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5 Mistakes Youth Pastors Make with Student Leadership Teams · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: We're here to reach out to those who are new or shy or unsure.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_02: We're here to invite and include.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: That is the kind of mindset we're encouraging all year long with our student leaders is that leadership's not for you to feel special or important.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_02: It's for you to bring others into the kingdom of God.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: We get outside of our comfort zone for the sake of somebody else, and that is leadership.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Today we're talking about five common mistakes that youth ministries make with their student leadership team.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, the coach for the coach list in youth ministry.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jeff Lascola, and this is Kristen Lascola.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: And today we're talking all about student leadership because it's that time of year.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: If you are launching a student leadership team, this is the best time of year to do it because you want applications to come in right when the school year is starting.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: And then you want to host the team that follows the school year.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we do ours, our first meeting is in September.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Applications are due August 25th.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: And then we go all the way until May.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: We make that our last meeting as the school year kind of wraps up and we take the summer off.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: So right now we've already done our presentation, the applications are out, students are turning them in, and we have our first meeting scheduled for September.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're gonna talk about some of the pitfalls, maybe the do not do list for student leadership that we've learned along the way, and that I've seen other youth groups do that maybe would be kind of a like orange red flag that and that I've done myself as well and learned the hard way.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: So, number one, don't gatekeep this program, this team too hard.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: One of the number one questions I get from youth pastors is how do I decide who makes it or not?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so I tell them like, this isn't like trying out for a team or something like that.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_02: I kind of use the mindset like innocent until proven guilty with this, because I think sometimes they get youth pastors get afraid because they start seeing some of the names that are rolling in and they're like, well, they're not leadership material.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I've been there, like I've been like, oh, you're gonna be an example, huh?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, okay, I need to change my mindset because this is a student who maybe is ready to rise to the occasion and maybe is sort of like getting spiritually stagnant, and they need something that's gonna challenge them or re-engage them or give them a purpose.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: And maybe some of their behavior and character issues are coming down to they just don't have enough to keep them engaged in something positive.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: So they're over here, you know, being weird, doing things that they shouldn't do, like and you just are like, ah, this kid drives me crazy.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: But if that kid maybe had a purpose and a direction, who knows?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so also are you building leaders or are you just taking ready-made leaders and rolling glasses?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh honestly, like maybe some youth groups are like, no, we're only taking ready-made leaders.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if that's you, then say that's a mistake.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Because even using the term leadership here is we'll get into why maybe that we've talked about that a couple years ago.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but be careful with that term because then all of a sudden you create this impossible bar for 12-year-olds in a hierarchy.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so you need to be really careful.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I often say leadership serving, like some word in there, discipleship, that is kind of letting them know like this isn't like you're in charge of a youth group now or you're the elite group now.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so when you put it in that perspective, yeah, anyone can serve like leadership is serving.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So if we're doing actual biblical leadership, then we're just teaching kids how to lead through serving.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_02: So maybe the student who you wouldn't automatically think of as like their leadership material, but can they serve?
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I always again take that mindset innocent until proven guilty.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_02: You're welcome to turn in an application.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: You're welcome to join the team.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then if you can handle the responsibility and the agreement, whether that's commitment or character, one of those things, like maybe they just never show up to the meetings and you're like, hey, you gave it a good try.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: I think you just might be too busy for this team this year.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Why don't you give it a try next year when your schedule opens up a little bit?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: Or if it's a character thing that you've talked to them over and over and over again, like, hey, you know, the way you treat people is not okay.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: And you're a leader.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: And if if the behavior doesn't change, we might have to put you on the bench for our, you know, serving team for a little bit, and then, you know, you can try again.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: You're supposed to walk through them with this, you know, you can't make the bar impossibly high.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: And at the same time, you can't make it impossibly low, right?
