In a previous post on Giving Student Leaders An Out I suggested that as our student leaders return to campus over the next few weeks they could be in a much different place, in comparison to where they were 4-7 months ago, when we brought them on as a part of the leadership team for THIS year.  What we both know about this hard truth is that a student’s struggles don’t just impact them… but others as well, including those on our leadership team and the students their leadership position will impact.

In that post I emphasized the need to create space for our student leaders to walk away, if necessary, from their leadership role with our ministry.  Today, I want to take our conversation in a different direction.

The fall is by no means the best time to be looking to fill leadership positions — BUT, if we still find ourselves with needs to fill, there can be some fantastic leaders that present themselves in the fall who have the potential to  make a serious impact on our teams and ministry efforts.

Four ‘kinds’ of students that come to mind are: the transformed, the transfer, the freshman and the wounded.

The Transformed — These are the students who had an incredible summer of ministry — and/or experience with God — and come back to campus on fire for Christ and desiring to be used in big ways on campus!  Do we have space for such students???  If not, I would suggest that we make space, and do whatever we can to try to utilize them, because they can bring a much needed spark or boost to other student leaders who may be starting a little slower.

The Transfer — These students are often overlooked in SO many areas (and that is definitely another post for another time), so why not be one of the few places on campus that not only looks for them, but looks to include them in some significant ways right from the beginning!?  Transfer students may be new to our campus, but they’re not new to college life and all that it consists of. This fresh, but informed, population of student has the potential to be a powerful motivator within our ministries.

The Freshman — We all know who these students are… and if you’re anything like me, this group has typically been ‘off limits’ for leadership right out of the shoot.  I’m definitely of the mind-set that first-year students should come to campus, thoroughly check out all of the things that might possibly interest them, and then figure out which one or two places they’d really like to settle into before they then look for leadership opportunities.  BUT, there may be incoming freshmen who not only possess some of the talents and passions we need, but also the spiritual/emotional/social maturity necessary to step in and help serve in some significant capacities within the first couple of weeks of being on campus.

The Wounded — These are the students who, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, may be returning to campus in a tough place, yet they may not want to step away from their leadership position — if that’s OK.  Now, I imagine we might have differing opinions about what a ‘healthy’ leader is, as well as what we believe about their ability to lead from a place of woundedness, but I want to suggest that our leadership teams should be able to embrace, and work well with, wounded leaders.  This can be a great community for healing to take place in, and it says something about our ministries when we DON’T say, “you’re not perfect, you don’t have it all together — so you can’t lead.”  Now, I would add to this that we don’t want a team full of wounded people, nor do I believe all wounded people should remain in leadership roles, but being wounded should not, in and of itself, disqualify someone from leading.

So there you go.  Four ‘unlikely’ leaders that you may not be thinking about (but should be), as we prepare for the start of another year of ministry!

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this!