1. General Roles for Leaders
The following roles are expected of leaders in ministry among youth. It should be noted that not all leaders would be expected to function at the same depth in each role, but should be in the process of being equipped to function to some degree in each role. The youth pastor is responsible to ensure training is provided in each role and that youth leaders are given opportunities to apply what they are learning within the group.
A. Devotions
Each leader should be engaging in spiritual growth habits in their personal devotional life. Each habit is related to one of Jesus’ description of a disciple:
(a) Time with God’s Word - a disciple follows God’s Word (John 8:31-32)
(b) Prayer - a disciple prays and bears fruit (John 15:7-8)
(c) Tithing - a disciple is not possessed by possessions (Luke 14:33)
(d) Fellowship - a disciple expresses love for other believers (John 13:34-35)
B. Praying
While the leader should already be engaged in private prayer they should also be praying for young people within the group, for other leaders and for the group overall ministry. Leaders should be encouraged to engage in private prayer and expected to attend corporate prayer opportunities provided through the youth group’s ministry.
C. Relating
One of the primary ways in which leaders are involved in the lives of youth is through the developing of facilitating relationships. Relationships in which the leader is able to positively impact the life of youth for Christ and provide help in times of need. Leaders respond to youth who make a self-revealing statement about themselves in one of four ways: (a) giving advice (this communicates that the leader has the answer and that the young person must do what they say - with the results that the advice giver is seen to be strong while the youth is weak and inadequate); (b) reassuring (this is similar to advice giving and it fails to take what youth say seriously); (c) understanding (here leaders express a desire to understand, they ask questions to invite further communication); (d) self-revealing while understanding invites youth to come closer, self-revealing takes the leader one step closer to youth by showing that their share similar experiences and feelings about life. There are times when different responses are necessary by youth leaders tend to respond primarily with advice and reassurance which are the least facilitating in terms of relationship building. Learn more about facilitating developing relationships.
D. Counselling
As leaders develop relationships with young people they will earn their trust and soon be asked for advice or be called on to intervene in crises youth experience. One of the most important guidelines leaders can learn is to recognise when they are out of their depth and be willing to refer people to people who are equipped to provide the kind of help needed. It is helpful to know different approaches to counselling to at least know how to respond when a young person needs help. There are three main counselling processes: (a) directive - here the youth reveals their problem, the leader provides an answer and the youth chooses what they should do; (b) non-directive - here the youth reveals their problem, the leader helps them clarify their situation, and the youth determines the answer and chooses what they should do; (c) identification - here the youth shares a problem, the leader shares a similar problem and the solution they chose, and the youth chooses what they should do. There are three goals in counselling: discover problem (self-revealing helps); introduce content and motivate response.
E. Evangelising
The groups has a strategy for evangelism (the Rave ministry). Leaders are a vital part of this ministry by bringing young people to Rave events and referring people who are seeking Christ to leaders if they feel out of their depth. They should also engage in personal evangelism by making contact with unchurched friends, building a relationship with them, sharing Christ with them and following them up in the basics of the faith.
F. Discipling
Leaders must actively be involved in the ministry of discipleship within the youth group and the local church. They should also engage in mentoring at least one young person within the group by meeting together with them on a regular basis to help them grow spiritually. They should encourage Christian youth to be involved in Growth events and attend church services.
G. Serving
There are three main ways in which youth leaders are expected to service within the youth group: (a) helping with programming (this is developed under ‘leading’ below) and (b) practising one anothering (these are commands found in the New Testament: Mark 9:50; John 13:34; Romans 12:10,16; 14:13; 15:7,14; 16:16; Galatians 5:13; 6:2; Ephesians 4:2,32; 5:19,21; Philippians 2:3; Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11; Hebrews 10:24; James 4:11; 5:9,16; 1 Peter 5:5); (c) shepherding youth (Ezekiel 34:1-16 speaks of leaders doing the following: feed the sheep; take care of the weak; tend the sick, bind up the wounded; look for the lost).
H. Caring
Caring involves leaders in (a) personal involvement (where they involve themselves in the lives of young people to build significant relationships with them); (b) personal sacrifice (where they are willing to pay the cost of developing such relationships); and (c) understanding youth (where they learn how to identify and feel with young people). A ministry of care is developed within the youth group where each leader is given a number of young people to care for. Leaders are expected to establish contact with their care group both inside and outside of group meetings. They should phone those under their care; send them messages of encouragement; be sensitive to struggles they experience and refer them to other who can help where necessary.
I. Leading
There are a number of ways in which leaders should exercise their gift of spiritual leadership: (a) being an example (where they show by their lifestyle and speech that they have been changed by Jesus Christ); (b) helping with programming (where they are entrusted with (i) physical, (ii) program, (iii) people or (iv) person-to-person responsibilities with a programme; (c) leading a ministry (where they are entrusted the responsibility of coordinating one of the ministries); (d) using spiritual gifts (where they identify, develop and use their unique spiritual gift or gifts).