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: Where it's like, well, we don't care and there's no accountability, but you're journeying with these students.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: So be careful of gatekeeping that too hard.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: Another way I've seen people gatekeep is when it comes to grades.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, well, do you just let anybody join no matter their grade?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: Our ministry is sixth, seventh, and eighth.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I thought you meant like if they're getting an A or a B or like Is this your UA?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing in school?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you got a B minus?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're out of leadership.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, wow.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: Do you know me at all?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Apparently I don't.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like you would have heard me talk about it.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've never heard anybody ask about grade.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, Jeff.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sweet, sweet Jeff.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: So cute.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I swear I'm more than a pretty face.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: Trophy husband.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's what you are.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um so like some of them, some youth groups will say we reserve it only for eighth grade if you do junior high or only for seniors.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Now, here's the caveat with that.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_02: If your youth group is huge and there is just no way you can have like a healthy serving team that is that size, I mean, once you're starting to get over 50 kids just in your leadership group, I agree that is hard to disciple that many kids.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_02: You might want to break that up by grade.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_02: If you have like at our larger campus, we have seventh and eighth graders do their own leadership program.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: Seventh graders do something called light, eighth graders do something called SALT, and they run a different program and they have enough staff and leaders to run it that way.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: I used to work there, so I remember it'd be, you know, we would have homes host us, and we would just meet with the seventh grade girls.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: We wouldn't even have all of them.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: So it was like seventh grade girls, seventh grade boys light, and then seventh grade girls, seventh grade or eighth grade boys, eighth grade girls salt.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: And so we were running four leadership teams simultaneously because we were huge.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: But that is a very unique situation.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_02: I talked to Katie at Saddleback and she was doing junior high and she would only have eighth graders do it.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, that's saddleback.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like other than our church, yeah, that's a pretty unique situation.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say if your youth group is 200 or less, you can probably open it up to anybody.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: Once you start getting above the 200 mark, yeah, you probably need to kind of divide and conquer.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're that big, you have the staff to do it.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: If you're under that, you probably don't can't run four simultaneously.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_02: So I just feel like it's that same kind of mentality of innocent till proven guilty, anyone can join.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: And it's not like, oh, eighth grade, something miraculous happens to you, and all of a sudden you're equipped to serve and lead.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the younger we start students and give them opportunity, the better chance we have at keeping them engaged in the body of Christ.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: Remember, the whole mindset that we're trying to teach them is you need to see yourself all the time as a spiritual contributor, not a spiritual consumer.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_02: And when you're in the consumer mindset, especially these kids that have been in church since they were itty bitty toddlers and babies, they run out of interest in the church if they're only consumers.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: So the younger we can get them contributing, their whole vision of church changes and their interest level and their engagement level and their passion level and their spiritual growth level.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: It all accelerates.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: So I don't like to gatekeep it based on age either, because of you know, all the reasons we're saying.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you're doing it just for seniors, even if you just had high school, that means a freshman's gonna have to wait three years of just sitting on the benches before they could do it.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth through eighth grade, now they're waiting five years.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's a long time.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it depends if you have a sixth grade or seventh grade, but yeah, just waiting on the on the bench.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: And think about this what if you could have captured that student earlier?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I mean.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: Because they're in your program and it's like this redundant, they're kind of over it and it becomes stagnant for them.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: Well, if they're on a leadership team, you have a much better chance at retaining that student, not only for your ministry, but for the church as they move into adulthood.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_02: I've said it before, you know, I would say about at least 50% of my student or my adult leaders are my former, not only former students, my former leadership students.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_02: They like get a taste of leadership early on.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: It keeps them connected and engaged in the church because they have a purpose.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then they come back and serve in the ministry that they were a student in.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: So it you run the risk, like you're saying, if you keep this kid on the bench for too long, they run out of interest.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: They may never promote, right?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: Stick around long enough to promote to be a senior leader or whatever.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just kind of in my head, actually, going through two of the people in the Bible that would be discounted from being allowed in student leadership based off of some of the gatekeeping.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Paul would be out.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's no way he'd show up and say, There's no way that guy could be on leadership.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: And pretty much all the apostles, too, would probably be out based off of if you're saying no, it's guy could be this ready-made leader.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I mean, nobody liked it.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: They would show up and be like, that's who's on leadership, then I'm out.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_02: Totally.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like just throwing that out there.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's a really good point, you know.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: And obviously, we don't tolerate horrible behavior, and you know, but Jesus walked alongside those people as well.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: He rebuked them when they needed to be rebuked, he encouraged them when they needed to be encouraged, he gave them independence and autonomy and freedom to go do ministry when they were ready for that.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's leadership is such an art.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I've said that in so many episodes is like, you know, so many times people want a blueprint for leadership and ministry, and we can do a lot of that.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: However, then the leader comes in and now it becomes very subjective and very artful.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, when is this person ready for this opportunity?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: How can I walk alongside this person in this season?
