One of the most important aspects of student ministry is the training up and releasing of leaders during their teenage years.  And far too often, only those who are considered the more ‘spiritual’ of the group are setup as leaders.  Now, don’t get me wrong – we need leaders who have a heart for Jesus.  But in my experience, just because a student attends youth every week and surrounds himself/herself with good Christian influences, that doesn’t make them a leader.

Every leader is different. Sometimes we miss out on incredible leaders because we think all teenagers need to lead in the same way.  Sure, the worship team is a great opportunity for many students to lead out and use their God-given gifts.   But many students don’t fall into that category.  There are artistic students and athletic students and academic students and extroverted students and introverted students and some that fall into categories we don’t even understand.  What is amazing is that they can be reaching out to incredibly different groups of friends or teenagers that I may not even connect well with. (Kind of like the body of Christ is supposed to work!) I want to allow for some creative diversity and listen to their ideas on how we as a student ministry can reach their friends.

Leaders need responsibility. Like a good truck, a good leader works better when they have a load to carry.  One of the things I love to see is a student who doesn’t think of themselves as a leader because they don’t think they know enough Bible verses or songs, but once they are given some leadership instruction & responsibility God uses it to grow them tremendously.  It takes trusting them and molding their gifts for God’s glory.  I’ll be more than happy to ‘carry the bags’ of a student leader who steps up to take charge in seeking to reach their schools for Christ.

Leaders have followers.  Sometimes we miss out on potential leaders in our student ministry because we are looking for the ones who speak the lingo, wear the t-shirt, and seem like they have it all together.  And some of the best leaders I have seen in student ministry are the ones who may not have as much Bible trivia knowledge, but they are influencers.  They are bringing their friends.  They are relationally connecting with people in a normal way.  They have a platform that, quite frankly, they often do not realize they have, especially with lost people. If our typical student leaders aren’t discipling anyone or reaching out to unbelievers – are they really “leaders”? Sure they need close friends who push them towards Jesus, but if they don’t even have any lost friends, do they really look like Jesus anyway?

If we build our student ministries on student leaders who don’t reach other students, we are going to quickly become an insular “youth group” where it is about only catering to the preferences of those already “in”. Let’s not miss out on the opportunity to platform those students who may not be as good with Scripture memory, but are faithful in bringing their friends to church because they know that part is important.  I much prefer a leader who is faithful in what they do know to one who knows a lot and doesn’t seek to make disciples.