are not historically accurate. They aren’t meant to be. They’re meant to be fun and relatable for kids.

2. We also know that some of the hands and fingers look really weird. That’s one of the problems with AI; it has an incredibly difficult time rendering hands. Go figure!

3. If you’re not comfortable using AI in the church, that’s okay. You don’t have to be. But, we have found some wonderful uses of it within our ministries.

Follow These Steps to Make Your Own Designs

Step 1 – Use an AI Image Generator (We use Canva!)

Finding a reliable AI image generator to bring your ideas to life is the first step.

There are several popular options available in the market, such as Midjourney, Dall-E 2, and NightCafe.

While both free and paid versions of these generators are available, the free versions usually have limitations, such as slower rendering times or a cap on the number of images that can be generated in a day.

But you don’t have to commit to an expensive AI subscription. You might already have access to a great AI-powered tool that you're not fully utilizing—Canva!

I cannot say enough good things about Canva! I was first introduced to it when I joined RiverLife, and I have never looked back. I create all my handouts and posters in it now. I highly recommend giving it a try. The even have a low-cost premium subscription for non-profit organizations.

Step 2 – Brainstorm Ideas

Now that you have the tools to create anything your mind can imagine, the next thing you need to accomplish is to put your brain to work.

What is a theme or an idea that would level up your next series? Think big! Don’t let your current budget or resources limit you from dreaming. Remember, you don’t have to be able to create, you just have to be creative.

Is it anime like ours? Maybe it’s a superhero or princess theme. Maybe you want to imagine all Bible characters asMuppets as Sesame Street transforms into ancient Israel.

No idea is too strange or out of reach with AI. Now that you have your idea, let it grow!

Step 3 – Create your Canva Document

Are you ready to create your first AI image? Let's get started!

First, design a new layout and select its size. I usually prefer custom 11” x 17” posters as they can be easily printed on our copier.

The AI image generator is under the “Elements” tab. Look for a plus sign (+) labeled “Generate Your Own.” Click on it to see the “Text to Image” text prompt and settings, such as styles and aspect ratio. For posters, I recommend using the portrait ratio.

After you are comfortable with the style and ratio, head to the text box and make your first AI-generated image!

Step 4 – Experiment to Find the Right Prompt

This step is all about trial and error. You will see some really amazing and extremely goofy things during this process.

The quality of the images generated by the AI will depend on how well you word your prompts. If you use too many descriptors or have poor grammar, the images will reflect that.

Here’s one example of a simple yet effective prompt that I used to create one of my posters: "Anime style Jesus smiling with friends".

By typing this prompt in your text box, you will get four different images. If one is close but not quite right, you can click the three dots on the top-right image and choose "Generate more like this".

If none of the generated images are close to what you have in mind, you can either click "Generate again" at the bottom or try a new prompt. Don't give up on an idea. Just figure out how to use prompts effectively to help the AI understand what's in your mind.

What’s Your Next Step?

Maybe you would like to decorate your classroom with our anime Jesus posters. Go for it!

Perhaps this article inspired you, and you’ve already jumped into Canva and started designing.

Or maybe you want to develop a strategy for when AI takes over the world. My strategy to save humanity would be to prompt AI to "draw a realistic-looking set of hands." It would eventually get stuck in an unending cycle of failure, crash, and humanity would be saved.

Appendix: List of All 27 Posters

• Jesus Prays

• Jesus Died on the Cross

• Jesus, The Prince of Peace

• Jesus Defeated Death

• Jesus Defeats Demons

• Jesus Feeds 5,000 People

• Jesus with Mary and Joesph

• Jesus Heals a Little Girl

• Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Walk

• Jesus Heals a Man Who is Blind

• Jesus Walks on Water

• Jesus Turns Water into Wine

• Jesus: Baby Photo Shoot

• Jesus: 5th Grade Photo Shoot

• Jesus and His Disciples

• Jesus and Kids

• Jesus and More Kids

• Jesus and Pho with Friends

• Jesus and Boba

• Jesus and Pizza with Friends

• Jesus and Donuts with Friends

• Jesus Ascends to Heaven

• Jesus Transfiguration

• Jesus Running with Friends

• Jesus Was a Carpenter

• Jesus Gets Baptized

• Jesus at the Costume Carnival

1. We launched in September 2014. Here’s our origin story.

2. Our mission is to bring hope, healing, and growth to next-gen Hmong and beyond.

3. Over the years, we’ve met in 6 different locations: a rec center, a school auditorium, a small black box theater, a school cafeteria, and now a church building in St. Paul and one in Brooklyn Park.

4. Here’s a highlight video of our launch service on Sept 7, 2014.

Our Locations

5. We have 2 campuses—St. Paul, MN (east metro area) and Brooklyn Park, MN (northwest metro area).

6. We launched the second campus in Sept 2021 with services on Saturday nights. It didn’t work out, so we shut down the campus, re-strategized, and re-launched Easter 2022 on Sunday mornings. Now, it’s thriving.