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: How can I encourage this person to go from A to B?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so you have the blueprint, but then you really need to artfully lead people through that's like what discipleship is, right?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so this like student leadership, that again is such a bad word for it.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: It really is discipleship.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: And students are signing up for us to disciple them through what does it look like to serve and lead and be the church?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_02: And what happens when I fail?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_02: And what happens when I need someone to come alongside of me, and what happens when I'm struggling, and that's all okay.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_02: I love that you brought up the disciples because I think we see real human, messy discipleship process that we see them going through.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_02: So good point.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, number two, it should be just as fun as youth group.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_02: So leaders, leadership teams, like it's not like, okay, well, we already did the fun thing, and that was on Wednesday night.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_02: So we're doing the serious thing at leadership.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: Like my students look forward to leadership like just as much as they look forward to youth group.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Why?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because it's fun.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: We do ours on a Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: And especially for junior hires, high schoolers, maybe Friday night would be a drag because they want to go to the football game or go out with their friends or whatever.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: But for junior hires, Friday is like a win because they can't drive.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: So if they don't have plans, you know, this is the plan.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: Like all their friends are gonna be there.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: So we always start out with dinner.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: I get, you know, classic pizza, uh, crazy bread.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: I used to do salad because I was trying to make them healthy, but nobody ate it.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I was so tired of throwing the salad away.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm like, you know what, eat vegetables on your own time.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: We're having pizza and breadsticks and soda.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then we play a game.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and here's what I love.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: I love to beta test games on this group because it's a smaller group than my youth group.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: So A, I can play different games that I wouldn't be able to play with my other group.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: But B, if I'm not sure I want to commit to a whole youth group night around this game that I'm not sure is gonna work, I test it with them and then it's small enough that I can modify it.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: But when my whole youth group is there, I can't like pivot on a dime.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, oh, okay, guys, let's play this round this way and see how this goes.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that team dynamic didn't work.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, let's do sixth graders versus this instead.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like we can change it and kind of work out the kinks.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: And if it's cool, we can bring it to our youth group.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: If not, we just, you know, throw it away.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so we play a game and then I do like a leadership lesson with them and I keep everyone together for that.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then we split up boys and girls for our homework.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: And there's no real reason other than we have gotten large enough that I feel like we can't really have a good discussion with everyone together.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I give them a leadership study the month before.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: They have the whole month to do it on their own, and then they bring it to the meeting and we, you know, kind of just open it up for discussion and go through the questions after the lesson.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: So then they get dessert and we go on our way.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: So some fun things that we've added in the past is like Bible memorization, and that was like, oh, if you memorize a verse, you get dessert.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: I would give it to everybody, but I'd let the other like the verse people go first and choose what ice cream they wanted or something.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: And then keeping it fun, like retreats and events just with your leadership team and making sure you're giving them like serving opportunities, like not just we'll talk about this in a second, but like not just inside the church, but outside the church as well.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like take them on service projects, or maybe you're ambitious enough to do a mission strip with them.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like, wow, I wish I was that person.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so scared.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: I need if you're a junior high pastor who have done a missions trip, can you comment below and talk me down?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: Because I would love to be the person who can do that.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Talk you down.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like I feel like I'm like really nervous about it.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I take my kids really far for summer camp, and you know, it's a two-day drive, and I manage all of them and it goes great.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Something about a mission trip with junior hires.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: I think because I picture getting on a plane, and I just maybe I need to just do with one within driving distance, but I picture going to the airport with them, and that's when like my heart starts pounding.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, how do people do this?
