My parents recently came over from the UK to visit, so while they were here we did a tour-de-food. There are loads of restaurants in the US they don’t have the other side of the Atlantic, so some places we went to included The Melting Pot (fondue), Golden Corral (buffet with anything and everything), Coldstone Creamery (best ice-cream ever) and Waffle House.

Yes. Waffle House.

For any non-Americans who don’t know what this, let’s just say it doesn’t really have the greatest of reputations as an eatery (n.b. fellow Brits – think of it as a national chain of greasy spoon cafes).

The funny thing is, my parents had a great experience at Waffle House and the things that made it great for them are principles we can equally apply to our youth work or youth ministry.

Lesson 1 – Make Room

When we got there, we were welcomed warmly by two or three workers but as it was so busy, they didn’t have a booth available for 4 people. Instead of them just saying we’d have to eat at the counter, the manager offered to move things around to make room for 4 people to sit together. We told him we were happy with eating at the counter, but appreciated that he was willing to make the effort anyway.

Being honest, do we go to this much effort for new youth who join our programs? Do they get welcomed warmly? Do we do what we need to make sure that they’re comfortable, even if it disrupts our routine and plans?

Lesson 2 – Communicate

Waffle House make their food fresh and many menu items can be customized. Once the server’s taken your order, they stand at the edge of the kitchen and call out your order to the cook, who then replies back the same order to the server to make sure they got it correct.

Communication is vitally important in any organization, but especially so when young people are involved. We need to ensure our communication with youth, volunteers, supervisors and any other stakeholders is clear and that communication is two-way.

Lesson 3 – Integrity

Waffle House has an open kitchen, so you and everyone else in the restaurant can see the food being made. The cooks therefore have to be aware of their behavior at all times, so they can’t be picking their nose, sneezing over food or dropping food on the floor and serving it up.

As youth workers, our lives are on display to our young people. Does our behavior live up to the example we want to set for them – both when they’re looking and even when they’re not?

Lesson 4 – Accepting

When I ordered hash browns topped with chilli, onions and ham for breakfast, the waitress didn’t even raise an eyebrow (like I’m sure you are reading this 😉 ) She could easily have made a comment about my breakfast choice, but wasn’t judgmental.

In our youth work, young people will do all kinds of weird and wonderful (and not so wonderful) things. Do we say or do things that show that we’re judging them negatively? Do we expect them to Behave, Believe, Belong, or are we happy for them to Belong, Believe, Behave?

Lesson 5 – Unity

When the servers realized that 3/4 of us were British, they couldn’t stop talking to us. They loved that we were different to their usual customers – it was the differences that made us interesting.

We should let our differences unite us with youth, not divide. It can be easy to look down on various aspects of youth culture and youth behavior that make no sense to us. Instead, we can use these differences to show young people that we care and are interested in their lives and well-being. That their uniqueness is a positive thing.

Who knew there was so much to learn at a Waffle House?!

Question: Which of these 5 lessons do you think is the most important one in youth work? Share your opinion in the comments below.

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