Orange ’13 Preconference: “Off the Couch! Developing a Student Leadership Culture” Notes
This seminar was led by Jamey Dickens who is the Director of High School Ministry at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, GA.
This generation thinks that Church is about getting something. That isn’t just because of “this generation”. It is also because of leadership. How do we get them from “church is about getting something” to “church is about being something”?
1. Lead with Vision. Students want to be apart of something big and a way to connect.
- Make it God-sized. Bigger than what you currently are…bigger that only God can do
- Get specific. What exactly does it look like for a student to get off the couch?
- Stay on mission.
- It has to start with you. You have to believe there is impact to be made.
2. Give Students a role in growing their own faith
- Create steps, not just destinations. Focus on attainable goals.
- Teach them the basics. Keep it simple, doable (gotta find a way to fit it into their schedules), and effective (they need to see fruit)
3. Connect students with Relationships
- They should be walking with someone older. This is NOT a parent or a peer who spends time with them on their turf and really invests in that relationship.
- They should be investing in someone younger where they feel connected to someone else and are held to a higher standard.
4. Give students leadership in your Program
- Ask students for input (use as a resource, not a sole dictators of what happens in your program)
- Get them on stage (if something great or funny happens, get them on social media and tag them…instant celebrity status)
- Give them roles *if appropriate*. They can be hosts, worship leaders, game person, testimony giver)
5. Partner with them to reach their schools
- Give them something to belong to
- Train them in a process they can win at
- Celebrate everything