7. Greg Rhodes leads the St. Paul Campus, and Kong Moua leads the Brooklyn Park campus.

8. The services are fully live at each location. Periodically, we will pre-record the sermon for one location if one of the pastors will be gone.

9. We follow a “one church, two locations” approach to multi-site. Both campuses are equally RiverLife. We share one board, bylaws, and budget. We have one leadership team that is split across the two campuses.

10. It’s challenging to explain multi-site to first-generation Hmong. They ask questions like:

    1. “Did the church split?” No, we planned it.

    2. “Is the other one a daughter church?” No, we’re both equally RiverLife.

    3. “Did you plant a new church?” Sort of. It’s a new location but not a new church.

11. Our Brooklyn Park campus has a 1:1 ratio of kids/youth to adults. Some weeks, the kids and youth even outnumber the adults. St. Paul has a ratio of 2:1. (A typical ratio for American churches is 3:1.)

Our Congregation

12. We have a combined average weekly attendance of 240—130 at St. Paul, 93 at Brooklyn Park, and 17 watching online.

13. Our attendance has returned to what it was before the pandemic.

14. We’ve been growing steadily since we launched, excluding the pandemic.

15. Our most attended Sundays are Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. We do big, kid-friendly events on each of these Sundays.

16. We describe ourselves as a multicultural Hmong church. We’re about 80% Hmong and 20% everything else (African, Black, White, Hispanic, etc.)

17. We are a young church. The average age in the church is less than 40.

18. Most of our congregation grew up in the church but left at some point and were not regularly attending before coming to RiverLife.

19. We’ve baptized 129 people over the last 9 years.

Our Finances

20. We have a current annual budget of $330,000. It has generally increased over the years.

21. Here’s a snapshot of our revenue and expense breakdowns for 2023.

    1. Revenue: Offerings 84%, Facility Rentals: 6%, Community Events: 5%, Fundraising 5%.

    2. Expenses: Staffing 49%, Facilities 27%, Ministries 17%, Admin 8%.

22. We are transparent with our finances. We post detailed financial reports available on our website.

Our Leadership

23. We have a leadership team of 11 people, 6 of whom are paid staff. (3 full-time and 3 part-time.) See our Meet Your Mentors page for more.

24. Most of the team that launched the church is still serving or attending the church. This is unheard of for a church plant. Most of the time, the team that plants the church isn’t the team that eventually leads the church.

25. Pastor Greg routinely says this is the best team he’s ever worked with.

Curious about anything else about RiverLife? Ask us! We’d love to share.

Leave a comment

Here on the blog, we like to use the tagline:

What does that mean? Well, here you go.

Your Ministry Mentors…

Looking for a mentor in ministry? Someone to guide and share insights with you? Your search ends here!

No matter if you're a church planter, English ministry pastor, young adults leader, or youth director serving and ministering to second or third-generation Hmong, we're here to support you.

Ministry in a Hmong church can be a lonely journey, especially when you feel like you have no one to turn to for guidance, training, or emotional support.

If you're feeling that way, we would love to be your mentors, walking alongside you on your journey to honor God and shepherd your people well. Although we may be a few steps ahead, we're committed to being in this together with you.

I wish we could sit down for coffee so I could listen to your struggles and successes, share some of the lessons we've learned, and encourage you that you're not alone. But for now, we will connect through our blog, chats, and direct messages.

…With Simple Talk…

It’s easy to make ministry abstract, theoretical, or even theological. But sometimes you just want simple talk.

We promise to make every article clear, concise, and easy to understand. That’s our style at RiverLife. While we may discuss big ideas, we always aim to keep the conversation grounded. If you ever feel like we're speaking above you, then we haven't accomplished our goal of mentoring you well.

When I taught high school math in the mid-90s, my first performance review noted, "In his teaching, he simplifies complex concepts for easy understanding." This quality is essential for both a good math teacher and ministry mentor.

…And Practical Ideas…

Our goal is to provide practical ideas and insights, tested in the church, by those actively involved in ministering to second and third-generation Hmong.

God has brought together the best team of ministry leaders I’ve ever worked with. They are caring, passionate, emotionally healthy, and innovative Christ-followers. They are high-capacity leaders with incredible ideas and the courage to implement them.

RiverLife launched over nine years ago, so we’ve had a lot of Sundays to experiment. Some things have worked great, while others bombed gloriously. I’m excited to share both.

We plan to include as many downloadable and editable resources as possible—documents, graphics, spreadsheets, etc. Anything to make your job easier and help you make a more significant impact in the kingdom of God among the Hmong Americans you serve.

Our objective is to provide as many resources as possible that you can download, edit, and make your own. We will be including graphics, documents, templates, and anything else that will help you be more efficient and more effective.

