In my mind, there are very few things more valuable in youth ministry than student leaders. When you get a group of students together, kids who say, “I’m not going to be conformed to what goes on at my high school; I’m not going to be just a follower, a person who fits in with the crowd,” that’s an awesome thing. And what’s more amazing is that God entrusts ministry to you. While your parents might think twice about letting you use their car, God has always treated young people as significant people, even leaders, who can change the world.
The prophet Jeremiah was probably around 17 years old when God called him. But Jeremiah naturally resisted this leadership. He must have been thinking, “God, there are other people for this. There are adults, people who’ve been around the block. There are people who have gone to school for this, and who have been taught by the most brilliant people! I’m just a teenager – I’ve got my own life to live, and even if I was to go along with you, I’d have no idea what I’m doing!”
If you are a student leader, you may have felt like this at times. But what God said to Jeremiah is the same thing He says to you: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you…” “…Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.” (Jeremiah 1:4-9)
If you are involved in student leadership in a youth ministry, God has given you a job. But this isn’t a job you can just quit with two-weeks notice. You have been called by God to step out of the normality of “falling in with the group.” You are your own version of Jeremiah. And God is going to do great things with you, if you’ll accept his calling on your life to be a leader.
