Much has been said about the loss of church attendance in North America over the last several years. It’s concerning, but I’m not sure it is the “sky is falling” event some make it out to be. Hasn’t the church always been one generation away from extinction? Isn’t raising the next generation of leaders always a key task for the church to continue to thrive?

As someone who started my ministry years working with youth, I have always had a heart for the next generations. I suspect most of you readers are leaders and pastors in your churches. As you contemplate your role as a leader, I want to encourage you to identify the up-and-coming leaders. They might only be 10, or 14, right now. Yet, building into their lives now is vital in developing their leadership potential. As a tween and teen, I had leaders build into my life. They modeled life with Jesus and how to lead well. That was crucial in my development.

Here are a few basic, yet important, principles for building into the next generation of leaders. You may already be doing these well, but it’s always good to be reminded.

Value young people – Make sure the children and teens in your church know they are valued, and that you care about them. Are you getting to know what makes your young people tick? In your preaching, do you strategically place elements into sermons that connect with children and youth? As you connect with people, do you listen to, and interact with, children and youth on their level? About their interests? Do the young people in your church understand that they are just as loved and important as adults?

Give young people ministry responsibility – A group of us teens (way back when I was that age – somewhere in the dark ages) went to our pastor and asked if we could lead a pre-service worship time. I still can’t believe they let us do it, but they did. I’m sure it caused discomfort for some of our adults. But our pastor and leaders stood with us, had our backs, gave us freedom to be ourselves, and helped us navigate the tensions. I wouldn’t be in the place I am today without that experience. I’m grateful those leaders took some arrows for me. I’m convinced that experience should be normative for our young people. I believe we must engage our young people in significant ministry opportunities across the entire life of the church now, not tomorrow. How many of your young people have you entrusted ministry to, in your church?

Stand with your young people when they fail – They will fail. We fail! They will too. Failure can be the doorway to new growth. Helping developing leaders cope with failure and grow from it will help them become more dynamic leaders. Walking away from them when they fail, will likely see them walking away from us. Do you believe in your young people enough to take the arrows for them?

Make space in your church service for all ages – Make sure every child knows this is their church, not just the church of their parents. The only sure way I know to do this, is by plugging elements into Sunday (our most visible time) that make space for all ages. Why would they want to lead something that only belongs to their parents?

Coach/Mentor Young People – I deeply valued it when another adult took time to mentor my kids. Having some godly people, other than parents, in their lives was an incredible gift. You can be that gift. I’m not talking about formal mentoring, just simply doing life together.

To come alongside a young person to listen, learn, grow, and share is an incredible gift you can give.

There are lots of other things we can do to build into the next generation of leaders, but the things above are important, in my experience. If we could live those out, I believe we are on the way to raising up another generation who are deeply passionate for Jesus and will lead his church well.

Neil Bassingthwaighte
ServeCanada Director & Interim Prayer Catalyst