YOUTH-LEAD STRATEGIES

“Our adult leaders treat us as if we are one of them!” Youth touch the lives of far more youth than any pastor or youth minister will ever contact. Youth are our front lines of ministry, interacting daily with the great joys and great sorrows of other youth. We need to tell youth that what they do counts. We need to set up systems to equip them with faith and life skills to enhance their ministry.

“Caring, welcoming, and affirming others? That is just who we are now!” Culture can be left to chance, or culture can be created intentionally. Writing a statement of desired culture is a good beginning, but next it has to be named, claimed, and practiced. To get started, every time you gather, ask one youth to stand and verbalize three things in 30 seconds:

“We used to call it youth group, but it became an inward-facing club. Now we talk about youth ministry.” Part of youth led, candle time, faith-and-life discussions is about the people in the group and their lives, but much of it is about how their lives and their faith help them care, welcome, and affirm others. Youth ministry gathering times are designed with proven elements that help participants to be about ministry.

“Other kids come because of our core team of leaders.” Expanding and deepening youth ministry requires a core team of peer and adult leaders who model and mentor faith. Think camp staff! These people model the culture. In the midst of helping lead programs, they are focused on caring, welcoming, and affirming relationships. (You will come up with a much cooler name than “core team.”)

“I feel like I have meaning and purpose in life.” Because of the modeling and mentoring from the core team, because of the developing culture, because church leadership assumes all kids are leaders, because programs are designed to equip and empower youth as relational caring, welcoming, and affirming people, all youth start to sense they are valued, important leaders. It is like participants are catching leadership attitudes and practices through osmosis.

“Sometimes I am too busy to show up at church. I used to feel guilty. Now my church tells me they need me on the team.” When churches teach skills for caring, welcoming, and affirming, they also learn to encourage and support youth with these skills “out there”! “Out there” is where youth actually have interactions with people and do their ministry.

“We have a team of youth who listen and pray with others, helping them understand life in the midst of choices, changes, and challenges.” Church staff call on individuals from this team when another youth has a special need, whether it’s hospitalization, dealing with crises, integrating into a new community, or something else. One or two youth from the team may go with a pastor, be introduced by a staff member, or recognize needs in their daily interaction with peers.

“Relational leaders ensure all our events are welcoming.” On any outing, at least two youth go for free! They lead a welcoming circle, including a short prayer, before the group leaves. They are attentive to relationships throughout the event, keeping their eyes and ears open for opportunities to converse, welcome, and affirm. They work at keeping participants interacting with each other.

“My church needs me.” Every youth—those seen regularly, occasionally, and seldom—need to personally hear the words “We need you” at least twice a year. Warning: This is about a database, which sound boring, but it will lead to specific asks by church staff and leaders to participate, lead, serve, or help in specific ways.

“Our leadership begins early.” Imagine a team of high school and younger teens working side by side as a core team for all your middle school events! Even those middle school youth can learn to care, welcome, and affirm.

“The kids in my group can’t wait until they get to be leaders.” The children’s ministry and youth leadership work hand in hand to make the development of teenage leaders with children a priority. Teenage youth work in Sunday school, vacation church school, and other children’s ministries. They are led by adults who help them be the primary leaders. Children look up to these teenage youth. Youth understand they do more than teach a lesson; they’re also relational models and mentors.

“Yes, we involve our students in worship.” The rule of thumb to follow is that “youth are either leading or they are leaving.” For youth, worship is less about a style of music and more about how they are involved. Their concerns are included in the prayers. Illustrations from teens are shared in sermons. Youth help in all aspects of the worship.

“I appreciate everything our youth do, and I tell them!” Adults of all ages learn that they are crucial volunteers to youth ministry. But they don’t have to sleep on a floor, play laser tag, or even show up for meetings. What they get to do is know individual youth, becoming intentional observers, watching for, and naming positive aspects of faith and life. Adults know that “what gets attention gets repeated.” Adults are the gift namers for youth.

“My mentor lives this stuff!” Your leadership training was great, but everything the youth learned is quickly lost if not applied and reviewed. One of the most effective ways to reinforce your training is to have adult mentors meet one-to-one with youth throughout the year. Mentors affirm the teens’ leadership in your program as well as outside the church building, and with the teens, they revisit and hone the skills learned in your training.

“We do candle times at night.” Youth learn the most about faith from people closest to them. Whatever is modeled and mentored by the family is what will stick. Family faith development takes intentional work, including side-by-side service and leadership opportunities.

“I know a full circle of adults who care about my life and faith.” The numbers that count the most for long-term faith development are the numbers of adults who personally model and mentor faith. These are relatives, neighbors, and people in the community. Congregations facilitate “full-circle relationships” by helping youth make faith-forming connections.

 #17  What if . . . the youth ministry job position was predominantly about developing leadership ministry with youth?

“I need to be more effective at my job.” Keep learning how to do your job effectively and efficiently. Know the how’s, the why’s, and the what’s for setting up programs, but especially for developing and including youth in leadership ministry.

“My church sent me to a weeklong summer leadership program at our seminary.” There are a number of excellent leadership programs sponsored by colleges, seminaries, camps, and other places. Youth may attend with a small group or go by themselves. Take advantage of these. Get the youth there! Let others help grow their faith and leadership.

“My pastor and youth minister invited me to lunch. They told me I would make a good church leader.” The church is in need of leadership. Learn to be the “burning bush” for youth. Be the voice that invites, affirms, and encourages. Naming gifts for young people will be one of the most influential things you will ever do.

“I love leading small groups on our mission trips.” Your summer trips and camps set the same tones, culture, and practices that will easily be translated into your year-round programming. Choose trips and camps where your youth can lead their own small groups. Well trained ahead of time, your teens lead those close-knit candle time discussions that will be used in the same ways when you get home. Not sure what this means? Let’s implement a plan.

“I used to think ministry was something that only pastors did. My church claims I am in the frontline of ministry.” In various ways, youth are formally blessed, told that God’s favor is upon them. They are also sent, equipped, and supported, told they are doing caring, welcoming, and affirming ministry, every day, everywhere, and in every relationship. Churches like to save the word ordained for pastors, but maybe, just maybe, we need to also understand that all Christians are ordained to be ministers. If not “ordained,” then anointed, appointed, set aside, consecrated, installed, designated, conferred into a holy order. Whatever you call it, imagine what happens when a youth is blessed into ministry!

“I go to confirmation to learn how to care for my friends.” Traditional confirmation has assumed that head knowledge leads to a living faith. Adding training in relational skills, plus opportunities to talk about their daily interactions of caring, welcoming, and affirming others, assumes that young people already have a living faith and are part of the frontline of relational ministry.

“My church calls me an extension of their ministry.” Youth move on to colleges and other areas of life. Leadership ministry intentionally sends youth to new ministries. When the youth moves away, write a leadership recommendation letter and send it to campus ministers or young adult ministries, letting them know how and in what ways they can expect the young person to become a valued part of their ministry. Develop prayer mentors from your congregation, who will stay in touch to offer support and prayer.

“Our youth are teaching all of us how to think about being a member of our church!” Youth ministry is not siloed in a secret room in the basement. Create times and situations for all ages to sit and learn from each other how ministry is part of their everyday lives. The same leadership practices that are being developed in youth ministry are being developed throughout the congregation.