Back in the 80s in the 90s there was a growing trend in youth ministry where the churches would seek to hire a “rockstar” youth pastor. The feeling is that if they can get a youth pastor that is charismatic engaging musically inclined and funny many students would come out. Some degree that worked but another degrees in tenant as a put sole responsibility of the youth put them on one person. The reality of a rockstar youth pastor is that that model is unsustainable for the program and for the person. A lot of these rock stars got burnt out and I left the church in worse shape than it did before hand. So how do you ensure that you have a great youth program without having a rockstar youth pastor? It’s simple. Create a rock star team out of regular average Joe people. And here’s how you can create your team. Pray. Praying seems like the no-brainer easy spiritual answer to the question but in reality is when you put your trust in God and ask him to guide you to the right people at the right time he will guide you. It happens believe me it happens because the more I pray about things and give God control over matters the more he takes action and brings in the right people for the right situation. So be praying for leaders that are going to make a high impact in your student ministry. Train. Training leaders may seem very overwhelming because you have a lot on your plate as it is. The great news is that there are so many great training resources out there that will train your leaders for you. All you have to do is to pick out the right topics and organize the meetings. Take Care of Them. If you want your leaders to be rock stars we need to treat them like rock stars. Take care of them, honor them, respect them, appreciate them, encourage them, write thank you notes, get them gift cards…the list can go on and on but you get the point. Take care of your leaders and they will do almost anything for you and the ministry. Although rock star leaders are a dying bred and, honestly, something we should have never put so much emphasis on, creating and developing a rock star leadership team is very possible. Pray for them, train them and take care of them and you can create a Rock Star Leadership Team that has a lasting impact on many more students than any single person can. Which of these three very specific things can you be doing this week? And, what do you do to create that rock star leadership team? Share them and your experiences below or on social media use my twitter handle @tapounder when you share.
