Student Leadership

One of the core beliefs that I have concerning Young People's Ministry is that Young People should be front and center in leadership.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. They can plan activities, lead Bible study lessons, organize mission opportunities, preach to the congregation, and teach other adults. If we do not put Young People into leadership roles, how else are they supposed to learn? 

Here are just a few benefits to giving Young People the opportunity to lead:

• It gives them real world experience and leadership.
• If they are the leaders of an event, they are invested and participation by other students will increase.
• It teaches them responsibility and accountability (if they don’t plan the program, then there is no program, and they have to and the responsibility.)
• Young People have various passions-Let them lead something that they are passionate about.

What other benefits would you list?

Allowing Young People to be in leadership and have mentors along to help guide them and love them unconditionally when they falter or fail is what student leadership is all about! 

Leading Like Jesus

I’ve read (listened to) a lot of the teaching books out there. I have done the same with the leadership books. But nothing compares to looking at the example of how Jesus led. Our ultimate goal as Christians is to so imitate Jesus in every way, shape and form that people don’t recognize us as much as they recognize Jesus. Here are a few things that I noticed about how Jesus chose to lead.

Used the Common and Ordinary-When Jesus set down with his followers across from the temple, he called their attention to the seemingly mundane to share the good news and expectations of God. Throughout Scripture you find him calling attention to the average ordinary things of life to make his point. What I take away from that is that we need to pay attention to the world around us and use common everyday experiences that people have to communicate the truth of Jesus. If that means citing a commercial, using a common catchphrase or bringing biblical stories into the 21^st century, then do it!

The 500, 72, 12, 3, and 1 Approach-No matter how small your group size, it’s difficult to connect and deeply disciple more than a handful. Jesus had different relationships with different people. His inner circle was comprised of 3: Peter, James and John. Then, he had John.

In student ministry, a huge win is to have your leaders understand Jesus' relational model and live it out. Some of “my” 12 would be another leaders 3. Some of their 72 might be in “my” 12. It makes connections with individuals easier and creates community and inclusion for all of your students.

Community, community, community-Just like in real estate it’s all about location, location, location; in ministry it’s all about community. It’s going to take time, plain and simple to form that community. It’s going to require us to spend time with our teams to determine our individual and collective giftedness. Our teams need to take on significant and specific roles on group nights and with students.

The Team-Trusting the team requires equipping, observation, and time. One of the most difficult things that I ever learned with a student ministry team was, “you don’t have to teach the way I do, but you do have to teach.” Each person on the team has a different skill level at teaching; it is each of ours responsibility to give everyone the tools they need (equipping), to provide coaching and feedback (observing) and to allow them space (time) to develop their particular skill.

The Do's and Don’ts of Student Leadership

If you are creating a student leadership program in your group, here’s a quick punch list with some basic ideas of what to avoid and what to include.

DON’T only ask the shiny students to join.
Too often the leadership of a youth group is made up of the “chosen ones”—the shiny kids who show up at everything or squeak the loudest. Instead, consider that one kid who is so close, yet so far away. What about the student who is totally on the outside, looking in? Instead of just obvious leaders, think outside the expected and see what happens.

DON’T let your meetings pull them out another night of the week.
Often times, being part of the student leadership program requires an extra night out every week. The result is that many students miss out on it because they can’t give up another night. Instead, consider meeting on an occasional basis unattached to core programs (like youth group) so your students can be focused. We prefer once a month for a few hours, which gives us plenty of time with them but without an ongoing weekly commitment.

DON’T be afraid to give them big stuff.
Student leaders need to be challenged. The quickest way to disillusion these key teenagers is to be unprepared for your time together or waste their time with piddly projects. Instead, give them the teaching calendar. Let them plan services. Challenge them to come up with next quarter’s youth group calendar. Let them run wild.

DON’T be the only voice challenging them.
Many youth workers see the student leadership program as their chance to really “pour into” their students. While this may be true, you are robbing them if you insist you’re the only/best leadership voice they are hearing. Instead, bring in an outside speaker ever so often or even go on a field trip with your core students to a local business or spread them out to visit a few churches and report back about their experience.