Building for the Future…Replacing Student Leaders

I’m a huge Washington Nationals fan.  Sure they may not be good right now, but they are improving and they are starting to show signs of being a legitamate contender in the years to come.  Why do I say that?  Because not only do they have an All-Star 3rd baseman in Ryan Zimmerman who is still in his 20s.  But they secured the #1 pick both last year (Stephen Strasburg) and this year (Bryce Harper). Both are predicted to be phenominal for years to come.  In fact, even though Strasburg got injured this year, he has wowed everyone he has pitched against this year and has shown that he can be an great pitcher in the majors for years to come.

In order for the Nationals to get better and start contending for the division and eventually the World Series titles, they had to build a team.  That responsibility falls largely on the General Manager and his staff.  Their goal to is scout out young talent in the minors, in high school or college baseball to find out which players have the right stuff to be on their team.  They need a good amount of role players and leaders so that the team can excel to the highest level.

Thinking of these two phenoms has led me to really think about all the building and rebuilding we do in Youth Ministry each year.  Just like the General Manager for a baseball team, youth ministers have to play the role of General Manager.  See, every year youth ministers gain a new class of students while we say good-bye to our recently graduated seniors.  With those freshmen comes a ton of excitement and new energy but with the graduating seniors we say good-bye to strong leadership (hopefully) within the group.  That is a void that needs to be filled.

So how do you replace those student leaders?  Here are two suggestions of how I have seen it done:

1. Constantly be looking. As you and your leaders develop relationships with students, there are going to be students that stand out to you all that are demonstrating good leadership traits.  When that happens, jump on that.  Some of the greatest conversations I have with my leaders are identifying new students who are stepping up as potential leaders.  When students do that, it is a clear sign to us that they have that potential and we need to act on getting them more strategically involved in ministry.
2. Make it part of your Program. By that I mean that you can make Leadership RTD (Recruitment, Training and Development) a regular part of your youth program.  For instance, at the beginning of each year you give every student the opportunity to become a student leader.  You invite them to a formal gathering where you outline expectations and give them a vision for who they could become as a student leader in your program. Included in this vision casting is a covenant you have set up that if students desire to be a student leader, they commit to certain expectations for the year.  If students choose to participate, they commit to attending monthly (or bi-monthly) leadership training meetings to spur them on. Also, you can set them up with other leaders who can mentor them 1-on-1.

Right now, TAKE A MINUTE and examine what you are doing to replace student leaders. How successful you are at doing recruiting, training and developing new ones?  Is it working or no?  What changes need to take place so you can be more effective?