Developing kids as leaders

Group, Mar/Apr 2000 by Laine, Burt

a summer leadership strategy that plunges young teenagers into a learn-by-doing ministry experience

in today's cu:tm, teenagers are expected to shoulder daily adult-level responsibilities. More than half hold down part-time after-school jobs. Three out of four do volunteer work. On average, they each spend almost $3,000 of their own money every year and have a combined yearly income of $121 billion. More than half say they'd like to mentor a younger child. And they influence $50 billion in family grocery purchases every year.

Given the weight kids pull in almost every area of their lives, it's surprising how often churches discourage teenagers from taking on significant leadership roles. It happens so often that it's reached cliche status-"You're the church of tomorrow" really means "You're not the church of today." We'll let them help with programs that adults plan, but we require they follow the script-they won't make actual decisions or really lead anything. And that fuels one of teenagers' top gripes-they say the # 1 adult misconception about them is that they're "not mature enough," according to a Teenage Research Unlimited study.

I believe the only sure way to develop kids as leaders is to give them real leadership responsibilities. That's why we created a Christian summer day camp program for children that's staffed by junior highers who've been trained and mentored by senior hi hers. Our day camp strategy helps young teenagers...

* learn new skills, then teach those skills to others;

* practice their leadership abilities by teaching young children;

* learn to work together as a team and support their peers' success;

* learn to plan and pull off a significant ministry event;

* learn to express their Christian faith to others in a safe setting, strengthening their own faith in the process; and

* practice skills that can be adapted for other church responsibilities.

In addition, Luther Seminary professor Rollie Martinson is researching why some kids stay active in their church longterm. So far he's found two keys: (1) The church recognizes a young person's passions and invites him or her to lead something, and (2) The church offers teenagers chances to get involved in intensive service.

Our day camp program targets both factors. Here's how it works... We recruit junior highers with leadership potential to plan and conduct a weeklong Christian day camp program for elementary age children.' These kids are often wrestling to "own" their Christian faith for the first time, and they don't have many opportunities to express themselves in a safe environment. They're typically eager to help and excited about taking on a volunteer commitment.

We also recruit senior highers with camp counseling experience to lead a two-day training and planning event for our junior high leaders. These senior highers work with us to brainstorm the training program and the basic theme for the day camp.

The counselor training includes examples of recreational activities, nature programs, songs, crafts, devotions, and Biblelearning ideas. We also help the junior highers learn how to teach using active and interactive strategieS.2 And we cover typical troubleshooting situations they'll likely encounter at camp. Finally, we offer them a menu of leadership roles (including devotion leader, game leader, song leader, craft leader, nature-walk guide, and others) and ask them to choose what fits best for them.3

During training it's crucial to stress commitment and reliability to your junior high counselors. That's why we plan a two-day block of time away from home to separate kids from their everyday lives and bring focus to their training. Last year we camped at a state park just a few miles from home. We borrowed tents from a local Boy Scout troop and outdoor cooking supplies from church members.

We spent one day focusing on camping and leadership skills and one day planning the day camp program. Three senior highers with camp-counseling experience provided most of the leadership for the training.

We set up a flip chart on an easel in the middle of the campground and gave the junior high counselors notepads and pens. Kids brainstormed ideas, wrote them on the flip chart, and then created their program. Afterward the kids chose the activities they planned to lead. Once their names were attached to songs, games, or devotions, their leadership roles became real.

Samantha Woodward, one of the senior high trainers, says, "At first we were frustrated, because [the junior highers] would participate, but they didn't take many notes or keep track of what we were teaching. Then we got to the second day and gave kids blank pieces of paper so they could plan their day camp program. It was like,'Wow, they really meant it when they said it would be our program.' There was a major attitude change, and they got really involved in making program decisions and deciding who would lead which activities."

Early on, the senior high trainers stood in front of the group directing the discussion, but it wasn't long before the junior high counselors took over and began leading each other in the planning process. We gave them 4x6 note cards to write down songs, devotion ideas, games, and other activities as they learned them. Later we laminated these cards, punched a hole in one corner, and grouped similar ideas on a metal ring so the counselors could refer to them during the camp. The trainers told junior highers they'd need extra ideas on their resource cards in case their planned activities ended sooner than expected.