LEADERSHIP RESOURCES
Once as a youth pastor, a student showed up at my office door wanting to talk to me about how, in her opinion, youth group could be better.
It was a Monday morning.
I was tired, and in the middle of cleaning up from said youth group’s activities the night before. I probably wasn’t in the best mood. But instead of thanking her and sending her on her way, I sat down and listened. And then I gave her an internship.
FYI’s Growing Young project set out to ask why certain churches succeed in their ministry with young people. From our research, we discovered that these “bright spot” congregations—diverse in region, size, denomination and culture—had six core commitments in common. One of those commitments was keychain leadership. In other words, they were brimming with staff, volunteers, and parents who help their church flourish by handing over the “keys” of power, access, and ability to their students.
