Youth Leadership Traits for a Teen Decade - #3

We are about to enter The Teen Decade. It happens every century. The teen decade we are about to move into can be shaped by each of us who love this generation if we are willing to adjust our lives to a few key values.  

This month I would like to share 4 elementary leadership traits for youth leaders who want to shape teen culture in this coming decade.  Let me give you value number three.  To catch up with where we have been, just check out the blogs below to see the first two traits we talked about.  Let's make this interactive and viral by taking the time to complete the blog with your thoughts.

TRAIT #3

Great youth leaders find someone they are afraid of who will help keep them accountable in their life  

Managing your life and ministry is vital to youth ministry success. It is important that youth leaders enlist the kind of seasoned mentors who have walked in the places that young leaders find themselves in.  Whether it is the personal life or the ministry life of a young leader, there is so much to manage.  A mentor in the life of a youth leader can oversee the following areas:

The Personal Life - This would include the psychology of daily life, commitment to spiritual growth and formation, dealing with finances and materialism, and having accountability measures in place for the areas of sexual temptations.

Marriage and Family - Balancing a spouse and children in the ministry is the most important part of a young ministers life. How much to involve them, the use of the home, and limits of how much ministry discussion do we bring home are all areas that must be defined and practices that must be understood. Defining healthy roles within the marriage and family (spouse, parent-child, sibling relations) will compute into successful ministry.

Ministry and Professional Development - There are many areas of professional development that can increase the success of youth pastors. The philosophy of ministry a young leader develops will become the construct that defines your entire ministry program. It is true that ministry is about relationships, but, anyone who underestimates philosophy and structure will be working harder than the person with it.

This picture tells it all as it relates to the protege and the mentor. What God has placed inside the younger youth leaders of this nation can be drawn out by the veteran leaders who are willing to invest. Choose your mentor carefully because you may end up exhibiting some of the same traits they have used in their ministry. Here are two things to look for in your mentor...

Find someone you are afraid of. They should have your respect and your awe. Someone who has displayed integrity for a season. Look at the fruit of their personal life, family, and ministry. How have they managed each? It is important that you give this person the right to speak into your life without defense.

You will learn much more from a tour guide than you will a travel agent. What kind of person should you look for? It is best to find an elder who has been where you want to go. Simply put, a travel agent probably has a ton of information for you. But, your tour guide has been to the places you want to go. 

There are options if you cannot find someone in your world who fits this description. Try getting in touch with a local lead pastor who has extensive youth ministry experience, the district youth department, a local high school counselor or veteran teacher, a local university, or even an area para-church organization. There can be qualified mentors in each of these settings. You may even have your eyes on a youth ministry veteran somewhere in the nation that would be willing to do an extension relationship with you through email, skype, or phone calls.

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