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What Will You Do Without Leadership?

By Doug Franklin July 11, 2011

Remember when William Wallace asked the men of Scotland, “What will you do without freedom?” He was asking them, how will you live without everything that makes life worth living? In much the same way I like to ask youth pastors around the country, “how will you do youth ministry without leadership?” If youth ministry’s main goals are to reach and grow students for Christ, how can you do that without focusing on leadership? To reach students you need leaders or influencers who will get into the mess of this world, stand against it and lead people in the direction of Christ. Seriously, how will you do that without leaders? When students take a stand and lead for Christ, they strive towards the goal of accomplishing the Great Commission, and it is amazing to see.

For the longest time youth ministry has focused on just having students come to church or church events. We measure success by the numbers of students. What if instead we had developed a few students into leaders and we had sent them into the world prepared to lead others to Christ? I think of the story of Gideon in Judges 7. God didn’t need the masses; he just needed the right people who were ready and willing. If we take seriously God’s call to train students as leaders, he will use to accomplish a lot in this world.

About the Author

Doug Franklin

Doug Franklin is the president of LeaderTreks, an innovative leadership development organization focusing on students and youth workers. Doug and his wife, Angie, live in West Chicago, Illinois. They don’t have any kids, but they have 2 dogs that think they are children. Diesel and Penelope are Weimaraners  who never leave their side. Doug grew up in…  Read More