Student Leadership Principles

Every Next GEN ministry must consider the discipleship and development of young people.

We know how important adult leaders are. But too often we have failed to build a peer leadership team.

Here are some practical principles to help you begin to build and effectively lead a student ministry team:

  • Pray - Before implementing a student leadership, spend 3 months praying prior to sharing it with the adult leadership team

  • Share - Once you begin to share it, let it sit for 3 months before an organizational meeting. Share it every few weeks. You can even share it with key students that you envision being on the team. That will increase excitement and momentum.

  • Schedule - Plan an informational meeting and after the initial meeting start the process of electing 2-3 mature and involved students in each grade.

  • Meet - Once a team is chosen, have monthly leadership meetings with the students. In these meetings you should EAT and build relationship, TALK about wins, TEACH on topics, WORSHIP, and PRAY.

Aside from these general startup principles, here are several other helpful competencies for the student leadership team:

PERSONAL CHARACTER

  • A student’s commitment to Christ will be evidenced in his/her personal life, family relationships, and peers

  • The spiritual disciplines must become an emphasis and everyone who aspire to be a leader - prayer, worship, reading, fasting, Giving, simplicity, apologetics, solitude, etc.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

  • Always seek to be a learner. Ask questions. Take up new roles and opportunities and tasks.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ARENA

  • The student leader should be one of the leading sociologists on the planet, able to discern and articulate the developing trends and futurist movements in culture

  • Help Student leaders to commit to awareness of current events

LANGUAGE SKILLS

  • Interpersonal skill can be learned. It is the ability to effectively present vision and information, as well as to respond to questions from youth, parents, staff or congregation.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

  • The Student leader must possess solid time management skills, and be able to define problems, collect data, establish facts, solve problems, and draw valid conclusions.

  • Developing core competencies and finding the right place on the team is central to a student leader’s success

TEAM-ORIENTED COLLABORATION

  • A beginning understanding of what it takes to work efficiently and effectively in individual or team situations

  • Collaboration abilities include the ability to coordinate several activities at once and to quickly analyze and resolve problems with other departments on the team.

TOTAL WELLNESS

  • Reasonable accommodations and expectations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

  • Personal wellness (sleep, nutrition, and fitness) must be a central commitment and total health must be a focus of discipleship

A MENTOR

  • All of us needs someone in our life that we are spiritually afraid of. Somebody who could challenge us spiritually areas that we did not challenge ourselves. The hardest person to lead is yourself.

  • So it really helps your natural and spiritual growth to have others who can lead us strongly. For example, MAYBE A PARA-CHURCH LEADER, A LOCAL EDUCATOR, A REGIONAL YOUTH MINISTRY LEADER OR PROFESSIONAL, OR EVEN A RETIRED MINISTER.

SELF-MOTIVATED LEADERSHIP

  • The ideal student volunteer should be creative, have a passion and heartfelt concern for their peers, be a self-motivated producer, and be able to inspire themselves first and then others.

Finally

YOU’VE HEARD THE PHRASE, “THE BUCK STOPS HERE.” I LIKE TO SAY THAT, “THE BUCK STARTS HERE.“

Every youth pastor should seek to give the authority to as many people as possible. Next GEN ministry is not about Superman, Wonder Woman, or the individual superpower. It is about Superfriends and Avengers.

Remember, Ironman has a weakness. The Avengers have no weakness.

Ownership is very important in any organization. When it comes to youth ministry, we secure the sustainability of the church by developing leaders. Especially young leaders

Jeff Grenell