Whatever Happened to the YLA?

REVIVAL FIRE CAN BURN
At the same time as receiving this vision from God, I was also studying the life of Welsh Revivalist Evan Roberts. While enjoying an amazing revival in the early 1900’s, seeing 100,000 saved, awesome healings and miracles and great moves of the Spirit, it sobered me up to realise he also had around 5 nervous breakdowns and died saying he did not know why he was born!

On studying other great failed revivals I realise the re-occurring theme was that moves of God rise and fall on the quality and godliness of their leaders. If leaders failed morally the move ended. If relationships fell apart due to lack of humility and security, the visitation ceased. If a leader became isolated and theologically unsound, the move was discredited and dwindled.

A NETWORK TO SUPPORT YOUNG LEADERS
And so, with these thoughts in mind, I was led by the Lord to launch a network to support young leaders during moves of God in our nation. We would develop relationships, conduct conferences, quiz the nation’s senior leaders for advice, and set up regions for local support.

Our first conference had the grand total of five young leaders, myself included! Though small, it was a wonderful little start.

Within four years we would have 400 members, host many conferences with hundreds of delegates and have around 10 regions developing leaders locally around the country. We launched a magazine, with 2,500 editions sent out around the UK and Europe, and set up offices in the Nottingham area, when the ministry was finally handed over to another ministry.

However, within a few years the network disappeared. If you were a YLA member, you may have never known what happened. So I am writing this article to update any former members with some idea of what happened.

I want to be as open and honest about what happened, while blaming no-one other than myself! The ethos of the YLA was honesty and studying the failings of ministries. It is out of recognition for this value that I’m writing.

FALTERING STEPS
Though when you list the amount of members and accomplishments, it is great to see God did some wonderful things. I know of so many lives touched at conferences, new youth initiatives catalytically inspired by the YLA, and of course individuals saved and healed through the work.

But also there were many things that simply did not work. Here is my brief list of failures (better called Learning Opportunities!). Some leader may find them useful!

THE VISIONARY DRIVE
Visionaries provide a certain drive for their organisations. In the YLA I was that visionary, and it was my job to keep the organisation on track, and moving forward.

As my own ministry grew, invites came in, other opportunities arose, and I tried to keep up with music, media, church and travel commitments. As I got busier I attempted to delegate the visionary responsibilities of the YLA to others.

When something is birthed in you by God, there s a supernatural seed that you carry. It colours everything you do. It drives you. I attempted to pass it on but either 1) I did not give enough time to this or 2) did this inadequately or 3) those I tried to envision did not have the natural pioneering drive to accomplish the vision. The failure to recognise this was mine.

So I stepped away from the visionary role too quickly, and it floundered. In life we make “busyness choices”. There are only so many hours in the day, and a pioneer’s natural drive is to start new things. The most common weakness of this personality type is they fail to take the time to fully birth things. This was my error.

TOO BIG TOO QUICK
A second difficulty in trying to run a relational organisation was the relationships! We became a victim of our own success, as members poured in to the association.

While we had 70 members, we were able to personally visit regions 3-4 times a year, know every member by name, enjoy close friendship with most, and so reap the rewards that brings.

By the time membership was exceeding 300, much of the relational closeness was lost; and along with it the very core of the vision. This was a hard obstacle to overcome.

PROPHECY AND CONDITIONS
My third difficulty was a learning curve about prophecy. As the YLA grew, staff grew and it seemed I was being lined up by God to hand across the leadership responsibility to others. This was backed up by a sense that this was of God both privately in prayer, and publicly by prophetic ministries who knew nothing of our thoughts of leadership changes.

Sensing it was the right thing to do, I entered the process of passing on leadership. Offices were set up outside of our base in Hull, a leader appointed and the YLA was placed under a new charity. After a process of two years I no longer had any responsibility for the YLA – though was an advisor and friend, and continued to speak at events.

My lesson is this, and I have seen this proved many times since. Though God can speak, all involved have to fulfil the conditions of God’s will, not only the hearer. I have since then employed staff in obedience to God, only to find their lives are in a mess! On the Spirit’s prompting I have given people projects to lead, only to find them fail. I have stepped out in obedience, only to find that the initial instruction I received was not the full picture.

Today I’m realising there’s more to it than hearing God’s voice once. Once we have heard God, we still need years of wisdom, experience and advice from others to help us fulfil God’s word. We not only have to hear his will, but make sure everyone called to fulfil it, is able to. Hearing is the easy part; walking it through requires patience, wisdom and character.

THE END CAME
And so the YLA continued for some time after being handed over, but struggled to reach its potential. It finally floundered and sank after some difficulties at the church that became its head quarters. An unpleasant time led to a change of leadership in the church, and the YLA closed. By that time I was leading my own church, and busy with other ventures. Though the vision remains close to my heart, unless God leads me to re-new the network, I have felt to leave it alone.

The YLA remains for me an amazing vision. I still believe amazing moves of God are coming our way and in many ways are already taking place. The moves of God we have seen over recent years have been inspiring. Lives literally impacted by God on the streets; media opening up globally; some amazing miracles taking place. In recent times I have heard of royalty touched by the glory of God, stadiums turned into church buildings, drunkards overwhelmed by God’s presence on streets and the gifts of the Spirit opening doors in local government. All part of the vision being fulfilled.

And so we walk into the glorious vision I received in 1996. Pray, we would walk as men and women of God through it all, with love and honesty, fulfilling our divine potential in God, with each other.

If you would like to write of your experience of the YLA, write to jarrod@newlifehull.org