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How To Start A Student Leadership Pipeline In Your Parish
Christopher Wesley
Aug 3, 2022
Student leadership is something I’ve struggled with for most of my career. There were countless attempts of building peer ministry groups and leadership councils that only led to forming exclusive clicks that became power hungry. It was not until I learned that student leadership should take the form of a pipeline and not a group, that things turned around.
Student leadership groups seem easy but they can become easily isolated from the parish. A student leadership pipeline is a system that lives within the parish. Not only will their presence inspire other congregants, but teens will feel like they belong. So, if you are going to build a student leadership pipeline, this is what you need to get started:
ADULTS WHO HAVE A HEART FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
Some people in your parish love teens but don’t have time to lead a group or participate in your ministry. Some of these people are catechists for children’s ministry, ushers, or serve in outreach. You need to approach them and ask them if it’s alright if you start recruiting teens to serve in their ministry.
Get a sense of the requirements and expectations of that ministry. Provide them tips on mentoring and accompanying a young person. Encourage them to hand over small responsibilities that lead to bigger ones. They should not handle the teens with “kid gloves” but need to realize that teens might need a little more attention. By identifying leaders in the parish willing to accompany a young person through their ministry, you’ve given teens a mentor that goes beyond your youth group walls.
OFFER AN ONGOING FORMATION PLAN
Like adult leaders, teens need to continue to grow in faith even if they serve in ministry. While you don’t want to form a group, you should set up regular meetings (start with quarterly or bimonthly) where you gather with teens serving to talk to them about being a leader in the Church.
At these gatherings, cover the different characteristics of being a missionary disciple, and help them discover what it means to be a witness to their faith. Invite other leaders from the parish to give a talk or to teach about what they are learning as leaders.
In addition to setting up gatherings, provide them with resources from podcasts to books and articles. Share with them what you are using to grow as a leader. If teens see more to serving than just showing up, you invite them to contribute at a higher level.
CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO SUCCEED AND FAIL
Whether you can plug them into the rest of the parish, give them an opportunity within your ministry. You could invite high school students to lead middle school small groups or have them coordinate an outreach project for the entire parish. Make sure you clarify for them what needs to get done and expectations of the final result.
You will have to check in with them, and to give them deadlines is essential, but don’t be afraid to let them make decisions without your input. Give them the freedom to work through a problem on their own. The results might not meet your expectations, but it will create an opportunity where you can mentor them.
The more you invest in a student leadership pipeline, the more you invest in the future of your parish. You’re creating a healthy Church by infusing youth into her rhythm. The teens are not isolated, and adults experience the fruit you know has existed for a long time. Start small by identifying one adult and a few teens, but get that pipeline flowing so the church can continue growing.