When I first started working in youth ministry, I had a full-time job and volunteered at the church in my free time. I often found myself struggling to come up with new ideas for my ministry. During that time, I discovered morethandodgeball.com, a blog run by the high school ministry at Saddleback Church. The website was incredibly helpful because they posted new ideas and downloads every week that we could use in our own ministries

That's exactly what we aim to do here - provide practical ideas and resources that you can use in your ministry right away.

…For Ministry with Next-Gen Hmong

RiverLife's leaders are passionate about serving the next generation of Hmong. But who exactly are they? We use this term to refer to second, third, and soon-to-be fourth-generation Hmong Americans.

When RiverLife was founded in 2014, our focus was on second-gen Hmong. However, a few years later, we realized that the third-gen was already in their midst—the kids and youth. Therefore, we broadened our mission to include both groups.

Now, the third generation will soon be graduating high school, and soon they may get married and have children of their own. This means that in just a few years, fourth-gen Hmong will be in our churches. How’s that for a reality check?!?

Since the second, third, and fourth-gen nomenclature quickly became cumbersome, we shifted to using the catch-all phrase “next-gen” Hmong." It’s a widely used term among other Asian American churches and even many mainstream churches to denote the younger members of the church.

One great benefit of this term is that it’s timeless—there will always be a next generation. And any church that wants to last more than one generation needs to be looking to the next one.

Join the Conversation

Would you like a ministry mentor? Do you have any questions regarding next-generation Hmong ministry? Have you come up with any innovative ministry ideas?

We would love to hear from you. Feel free to message us directly or share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Welcome to the team.

Church boards have gained a notorious reputation for being known to reject new ideas, risky ventures, and even seemingly harmless proposals, like a youth pastor wanting to skydive into the Easter service. This reputation has discouraged many young leaders and ministries from proposing new ideas altogether. The fear of rejection has led to a lack of innovation and creativity in the church.

A Better Way to Make Decisions

As many of our leaders at RiverLife had come from churches like this, I wanted to create a different approach to decision-making. I wanted our church leadership to be recognized for saying "yes" first instead of saying "no" or considering why an idea may not work.

This led me to develop a process that I call "Start with Yes." Here's how it works:

1. When presented with a new idea, start by saying "yes" rather than rejecting it or immediately thinking of obstacles.

2. Next, make a list of all the obstacles that need to be addressed to make the idea a reality, regardless of how simple or complex they are. Try to break them down into smaller tasks.

3. Then, tackle the first obstacle and determine if it can be overcome. Often, the first one is the easiest. If it can be resolved, move on to the next one.

4. Continue with this process until you have addressed all the obstacles or until you encounter one that cannot be overcome.

5. If you have done everything in your power to find a solution and still cannot overcome the obstacle, then and only then should you say "no" to the idea.

A Real-Life Example

The neighborhood's community center requested to borrow one of our inflatable bounce houses for a Halloween event. Initially, the person who received the call hesitated to say yes, so I suggested applying the "Start with Yes" approach.

We began by identifying the barriers to granting this request, which included:

1. Does this align with our Community Engagement ministry strategy and philosophy?

2. Are we comfortable supporting a Halloween-themed event?

3. How can we prevent damage to our bounce house?

4. Should we assign one of our own staff to manage the bounce house? If so, who would that be?

We then proceeded to discuss each point and find feasible solutions for them. Here are the outcomes we arrived at for each obstacle mentioned above.

1. Yes, this aligned with our Community Engagement (CE) ministry. The goal of our CE ministry is to collaborate with local organizations, mainly within our neighborhood. Furthermore, we aim to establish the church as a valuable asset to the community.

2. We were not concerned about our bounce house being used for a Halloween event. In fact, one of our largest family events every year is a costume party after church on the Sunday preceding Halloween.

3. The question of protecting our property was a valid one. Community events can involve some rough play by unsupervised kids. To ensure that our inflatable wasn’t damaged, we sent one of our volunteers to the event to manage the bounce house.

4. However, we faced a challenge in finding someone to manage the bounce house that evening. Despite our efforts to find a volunteer, we could not overcome this obstacle. Therefore, we regretfully had to decline the community center's request. Fortunately, one of our volunteers stepped forward the day before Halloween and managed the bounce house, much to the delight of the neighborhood kids.

Implications for Your Ministry

At this point, I know some of you are thinking, “That sounds good, but I don’t run our board. They’ll still say no to most of our ideas.” That might be true, but if you are in leadership, then you make decisions—either solo or part of a team. You can implement this strategy at any level. Although you might not have control over how your church's board makes decisions, you can change how you and your team approach decision-making.

I love this strategy because it encourages creativity, inspires hope, and welcomes new ideas. It transforms leaders into people who make things happen instead of shutting them down. Furthermore, it creates a positive and inclusive environment among your team and avoids the negativity that often comes with years of ministry.

So, say YES to the next proposal that comes your way and work together to make it happen.