Young people are not only the church of today, but should be developed and discipled to be the church of tomorrow.
They will be the ones to someday lead us forward in our pursuit of Christ. With this in mind, how are we stewarding our youth ministries to cultivate the future leaders of the church?
My ministry journey started when I was only eleven years old. I had learned three chords on the acoustic guitar and was ready to be a rockstar. The first step would be auditioning for my church’s youth band. When I was invited to that first rehearsal, I was shy and quiet as I strummed the only notes I knew. Those three notes carried me through years of leading worship for hundreds of middle and high school students.
I eventually learned more than three chords on the guitar, but the lessons of leadership were far more valuable. My middle school pastor deserves my thanks for giving me a chance when I felt small, inexperienced, but excited about trying something new. His belief in me gave me the confidence to venture into what would eventually reveal my call to ministry.
It was the summer before my senior year of high school when the Lord started to reveal my call. God asked me to lead a night of worship in my school for the lost and saved to join together under the name of Jesus. My best friend and I concluded this event was to focus on Matthew 5:13-16, reminding our generation that we are the salt and light of the world! The worship event would be called Enlightened. Students from all across my city piled into a public high school auditorium on a Sunday night in October 2014. Ten schools and 20 churches made up a total of 600 people who worshiped together in unity.
This Enlightened event wasn’t polished, wasn’t perfect, but it was completely student-led. Students led worship, shared their testimonies, and challenged their peers to diligently pray for change in their schools. It was the young, inexperienced ones that Jesus used to reach a city and soon after many cities across the United States through a ministry now called Enlightened Students.
Since that first worship gathering in 2014, Enlightened Students has equipped more than 300 student leaders to lead Enlightened events in their schools. The impact of this ministry has reached more than 12,000 people through worship and prayer in high schools with the partnership of Claim Your Campus (CYC), a national prayer movement. The vision for Enlightened events is to see weekly student-led prayer groups start at each school represented in the room. Practical training and prayer moments take place between worship songs to equip students to continue what God has started at each worship gathering.
What has formed over the past 10 years is a movement that trains up and equips young people to do what God has called them to do: to impact their spheres of influence. Helping students see their own mission field, whether that be their school, their home, their teams, or their cities, gives them ownership of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Once students see their mission field and understand they have a part in the Great Commission right now in this season, they will be an unstoppable force for the Kingdom of God. They will dream up things past leaders never thought of. Students will be sharing the gospel and inviting friends to church. Young people will develop a hunger for the Word and for prayer. But how does a student receive this vision? Someone needs to believe in them.
Just as my middle school pastor and many other leaders did for me, I’m motivated to tell student leaders across the nation that I believe in them. I have been directing Enlightened Students for almost 10 years and Claim Your Campus for three. These ministries have opened so many doors for me to attend conferences, camps, and events where I look students in the eyes and say, “God has called you. I believe you can walk in the calling He has on your life!”
It is always amazing to see students’ eyes light up when they share the specific things God has asked them to do. A student’s calling might be to ministry but it could also be to faithfully show up once a week to pray for their school. This student may be the only one who shows up to pray at times, but their calling is to be faithful to what God asked them to do. Others may feel called to do missions in other countries. I encourage them to start doing mission work in their schools before they graduate because it’s preparing them for their next mission field.
If students are the church of today and tomorrow, let’s continue to give them tools that will disciple a generation of future leaders that love Jesus and love serving. I’m humbled to share a free resource called the Claim Your Campus app that trains and sustains a movement of prayer on middle and high school campuses. High schoolers who want to take another step and lead a worship night in their high school can go to enlightenedstudents.com to apply for an Event Leader position. Students and their teams will receive training in leadership, recruitment, promotion, musical worship, and gospel proclamation. There are many great resources out there for young leaders. Let’s work hard to get them in students’ hands!
My story is one of many who can attribute the confidence to say “Yes” to God’s call to someone who believed in me before I believed in myself. Young people too often overhear the bad reputations or misconceptions older generations speak about them. So often, our elders forget that they too were once in a teenager’s shoes! Their experiences and wisdom will impact younger generations, but only when young people see genuine care and belief from older generations will they listen.
Give young people the tools, inspire them to see the opportunities around them, and continue reminding them that you believe in the call God has on their life. There will be quiet ones who will lead a simple prayer meeting, a preacher who will proclaim the gospel to their school, or the leader who continually invites their friends to church. Each one is a gift to the church today and the church of tomorrow. Someday, they will lead us in our pursuit of Christ. Let’s give life to our ministries today and years down the road by investing in the leaders who will someday take your place. When we steward our youth ministries well today, the future looks bright!
