Equipping the Next Generation of Leaders

With just a couple of days before our student leaders return to campus, I find myself thinking about the importance of the task at hand:

Preparing the next generation of leaders to be the men and women that God desires them to be.

What an important task!

No, not a task to be completed and checked off a ‘to-do’ list, but an ongoing assignment to be tended to and invested in over the course of the years that we have with these students!

Yes, a significant part of our ministry is to the masses, but I would dare say that the most critical part of the work that we do comes in the training and equipping of student leaders.

Consider how large a role student leaders play in your ministry on campus?! Shouldn’t our investment in them mirror this level?

In today’s campus culture, I believe that student leaders are one of the greatest assets we have to successful ministry on campus!

They have a trusted voice among their peers
They have unlimited access to people and place we don’t
They have the ability to speak most clearly to their generation
They often have a contagious passion
They have a greater understanding of one another

We need to utilize these key students that really want to make a difference!

So how do we equip them?

I think there are a number of areas that we need to address with student leaders – not only during times of intentional training, but throughout the year as well, as a way of reminding them of the importance of the ministry they have.

Some key areas I believe we need to focus on are:

The mission of our ministry – they need to learn why we do what you do.
How the work we do fits into the greater work of God, the Church and the University – they need to see the connections beyond our ministry.
Soul care and self-care of the leader – they need to learn how to be healthy as a leader… and why it’s so important.
What it means to be both accountable and responsible – these are two character traits that most of today’s student culture seem to shy away from… and we need to help our student leaders learn the significance of both of these character traits, and how to nurture them in their lives… not just for their work with us, but for their lives in general!
Time management – another oft neglected area that will benefit student leaders now, and later in life, as well as our ministry efforts together.
Specific skills necessary for the specific area of ministry they are leading in – passion and Christian commitment don’t necessarily translate into good leadership… we need to help them learn in areas that they might not yet have experience.

While student leaders are essential to the work and mission of campus ministry, their role as a student leader is one of the greatest contexts I know of for their ongoing spiritual formation and leadership development as a college students!

What do you think?