5 Values For Next Gen leaders In 2026
As we close out 2025, we have dealt with a lot of leadership content over the past year.
To start off 2026 I would like to challenge every next GEN leader to these five values. Of course, there are so many other things like ministry to parents, diversity, sexuality, and identity but here are five things that could improve all of that if we make these things a priority.
Five values for Next GEN Leaders in 2026:
78-82 % of churches in America have volunteer leadership…
We need to value the volunteer in next GEN leadership.
It’s not just about hauling water to the sea and focusing on large youth ministries with paid staff. We need to train the volunteer if we’re going to impact youth ministry in America.
I challenge every paid staff in every city across America to adopt a volunteer youth ministry in your county and resource them and help them become more successful. Actually, I have seen the volunteer ministries, more mature and effective than paid staff in many settings.
We need a more coldest relationship between the paid staff and the volunteer ministry teams across our country.
3 in 5 teenagers say YouTube is their number one preferred…
We need to value next GEN leaders who prioritize social media content
Every Next GEN Ministry should have a strategy for sharing content on all of the socials. This platform can increase your footprint in a major way and bring free marketing and advertising to the ministry.
When a youth ministry does this, the students are taught how they can use their social media platforms as a witness of their faith.
Only about 30% of Next Gen leaders are on the school campus weekly…
We need to value Next GEN Leaders who see the campus as a priority and build an apologetic principle into their students
I spoke to a missionary one time who asked me, “Why are Youth Pastor’s not on the school campus? There isn’t a missionary in the world who would stay in America and try to reach people in a land they are called to.“
The school campus is the last tribal stop for our target group. If we are going to reach a generation, it makes the most sense to bring the gospel to the campus through our own campus missionaries.
3.5 to 4 years is the average a Next Gen leader stays in one place (that is up from 18 months 20 years ago)…
We need to value Next GEN Leaders who make longevity a priority and do not age-out of ministry to young people
I do not believe that you age out of ministry to young people. I think there are some things that you can do to keep yourself relevant and relational.
•Spending time with teenagers
•Asking teenagers questions
•Learning from content on social media
•Reading content from other leaders
Young people need to see the change in maturity and authority that a youth leader will go through in a long term commitment - as a friend, an older brother or sister, a cool aunt or uncle, a mother or father, and a grandparent. Each of those levels of maturity and authority bring a different kind of ministry to our work.
I think more young leaders leave youth ministry way too early, rather than staying in youth ministry too long.
65% to 4% over the past 4 decades is the Drop in biblical worldview of The Silent Generation (grandparents) and Gen Z (grandkids)…
We need to value Next GEN Leaders who prioritize theology over theater
It is obvious that the reason why youth ministry has struggled over the years is because we have valued program over presence. I believe you can have both, but, if it were one or the other, we must prioritize presence.
Young people can handle a lot more theology than use leaders think. I have listened to teenagers over the years tell me, “We can handle more. We are not incapable of understanding theology.”
Finally
What are your goals for the coming year?
Make these values an important priority and you will see monumental growth in your ministry in one year. Remember, most people plan to fail because they failed to plan.