Ministry Director Builds Young Leaders in Latin America
As Director of Hacienda El Refugio (an outdoor adventure and retreat center near Quito, Ecuador) Paul Reichert leads a multicultural team of 25 staff members, conducting retreats for youth, church, school, business, and nonprofit groups in Latin America as a ministry of Youth World and International Teams. Reichert’s staff works to reach some of the 300 million Latin American youth in a culture where youth ministry is undervalued and underdeveloped.
Recently, Reichert began using the Leading From Your Strengths Profiles from Ministry Insights as a tool to instill better communication in his diverse staff. These personalized, detailed 20-page reports are compiled and emailed instantaneously after a user completes a simple, 10-minute online questionnaire. They accurately describe individual habitual patterns of behavior, thought, emotion, and communication and provide users with sophisticated, objective insights about their unique strengths.
“What drew me to the profiles initially was that they are very easy to put to practical use,” says Reichert. “And the profiles offer language options. That was a huge plus since I have a multilingual team.” He uses profile data one-on-one with staff, within teams to facilitate increased trust and team-building, and to equip staff members to lead their own groups more effectively.
Earlier this year Reichert became certified in the profile process. He went on to share this leadership development tool with Youth World staff and in a workshop for the semester abroad program Living and Learning. Youth World directors are now in the process of using the Ministry Insights profiles in their respective program areas as a means to develop stronger leaders and more effective soul care throughout the organization.
For more than 10 years, Hacienda El Refugio has worked to strengthen Latin American lives by developing spiritually vibrant young leaders. “Now we’re using the profiles as a quality, objective resource to train a new generation of leaders to identify their strengths, the strengths of others, and to blend,” says Reichert. “The results add even more credibility to our team building. Ultimately, the Ministry Insights profiles are helping us build and renew the Latin American church.”
(Source: Christian Newswire)
