Table of Contents

Called to a Cutting-Edge Leadership Strategy

Our students are being exploited by a crafty system of slick and shallow promises that leaves them broken-hearted, disillusioned, and morally bankrupt.

By Jeff P. Kennedy

Passion and Purpose

Today’s youth are not the church of tomorrow; they are the church of today. God’s kingdom is not age-specific. Scripture illustrates that growth belongs to God, and we who labor in His vineyard must have the same purpose as the One with whom we are working. Paul wrote, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building" (1 Corinthians 3:6–9, NIV).

Youth ministry at its very foundation must be spiritual because it is God’s. Youth ministry is not a proving ground for novices or a testing ground in which future pastors practice. Youth ministry is on the same priority list as any other ministry in God’s kingdom. God has given us young people to care for; and to whom much is given, much will be required. This should drive us to our knees to find out what the Lord is doing in this generation and join Him in reaching young people. Youth ministry is a delicate balance of absolute dependence and pure personal striving to see Christ’s image formed in young disciples.

Challenge, Call, and Vision

The Great Commission is about discipleship. Therefore, youth ministry must be designed around making disciples. What a privilege we have to see people transformed by the grace of God from an unconverted state to a regenerated one. The process of spiritual transformation poses challenges to today’s youth pastor. This process is both divine and relational. Divine, because it is the work of the Holy Spirit; relational, because God has invited, initiated, and indwells students for a lifelong relationship with Him.

The challenge facing youth pastors is to build into students’ hearts the sense that God has a specific call and destiny for their lives when they are completely surrendered to His will. Successful youth ministry must incorporate this concept of the call of God into our students’ relationship development with Christ. Jesus calls us to follow Him. He will change us from what we are into what He has designed us to be. This is the transforming model that must be communicated to our students. Leading them into a "following" relationship is a must. The call of God impacts every strata of the believer’s life.

Youth ministry also has a focus on the future. The only way to ensure lasting discipleship is to teach, preach, and model a life surrendered to God. However, this cannot be accomplished alone. You need staff who will replicate your vision, duplicate your leadership, and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ to this generation.

Leadership Development
(Singular vision, plurality of leadership)

As you communicate your vision for youth ministry, you will need others to carry this vision to places where you cannot go. You are only one leader, and your effectiveness can only extend to a certain number of students and a certain type of student. Paul tried to be "all things to all men." But I have discovered I am not very good at this. I have others whom God has provided to help me be effective as I release them into the ministry alongside me.

It is important that you develop leaders to replicate your vision. Your vision is what God has revealed to you concerning what He is doing in your city, on your school campus, and in the lives of your kids. You need your staff to work in concert with this vision. The synergy of that point of agreement will topple the enemy’s strongholds. There needs to be a singular vision but a plurality of leadership to enable your ministry to advance forward in your city.

Leadership development is hard work, but it can yield great dividends. It is equipping leaders to carry out the stewardship of the ministry, not just task delegation. The key to developing leaders is to delegate authority, accompanied by a leadership-entry process and a well-defined job description. (See the sidebar, Process for Training Potential Leaders.) A job description outlines the chain of authority and clearly explains what is expected of your workers. As the leader, you need to look at the priorities and expressed goals of your ministry. If you do not have well-defined priorities and goals, you are not ready to delegate. Priorities and goals are the guts of your ministry vision.

As a church staff member, your number one priority is to help fulfill the senior pastor’s vision. I have served four pastors, and in each case they outlined their vision for the church. I had the latitude to flesh out the structure, scope, and vision of the youth ministry, as well as the freedom to implement it. But I worked within the vision of my senior pastor. My vision complemented the senior pastor’s vision for the church.

Your leadership team’s responsibility is to help you fulfill the senior pastor’s vision first. The pastor is the shepherd; the youth pastor is the undershepherd. It is important to keep this before your workers at all times. The principle of singular vision must be applied to every strata of your leadership team. This gives your leaders a sense of connection and value that will foster a genuine stewardship of the ministry. As you outline your vision, you will be ready to set priorities and goals that people can follow.

How many times have you given a pressing task to someone offering to help, and he/she successfully completed the task and asked for more to do? You had to think of something else to keep that person busy. This is task delegation and not leadership delegation. You can become weary of creating something for him/her to do, and he/she can become frustrated by not doing anything meaningful. Without a vision that defines your needs and a person’s place of effectiveness, your ministry scope will remain limited. With a plurality of leadership, your ministry scope will not only increase in breadth but also in depth. You are in fact called to equip the saints for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:12).

Finally, leaders need to have a sacrificial love for students. There must be a passion to demonstrate the love of Christ. This means your staff will need to model grace, patience, longsuffering, and forgiveness more often than love, joy, and peace. Many of the young people coming to Christ do not know how to relate well with friends, authority, other teens, or even themselves. They will not reach out to your staff and make them feel accepted or appreciated. These students are insecure and need to be understood and loved.

In Romans 9:2, Paul expresses sorrow and anguish over the condition of his countrymen. Would to God we could have an army of youth pastors and leaders who will carry this generation in their hearts in like fashion. Our students are being exploited by a crafty system of slick and shallow promises that leaves them brokenhearted, disillusioned, and morally bankrupt. The time is now for a holy onslaught of youth ministers who will stand in the gap, do what it takes, and follow the example of Jesus and radically love a lost generation. We need to take the love of Christ to the lost—campuses, coffee shops, malls, streets where kids cruise, parks where skaters ride, beaches, and clubs. All these seem to be gospel-free zones. Our own students can infiltrate these areas and bring hope to the hopeless. Student leadership is the ticket for expansive youth ministry.

Effective Student Leadership—
the Untapped Resource

Youth pastors and other leaders sometimes state that they lack growth potential in their youth ministry because there is not enough adult help. In some cases this is true, but God has a rich resource of young leaders who are often overlooked. Young people lead other young people the best. Our foreign missions philosophy can apply to the youth culture. The indigenous church is the most effective tool to reach a culture. Youth pastor, you are in the equipping business (Ephesians 4:12). The youth in your church will be equipped to serve the Lord, not by an army of well-trained adults, but by an army of well-trained youth. Youth who are not involved in a meaningful ministry within the church or youth group are not as likely to consistently participate in the youth program.

Let God give you the vision and strategy to equip your teens to touch their world. If they can do it while they are under your ministry, think of what they will do as adults. Think of the blessing that well-trained youth will be to your senior pastor. Many youth pastors are blessed with adult leadership, but youth pastors can enhance their ministry by building strong student disciples. (See the sidebar, Purposeful Discipleship—Connecting Beliefs to Behavior.) Youth pastor, call your students to greatness. Build a structure to get them there, and you will be amazed at what God will do. Remember, He will do "exceedingly abundantly" more than you can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

God is calling faithful men and women to equip and entrust the kingdom of God to the youth of this nation. May we have the courage and passion to see, with eyes of faith, God’s provision inside and outside our youth rooms. May God give us anguish of heart until we see Christ formed in them.

Jeff P. Kennedy is youth director for the Michigan District of the Assemblies of God, Farmington Hills, Michigan.