2. Specific Roles at Each Ministry Level
The following explanation of specific roles are applied to the six levels of youth ministry developed by the Windsor Fellowship and not to the six levels of the commitment level model created by Duffy Robbins. It should be said, upfront, that leaders are expected to attend ministries at these various levels as an example to youth, and to actively participate within the events according to their gifting and specific portfolios. Leaders will fulfill the general roles to greater or lesser extents depending on the nature of the ministry and will also have specific duties and functions leaders that are dictated by the events themselves.
A. Contact Ministry
In ministries where the group makes contact with unchurched youth on their turf, leaders must provide a positive example of the Christian life through their attitude, speech and actions. They should at all times look for opportunities to develop conversation with unchurched youth in order to begin a process of building a relationship with them. Where such opportunities occur they should be willing and able to share the gospel with the person or refer to them other leaders equipped for this task. Where contact events take place in spheres that the leader lives, schools, or works, in they should seek to incarnate themselves fully just as Christ did on earth. They should take a long-term approach to relationship building and seek to win the right through care and good deeds to share the gospel verbally with people. They should at all times seek to be a channel for people to make an entry into the life of the church - ensuring that they first discover where the person is at and carefully choosing the best point of entry for them. They should not think that they task is over once they have brought the person to the group or to Christ - they maintain a parenting responsibility in the life of the assimilating person.
B. Connect Ministry
This ministry involves various strategies to evangelise seeker youth. In the four-week rave programming strategy that is designed to evangelise and assimilate unchurched youth into the group, leaders should make a special effort at the start of the four-week cycle to bring at least one new person to the group. They should take responsibility to ensure that they are introduced into the group by introducing them to individuals within the group and ensuring that they are not left to feel excluded. They should also seek to get them to return the following week and keep attending through the full cycle and beyond. After meetings they should look for opportunities to follow-up with the person along the lines of the message that was shared or in terms of relationships that are bing developed. For leaders who do not bring unchurched youth into the Rave programmes, they should not feel that they have nothing to do. It is their responsibility to make contact and build relationships with newcomers brought by others. Where appropriate they should be willing to share the gospel story with youth in order to lead them to Christ for salvation. They should share their story with the person where appropriate as well. They should be willing to accept delegated responsibilities that will cause the programmes to run effectively, ie. physical (setting up the venue, or making refreshments); programme (leading games, giving a testimony), people (facilitating group discussion, giving devotions) or person-to-person (follow-up of newcomers, leading seekers to Christ)
C. Follow-up
At this level leaders may be called on to engage in one-on-one follow-up of new converts in the group. Leaders will be giving material to use in helping the new convert to be grounded in the faith. They should act as friends who encourage and support the growing believers. Where small group follow-up classes are held (when many youth come to salvation at the same time) leaders may be asked to lead one of the small groups with the help of appropriate follow-up curriculum material. Leaders who model their faith in Christ and honestly show how they are growing in Christ though trials, temptations and failures are a valuable source of encouragement and help to new converts.
D. Growth
Ministries at this level are designed to help youth grow spiritually. It should be acknowledged that some of the leaders may just have arrived at this level and would not be expected to play an active role in leadership at this level. However, it is probably that most leaders will be at this level if not above it. They should be a part of the large group Bible study or a part of cell groups (whichever are running in the group at a given time).They may be used as leaders of the group or encouraged to take an active role in the group in terms of interacting with the subject being studies. They should ensure that they support the group leader and think carefully about the issues that they raise in front of young Christians. They may be issues that should be discussed at a different level and should use discernment as to their participation at all times. As at Rave programmes leaders will also be involved in physical, programme, people or person-to-person responsibilities.
E. Impact
Leaders should seek to be involved in ministries of service in their local community both within and without of those events organised by the youth group. A lifestyle of service on their behalf will communicate to youth the importance of service in the Christian life. They should be significantly involved in the long-term projects that the groups runs (such as regular ministry in a children’s home) and well as in the short-term projects arranged in the local community. They, together with the other Christian youth are needed to make these events work. Leaders will be approached to handle various responsibilities within these programmes.
F. Leader
Leaders are expected to attend, as far as possible, all leadership meeting that are organised by the leader of the group. These events, both planning meetings and training events, will be advertised well in advance and will be ineffective if members of the leadership team do not attend. Leaders should seek to equip themselves for ministry among youth by reading books and magazines written to equip those involved in youth ministry. Where possible, leaders will be encouraged to attend regional or national leadership training events for further equipping.
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