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like junior hires at an airport on an airplane.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, they can barely handle the vehicles.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, so, anyways, so yes, events, retreats, make it special.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: Like this is stuff we do because we're on leadership, you know, service projects and stuff like that.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then kind of seguing into that, give them really meaningful jobs to do and jobs that align with their interests and their gifts and obviously their schedule.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: But one of the coolest parts of the serving team is actually serving.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: So we talked about, yeah, like a service project or a mission strip or something like that.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: But having a job within the church and my students all get a job, whether that's worship, maybe they're doing hand motions during the fast song, maybe they're actually playing an instrument, maybe they are doing tech, maybe they're helping set up or teardown, maybe they're running the snack shack.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: There's jobs that they can do that they own and that's their thing.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: And we train them on how to do it correctly.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: We write a schedule for them so they know when they're on.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: If you have a smaller youth group, they could just be like, you're the Snack Shack guy.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: But I have enough kids sign up that I rotate them, like, okay, so you know, Jeff and Jed are on this night, and then Jesse and Hannah are on this night, and they team A and T B team B, or you serve once a month or however many weeks you need.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, another great one is office help.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: If you have a kid who's homeschooled and their schedule is kind of flexible, they could maybe come in the office.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: I have them like count the offering and, you know, write deposits if you trust them with money or make copies and cut things for a game or an event we're doing or flyers.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there's a lot of jobs, just kind of like random busy work that you could have anyone do.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: They love that.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: And then they get to spend time with you and, you know, like be behind the scenes.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, see that part of the ministry.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: In the office, you know, because kids are always like, where do you work?
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like, okay, come come to work with me, child, and then you'll see.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_02: There's a whole world that goes on Monday through Thursday, you know, we're working, we're in the office.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_02: So, or if they're not homeschooled and they're in school, they can just come after if you work till five or something like that.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: So give them their jobs.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: And then what I like to do is give them the option to switch.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: So sometimes they'll start helping with our children's ministry, and that's their job.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they're helping in two-year-olds.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: That was our daughter, and the kids loved her and she loved them, but then she kind of ran out of steam and she was just like, you know, I like this, but I think I need a break and I want to try something different.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's fine.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, what else are you interested in?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: And she's doing worship and stuff like that.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: But don't just say, Well, you signed up for this, you got to ride this one out.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_02: This is the age where they're kind of figuring out what they're good at.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, you know, I thought I liked, you know, being a teacher for the little kids.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if that's like my number one.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Could I try announcements instead?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, sure.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like, let's get you trying that.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: Remember, we're walking through with them.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: Does it create more work for you?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_02: Does switch and jumble everyone's job?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it does.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: This whole thing creates a lot more work for you.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_02: Student leadership is a lot of work.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's why some pastors are like, that's a dream for another season of my life.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: Just start small.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to do all of it at once.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: Just start small and do what you can.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: But this is such a vital piece of health for your and growth and sustainability for your youth group.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like, if there's something else you can get rid of and then keep this, I mean, if there is like a glow-in-the-dark event that you can get rid of to if to give you the bandwidth to do this, I mean, I would just say find a way.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's that important.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then also, real quick on that, I remember I had a pastor one time tell me the best way to find out what you are gifted in or want to like serve in is to actually just try it because you'll quickly find out.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Is this me or is this not probably within 10 minutes?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I helped out with three-year-olds for 10 minutes.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, never again.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: They didn't ask me back.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: We just peaceably walked away from each other.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_02: I was they were like, Oh, we're looking for someone for three-year-olds.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, fine, I'll help.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'll help for today, and then I'm never again.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: One day, and I was, I think they were like, This person is like, what do you mean they can't tie their shoes?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I'm not tying everyone's shoe.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: So they can't go to the bathroom by themselves.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what is this?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, I think 20 years old, and I was just like, But it's that absolutely a million assessment tests you could take, but it's like really it's the hands-on stuff that will really solidify, like, no, yeah, absolutely, you know, yes, and I've had that experience both ways, you know, something I thought I would love.