Too Young To Lead?

I wonder if I limit the pool of students who have potential to lead simply due to the activity of our gatherings and only paying attention to those that are more assertive at raising their hands to jump in? What I mean is, there are some who are capable, yet hesitant and likely waiting for an invite along with assurance of needed support. They may even give signs of eagerness and willingness over time, but do I see those signs? A case in point from this past Sunday night.

A few weeks back I wrote on Leadership Beyond Graduating Seniors to talk about those high school students who stepped into leading their peers on Sunday nights over the past few years. As I had mentioned, many of those leaders just recently graduated and there were as many younger students who were willing to lead as we moved ahead. I also noted that this was all a natural transition of a new group of young leaders emerging partially based upon what they witnessed in their peers.

However, what I was reminded of last week is that there is also an aspect of equipping young people to lead that I had not given enough attention to during this May graduation transition. Naturally those who have raised their hands to lead over the past few years in the Sunday night group were given attention and opportunity. This not only included graduating seniors but a current 9th grader and 10th grader, so there was a range of ages. It is the “raising their hands” part that I’m addressing. Those are the easy ones to loop in, equip, and encourage all through the experience of leading their peers.

The one that caught my attention this past Sunday night was the “youngest” of the group, an incoming 9th grader. At the end of our time in Ephesians 1 I asked who would like to lead chapter 2 when we gather next. No hands raised and no voices spoke up from the new pool of leaders. Then this student said that he’ll give it a try. He wasn’t even in the “new pool” of identified leaders! He was hesitant with the reason given that it was only his 2nd time joining us. I was not expecting him to be the one to speak up! In that moment though, it was an opportunity to affirm him in taking up the challenge and assure him that he’d be supported. So it was a ‘yes’.

That whole exchange really got me thinking this week, thinking back on previous times with this specific student. There have been signs along the way that he takes his faith seriously, especially for his age. He shows up weekly at 6am for my Men’s Bible study at a local coffee shop, and has since he has been in 7th grade. He also expressed interest in further growth during our middle school winter retreat this past February. These signs should have been an obvious marker for me, not just to recognize him taking his faith a bit more seriously than his peers. With that, the lesson learned for me is to pay further attention to these things and assess how I might proactively affirm these things and invite him (and others like him) to take additional steps in their faith journey to consider what leading his peers might look like.

I’m looking forward to this Sunday night, and this young guy leading his older peers!

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. - 1 Timothy 4:12