Figuring Out the Youth Program | A How I Lead Interview with John Walters

John Walters grew up in Utah after moving there when he was eight
years old. His parents are converts and one of his earliest
memories is being sealed as a family when he was six years old.
John joined the Marines and served for six years, including two
one-year-long deployments. He served a mission in Peru and earned a
BA in Psychology and a Master's in Business Administration from the
University of Utah. John now lives in Houston, Texas, where he
works as a sales leader for a large oil and gas company. His
greatest joys come from his wife Angela and their four kids. John
has served in many callings, including as a Primary teacher, in a
Young Men presidency, in several elders quorum presidencies, as a
high councilor, and currently as bishop. Links The Intentional
Father: A Practical Guide to Raise Sons of Courage and Character
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Library Highlights 2:30 Introduction to John and leading the youth
as a bishop 5:00 It all starts with mindset 6:30 A youth leader
needs a vision for what they are looking toward as they usher the
youth along in their own journey. The youth program is a
preparatory phase. 7:00 What is the Aaronic Priesthood actually
preparing you for? 9:50 Having a mindset and vision of how you are
preparing the youth for their future. John shares his mindset and
vision for the youth in his ward and talks about the importance of
articulating the vision. 12:00 John shares a personal experience of
working with a young man that was struggling. Instead of focusing
on getting him to go on a mission, he focused on him having special
experiences with Jesus Christ. 16:00 There are some common
misunderstandings with the youth program. What does it really mean
to let them lead? 20:20 An integrative approach to the youth
program. The four intentional questions: Know - What do we want
them to know by the time they leave the youth program? Do - What do
we want them to be able to do or skills do we want them to have? Be
- What kind of person should they be? Experiences - What kind of
experiences do we want them to have had by the time they graduate
the youth program? 21:55 Some examples of applying the four
intentional questions 24:55 As youth leaders in the ward you can
build as much or little structure into the youth program as you
need. Use the four intentional questions to help cover the touch
points that you have. 27:00 John shares some examples of using the
four intentional questions in his ward. One of the skills they have
identified the youth needed was to be able to interact and talk
with other people appropriately. They plan activities and
conferences to focus on this need. They plan with intentionality.
29:50 Customizing the youth program especially for the youth in
your ward. You can change things up. John’s young women didn’t do a
traditional five-day camp because they couldn’t find a week where
everyone could be there. They broke it up into five one-day camps.
34:30 Leadership is a journey and collaborative effort. It takes
time to gain some traction in your new calling. 37:15 Meetings
between the bishopric and the young women’s presidency. John
explains what they discuss and focus on in their meetings. 38:40
How do you focus on the youth and not get caught up with other
things in the ward? 41:00 John shares his final thoughts on how
leadership has changed him and made him a better follower of Jesus
Christ. The Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent
Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints'
mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn
more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at
LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David
Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz
Wiseman, Stephen M. R.