Let’s talk about empowering young people to lead. How can they lead in our ministries right now? I think too many times we can give the impression, whether intentional or not, they need to wait until it’s their turn whenever they become an adult to lead. Churches need to realize this younger generation, Generation Z, is wanting to publish not consume. How can they publish ministry right now? If our local church doesn’t give them a chance to lead then we will lose a lot of young people.
Whenever I first started in youth ministry here in Bel Air, MD the thought crossed my mind about starting a student leadership team as I prayed about how to lead here. I quickly said to myself “no way!” Why? In the youth group I grew up in, the concept sounded cool and it started off the first couple of months pretty well. However, it quickly was forgotten about and it didn’t leave a good impression with me. This is why I quickly said “no” when this thought crossed my mind. The Lord continued to work in my heart about this and things starting coming together. It’s not perfect and I constantly make updates every year, but I’ve noticed many amazing students have gone through this student leadership program are now in full time ministry or they’re serving faithfully in a local church. I’ll provide some quick thoughts about this and use it however you like even if you don’t have a student leader program. Let me say this: it’s not about a program, but it’s about giving the younger generation a chance to lead and follow God’s call on their life.
Empowering Young People:
- Give them chances: I find it interesting how Jesus picked His 12 disciples. Some were extroverts and some were introverts. Jesus gave them all chances to lead in some way. It can be easy to invest in students who look like leaders: the extroverts, the ones everyone likes and follows, the ones who have the most social media followers, etc. For me, I decided to allow any student from 10th-12th grade to be a part of it if they are willing to meet the expectations. I’ve had student leaders who are extroverts. I’ve also had a TON of introverts. Some of the shyest students joined this. Just to give an example of one expectation: they all at some point during the school year have to speak in front of the students on Speed the Light. They ALL have done it. This shows to the shy students in my youth ministry they can lead too. There are times where student leaders don’t meet the expectations. I have to sit down and walk them through what leadership looks like and give them a chance to make some adjustments. As youth pastors/leaders, we need to be there for them when they’re at their best and also when they’re struggling. Don’t write them off because they make mistakes, but show them the love of Christ through it all. Who has God laid on your heart that needs someone to believe in them?
- Meet with them regularly: It’s awesome to see in the Bible how many times after situations would happen Jesus would have a discussion with His disciples. Absolutely love this! For me, the student leaders as a team will meet twice monthly on Sunday’s during our church’s first service. We go through a teaching together, talk about what’s happening in the youth ministry and what’s upcoming, and then we pray together as a group. Each student leader will take a topic to pray about and lead the team in it. Praying together as a team consistently is so important and each student is growing stronger in their prayer life. This provides spiritual community. We also meet with them individually by taking them out for coffee or lunch. This is where we find the things they’re passionate about and it helps us build a personal connection with them. It’s important to provide this consistency because we can do it for a little bit and forget about it. If we want students to lead with consistency then we need to lead by example. What area has lacked consistency and how can you get better at it?
- Schedule FUN: I get into this rhythm of getting systems in place and making sure everything is lined up, which is good but it needs to be balanced with fun. Many student leaders’ favorite memories in youth ministry is when we took the team to a corn maze, or going to a famous restaurant, or hosting a Christmas party at our house. This also provides another chance for them to get to know one another too. What ends up happening a lot is they develop friendships with one another and start hanging out together even outside of youth ministry related things. What’s something fun you can do with students that will bring multiple personalities together?
- Give them ownership: This one is hard. There have been plenty of times where the student didn’t come through or they forgot. BUT this is where some of the most valuable teaching moments come from. Whether it’s not showing up to greet, forgetting there’s a meeting, skipping youth service, forgot to make something, or they forgot to film something, be careful not to be too hard on them. The last thing they want to do is disappoint their youth pastor/leader. Keep giving them opportunities to minister in youth ministry or in other areas of your church. Don’t give up on them. I had youth leaders in my own life as a student who didn’t give up on me. It made all the difference in the world! What are areas in your ministry or in the church you would love to see students take ownership in? How can you help them?
- Equip them to be the best they can be for God: When you develop a culture where young people feel empowered to lead, you’ll see them do things a whole lot better than you could ever imagined. That’s what you want! I want the students in my youth ministry to be better at following Jesus than I was at their age and even now. See the potential in them. Give them something you wished you had at their age. They want to lead, but many times they just don’t know how. This is where youth pastors/leaders are so important. You get to help them develop their voice and influence for the cause of Christ. What is something you wished you had as a teenager? How can you give that to them?
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Pastor Bobby Hackett
Fantastic post! Thank you for sharing, encouraging, & equipping!