How to Cultivate and Develop Student Leaders

Although December is known for Christmas/Advent, it’s also the time when many youth ministries are finalizing plans for their summer missions trip. This month-long series will help youth workers think intentionally about how they practice missions, service projects, develop volunteers, and raise up student leadership.

We have all heard that leadership is an admirable goal, but why is it so important, especially regarding discipleship? A simple definition of leadership is to influence and develop others. When putting this definition beside discipleship, the terms almost look identical. The goal of discipleship is to help and influence others to follow Jesus – to develop followers of Jesus that will go and make other followers of Jesus. Likewise, the goal for leadership is to help and influence others to become leaders – to develop leaders that will then go and lead others.

If faithful youth leaders want students to become disciples of Jesus who go and make disciples, this also implies that we influence and develop them to become leaders in the church and the world for the Kingdom of God.

But how can we do this? We can develop leaders in our student ministry in these two ways: casting a biblical vision of leadership and cultivating a system for leadership.

Casting a Biblical Vision of Leadership

One of the most common problems youth leaders face when seeking to develop leaders is students who do not think they are old enough to lead. Unfortunately, our culture has often associated leadership with age or seniority instead of a desire and willingness to serve.

Another misconception students have is that they think leadership is about having charisma, the giftedness to speak in front of others, or an outgoing personality. Leadership is not about charisma or having a “leadership personality.” Christian leadership springs from hard work, responsibility, teachability, and a passion to influence others for Jesus. When Jesus selected the twelve disciples, he did not choose the wisest, talented, or wealthiest men. Instead, he selected men who were both willing to learn and serve.

Therefore, to create leaders in your ministry, you must first cast a leadership vision to your students and show them that all of them have the potential to be leaders for the kingdom of God right now, no matter how old they are. (Check out YPT’s other content about student leadership)

Brent Crowe, Vice President of Student Leadership University, says, “Leadership begins at the feet of Jesus.” If you want to help your students know what leadership is and to foster a desire for them to lead, then walk them through the gospels and show them how Jesus made disciples and cultivated leaders for the kingdom of God. Passages such as Mark 10:45; John 13; Philippians 2:5-11; and Matthew 5-7 show us that Jesus led through serving, teaching, and investing his life in others.

Casting your vision for leadership through the life and ministry of Christ will help develop strong roots so that the branches of their influence can reach far and wide (Col. 2:6-7).

Cultivating a System for Leadership

After casting a biblical vision for leadership, you need to have a plan to develop leaders through a leadership pipeline. We have 6th-12th graders in our ministry, and I like to separate them into three different groups: Timothy (6th-7th grade), Barnabas (8th-9th grade), and Paul (10th-12th grade). Each group can serve and lead, but because of age and maturity level, the specific ways they lead look different.

Here is an overview of the strategy that I implemented.

Timothy (6th-7th grade)

Students in this group are 11–13-year-olds just entering the student ministry. One of the best ways they can lead is by actively influencing their peers by attending Sunday morning and Wednesday night gatherings faithfully and consistently. Students cannot influence their friends if they are not present. Students will lead by setting an example for their friends in paying attention during worship, engaging in discussions during group time, and seeking to share something God taught them from his word with one person. Another way these students can lead is by getting them involved in service opportunities for big events in the church. We have large events yearly (for example, Thanksgiving Dinner and Veterans Lunch) where these students can help set up and tear down tables, wash dishes, and serve meals to our church and community.

Barnabas (8th-9th grade)

Students in this group are transitioning from middle school into high school and have hopefully grown in maturity over the last few years. On top of the ways the Timothy group serves, the Barnabas group will be given more autonomy to help welcome and greet students at worship gatherings and events. Those skilled in the performing arts and media will begin serving on our praise and tech teams. Freshmen will also have the opportunity to be a part of our student leadership team, which is the bulk of what our third tier (Paul) of leadership consists of.

Paul (10th-12th grade)

The Paul group comprises some Freshmen but mostly Sophomores through Seniors who can drive. When students gain this new responsibility, calling them up into new forms of leadership is vital to keep them plugged in and allow them to thrive as leaders. The student leadership team (SLT) is formed by offering a general application to all interested people. We then funnel it down to 8-10 students (max) through an interview process. We select students who have exhibited and demonstrated leadership throughout their journey in the student ministry and have an ongoing desire to learn, serve, and lead others.

The most significant differences between the Paul group and the other two groups are autonomy, accountability, and responsibility. To be a part of the SLT, students must sign a leadership covenant that explains their roles, responsibilities, and expectations as leaders. We also involve the parents in this and ask them to sign the covenant to hold their kids accountable and encourage them in the journey. In the SLT, students are trained weekly by walking through leadership principles. I give the students opportunities to lead and teach the lesson to their peers each week, and I offer coaching about how they can improve. SLT members are responsible for helping plan events, fellowships, games, and outreaches to teach them how to develop plans, teams, and strategies for success.

Students also set yearly goals and cast a vision in four areas (Spiritual, Academic, Health, Leadership) to grow and develop the skills to be holistic leaders. Within these goals, each student is responsible for holding another student on the team accountable for reaching their goals.

Lastly, students are asked to intentionally invest in and mentor at least one other student who is 2-3 years younger than them by praying for them daily, reaching out to them weekly, and spending time with them (outside of church) monthly. If leadership influences and develops others, we must give and call our students to do this work themselves. This mentoring process also helps our students develop younger students to cultivate leadership skills and qualities they can use to pour into others as they age.

The hardest part about this phase of leadership is being willing to let your students fail (and they will inevitably fail at some point). However, this is a vital part of the leadership journey. You must let your students learn from their mistakes to be ready to take further leadership steps when they enter college or the workforce. These failures are opportunities to foster a growth mindset in our students to learn from their mistakes and become better leaders for the kingdom of God.

Generation Z wants to lead, influence others, and make a difference. By casting a biblical vision of leadership and cultivating a system for leadership, we can feed these desires to develop student leaders who will influence others for the kingdom of God.