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, not for me.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then other times I'm like, I don't think you loved junior high.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I probably in one point in my life probably would have thought there's no way I would want to work with junior high.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_02: People always say that they always say, I never thought I'd love junior high.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, yeah, you just gotta open your heart, they're very lovable, they're fun and cute, and block your you know, face in case you get hit by a dodgeball during a non game.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: Have low level concussions at least once.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: A month.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: But here I am, you know, thriving.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: We are so excited to be teaming up once again with our friend Corey Fenn and Onward to offer youth and young adult pastors an incredible opportunity for growth and connection.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_02: Over the past year, we've worked with Onward because we share the same heart.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: We love helping ministry leaders grow and stay healthy so that they can serve Jesus for the long haul.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: So this year, from late September through early December, each leader will receive executive one-on-one coaching sessions, practical group workshops, and a community of pastors learning and growing together.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're ready to take the next step in your calling, this is definitely for you.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: Space is limited to just 12 leaders.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_02: So learn more and apply at onwardleader.com.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, and then sometimes people worry about like this click mindset with student leadership, like what if they get a big head?
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it kind of goes back to the hierarchy of your youth group.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: And here's the thing with that is that is completely the youth pastor or the youth leader's job to steer that culture.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_02: So what you teach your leadership team every month at these meetings has to be geared toward not, hey, we're the leaders and everyone's looking up to us.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: So and it's like, no, we're here to make everyone else's experience amazing.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_02: We're here to reach out to those who are new or shy or unsure.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: We're here to invite and include.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_02: And that's up to you to like, if you don't see them doing that, well, I tell them all the time, like, reach out to people.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_02: I will make them.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, I will come up to, I'll just use our daughter, and I've done this to her and been like, hey, there's a girl in a pink sweater.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: I've already said hello to her.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_02: Our conversation has kind of run out.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: Can you save her a seat or can you go introduce yourself?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: Can you invite her to be on your team during the game?
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, she's really sweet.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: This is what grade she's in.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know, go and pursue her.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: And then she'll just sit there and be like, like gearing herself up.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then I go over and like, have you met her yet?
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I need you to do it.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, so they again need us to coach them and encourage them.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Some junior hires are very like, oh, sure.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: And they go right away, they're very confident.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: And some need you to really like, okay, you can do this.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: So this is what it's like.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: What do we do?
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: We we lay down our life for somebody else.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we lay down our comfort for somebody else.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_02: I know you can do this.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: This is gonna be what's the worst that can happen?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: She says, No, I don't want to sit with you, and then you're off the hook.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: You're off the hook, and you know you loved this person and they weren't ready to join in, and that's okay, but let's not make it because nobody invited them.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: That's what we're afraid of.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: You've got to let your own embarrassment go.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_02: You have to let your own shyness and ego go.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: So we're constantly teaching them.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: We get outside of our comfort zone for the sake of somebody else, and that is leadership, right?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_02: So that is the kind of mindset we're encouraging all year long with our student leaders, is that leadership's not for you to feel special or important.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's for you to bring others into the kingdom of God.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, what is that?
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_02: Serving, yes, but also you're not a little elite bubble.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: You're not the cool kids.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: You're inviting people in.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_02: How is their experience better because of you?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so coach them on that, train them on that, passionately teach them that.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_02: And when you don't see them picking up what you're putting down in real time, challenge them, push them, push them.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what I tell them when they sign up for the team.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: I said, you have just set given me permission to push you.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to spiritually, I'm going to push you.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what one reason I love leadership teams is because it's like game on, then.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm not going to just go up to any random kid who's already struggling and be like, go talk to that person.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they're like, ah, I'm holding on by a thread.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: What do you mean?
