The Most Effective Way To Grow Disciples

Think about the people who have had the greatest impact on your faith. Maybe it was a priest, a parent or a volunteer. What made them a great mentor? Was it what they taught you or the fact that they were simply present?

When it comes to your ministry you need to surround your teens with volunteers that behave like great mentors. In the Harvard Business Review article, What the Best Mentors Do, author Anthony K. Tjan shares 4 behaviors that every mentor should embrace:

• Put the relationship before the mentorship.

• Focus on character rather than competency.

• Shout loudly with your optimism, and keep quiet with your cynicism.

• Be more loyal to your mentee than you are to your company.

These principles aren’t just for the secular business world but apply to what we need to do in youth ministry. If you want teens to grow in their faith you need to connect them with adults who will:

FOCUS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BEFORE INFORMATION

In Tjan’s article, he stresses the importance of building a rapport. That should be the primary focus of your small group leaders. If they don’t know the teens and the teens don’t know them there won’t be trust.

To build the trust the small group leaders should be:

• Discovering things they have in common with the teenagers.
• Asking questions that help them get to know their history.
• Sharing their personal faith journey with the teenagers.

The stronger the trust, the stronger the rapport. Dedicate the first few minutes of every small group where a leader and teenager are just getting to know one another. This small investment will have a huge impact when the heavy subjects come up in conversation.

SHOW TEENS THE PURPOSE GOD HAS GIVEN THEM

If we want to see real life change we need to give teens the opportunities that will help them discover God’s purpose for their lives. That means encouraging our leaders to create experiences outside of the usual gathering night.

A great leader will have a few ideas of where they can bring their teens or have activities to help discover their purpose. Encourage those leaders to share with your others. Build a catalog of opportunities. The more teens discover that purpose the more they’ll lean into their faith formation.

BE A POSITIVE VOICE IN A WORLD OF NEGATIVITY

Teenagers face thousands of voices every day telling and pressuring them to behave in certain ways. Most of those voices are negative. A great small group leader knows that teens need encouragement.

It doesn’t mean telling them that everything is okay when it certainly is not. It’s not a reason to water down the severity of sin. It’s a chance to encourage them to run to God when life gets out of control.

If a teenager builds a relationship with God based on guilt then it’s going to limit their discipleship. A great leader continues to talk about the beauty of God’s love and grace.

BE COMMITTED AND CONSISTENT IN THEIR LIVES

A great small group leader is someone who goes beyond expectations. Instead of just interacting with a teen at the program they are:

• Reaching out to the family and getting to know the parents.
• Checking in with the teen before a big event like a test or game.
• Staying in touch with teen even after they graduate high school.

A teen that knows that they have someone who is committed to them the more motivated they will be to grow in their faith.

The way you can cultivate these behaviors out of your volunteers is to practice them yourselves. Continue to mentor your leaders so that they can mentor their students. The bigger investment you make in leadership the greater your reach.