Rethinking Youth Leadership

Graduating from high school can be one of the most thrilling experiences of a young person's life.  It can also be confusing for many.  Should they get a job?  Should they move away to college?  Should they join the military?  Should they get a job while going to college?  And perhaps the most confusing of all, where do they fit within the church?  Compound the confusion by throwing a pandemic into the mix, then it really gets confusing.

This past spring was the most different year for me as a youth pastor because my daughter was among the graduates from our ministry.  Like many graduates she had plans of going to camp and possibly helping out in youth ministry in the Fall.  Camp had to be cancelled because of COVID-19, but she wasn't able to help in youth ministry for a different reason.  I have had a rule for many years that after a student graduates (or they have been in the high school group for four years, whichever comes first), they need to move on from the youth ministry for one year.  There are several reasons for this rule.  One, it separates them from being a friend vs. being a leader.  Two, it gives them a chance to grow up and take part in other areas of the church if they so choose.  Three, it weeds out the people who have the wrong intentions of being at youth group.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  Now, I am starting to rethink that rule.  I think having my daughter as one of my youth group students has made me a more qualified youth leader.  I get to see the repercussions as a parent of my decisions as a youth pastor.

Our teens feel displaced enough as it is.  Giving them a chance to serve in the youth ministry with which they have been familiar could be a good catalyst for them serving in the bigger church when they decide it is time for them to move on.  Notice I said serve, not lead.  Putting them in a leadership position too early may be bad for them and bad for the people they are leading if things go south.  But allowing them to serve alongside the other leaders would give them experience while being discipled.  And we could take students on in a servant role as a case by case basis instead of a hard and fast "you're out of here."  That way we can still protect those entrusted to our care while helping a young person grow in their faith in the most pivotal time in their lives.  Isn't that what we're here for as youth ministries anyway?