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_02: But if these people, it's like, you signed up for this, you said I want to be a leader, and that what leadership isn't cushy.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's not like, and we get all the privileges.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's like that's what some people think.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_02: So I want to turn that dynamic because that's what Jesus did.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: Like he it was all about serving others.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: It was all about the, you know, furthering of the kingdom and serving and healing and helping and compassion and empathy.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, that was the whole thing.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_02: And it took, I mean, I just watched a scene in The Chosen where Jesus is talking to Lazarus after he had raised him from the dead, and he was just, Jesus was expressing his frustration of like, why are they not picking up what I'm putting down?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like teaching them how to do this is so hard.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just this moment where it just felt like, yeah, like how many times did Jesus have to be like, you have little faith, or do you do not read the scriptures?
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_02: Or, you know, like he's always in this tension with them of like, you don't get it quite yet, but I'm going to hang in there with you.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the posture we take with these kids.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: And lastly, another like major question I always get is like, so what do I teach them?
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so we want, like, okay, your youth group is a Bible study, right?
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like your Wednesday night, whatever night you have it on, that's a Bible study.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_02: This should be different.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: And the sense that it should be you marry Bible with leadership and it's biblical leadership.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that's kind of like a hard concept sometimes, especially if you're a new youth pastor, or maybe you're just new to the student leadership space.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so I have so many people ask me, Well, what do you use?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: What curriculum do you use?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_02: How?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, I just wrote my own, you know, because there really wasn't anything.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so I like to teach them things that have to do with character.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_02: And so we can look at maybe a real person in the Bible and how they lived out their leadership.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_02: What do we learn from them?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's my favorite type of study to dissect a leader in the Bible and what the story is telling us and how their failures and their successes, you know, or leadership concepts from the marketplace of just what kind of person are you?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: What is your character?
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_02: And how does that lend itself to leadership?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: It always intersects with the Bible, every single lesson.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_02: If you want the lessons, I finally just package them for everyone to have because these are the ones that I think work the best.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: I've been doing student leadership teams for 22 years, and I've always written my own curriculum.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_02: And these are my favorite lessons that I think I would use year after year after year.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, you can't use like, you know, if you get the same kids signing up, you know, but this is a year's worth of nine, nine month school year.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: Nine lessons to take you through the whole student leadership year with some leader notes attached to them.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: Cause sometimes I think people just need a jumping off point.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_02: I eat leadership for breakfast.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_02: Like I read leadership books, I listen to leadership podcasts.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_02: I, you know, love that stuff.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I think I naturally lean that way, and leadership stuff is easy for me to write.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_02: But I think other people I've noticed have different interests.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're more, oh, well, if I had time, I'd read a book about theology and you know, old testament history.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_02: Like they have interests there.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: And so it kind of dawned on me, yeah, like even if you are a leader, it doesn't mean leadership is your number one interest.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe it's something else.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: So for an example.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: So it makes sense.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: So yes, those are available.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: I don't how can they get them?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and go to the description of this podcast episode, whether you're on YouTube or any podcast player, and it will have a link where you can go ahead and purchase that.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: And there's nine months right there.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: So it'll take you through the entire school year.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, obviously you can reuse these time after time, maybe not back to back.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe next year we'll do a season two.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll we'll see.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, go ahead and link is in the description below.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: So let's do a community comment of the day.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: This comes from Deb Klein, who recently won our giveaway.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say, how do I know that name?
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's how.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: Deb's back.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Back again.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Must listen for youth ministry.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: Love this for helping to improve my youth ministry.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Kristen has such great ideas and her energy energy is infectious.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: That is so true.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for all your advice and help.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you, Deb, for listening and for commenting.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate it.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_02: For winning.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, congratulations.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: You're a winner.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Let us know how your students love the glow in the dark dodgeballs.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: The glow.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, it's been a long day for me.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Glow in the dark dodgeballs.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Let us know how they like that.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you guys so much for watching and listening, and we'll see you next time.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_02: Are you looking for ways to improve your leadership and make it time proof?
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: Then stick around because today we're doing what the heck is time proof.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is your ministry time proof?
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: I doubt it.