Last night, I spoke to our high school students during our outdoor gathering before they broke into life groups. As a leader of a 10th-grade guys’ group, I always enjoy speaking to teenagers, especially those I am honored to pastor. I spoke about the joy of serving others and challenged them to lead us. While preparing my talk, I reflected on the importance of finding teen leaders in youth ministry.
When I first became a youth pastor years ago, it was common practice for churches to host a “youth-led Sunday” once a year. Typically, every teenager in the church was assigned a task, such as passing out bulletins, handing out offering plates, or singing in the choir. One student would be chosen to give the welcome, and another would close in prayer. Unfortunately, this level of involvement happened only once a year.
Since becoming a pastor, I have never liked the idea of relegating teenagers to serving just once annually. Instead, I want to see teenagers serving consistently. By being actively involved in ministry, teens grow through gospel sharing and develop a lasting faith.
1. The Church Suffers Without the Gifts of the Youth.
Relegating teenagers serving their church to once a year is really bad stewardship of the gifts the Lord has given them. And the church suffers because their gifts are not enjoyed by the church as a whole. Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, challenged each person in the body of Christ to use the gifts the Lord has given them to “serve others, as the varied grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). God’s grace is distributed to the church through the gifts of all people in the church—including the teenagers. The church benefits from God’s grace distributed through them. To not give teenagers ongoing opportunities to serve their church is to squelch the grace of God distributed through them.
2. The Students Benefit From Serving.
Teenagers won’t go to college and then start practicing their musical, athletic, intellectual, or entrepreneurial gifts. They are practicing them now. And regularly. Why in the world would we wait until they are out of high school to help them start developing the posture of serving? Why would we wait until a later time in their life to help them identify how they can contribute to the mission of the church? We are responsible to develop the next generation of leaders. And the best way to develop someone is to give them opportunities coupled with encouragement and feedback. Serving and using one’s spiritual gifts must be practiced. The students benefit from having opportunities now, from serving alongside adults who love Jesus, from experiencing the joy of serving, from knowing they are valued now—not in the future.
3. The Lord Delights in Using Youth to Lead His People.
If a great move of God is going to occur, it will likely happen through our young people. At least that is true historically. The Lord used young people significantly in the Great Awakening, the revival of 1857, and the Jesus Movement. God who is fully powerful and can do whatever he pleases has chosen to use the humble things of the world to exert his influence (Ps. 8:1–2). God often uses young people, people who are “not yet accomplished or proven” to accomplish his purposes and prove he is God. We must remember that God chose the womb of a teenager to send Jesus into our world and Jesus chose young men as his disciples.
I am so proud of the high school students at our church who are serving the Lord and his people. I think of the guys in my group. Jacob L. serves on our security team. Marcus is on our media team. Last night Jacob S. was rallying guys to serve at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday. Austin is on the tech team in our junior high ministry. It is beautiful to see God working not only in them, but through them.
This article originally appeared on EricGeiger.com and is reposted here by permission.