Last week in my video interview with Rick Lawrence, Executive Editor of Group Magazine, we talked about developing youth leaders. Since then, I’ve continued to think about the subject and decided to do a 6-part series here at Life In Student Ministry on Youth Leadership 101. Of course, we could spend weeks writing on this subject (and maybe I will sometime), but for now here’s an overview of what’s coming up:

• Part 1: What to look for in a youth leader
• Part 2: Expectations of youth leaders
• Part 3: Boundaries for youth leaders
• Part 4: What students need from youth leaders
• Part 5: Questions to ask a new youth leader.
• Part 6: Commitments a new youth leader needs to make [ video ]

Using adult leaders in youth ministry is something I talk about fairly frequently on this site because it is so vital to the health of your group. Here are some good posts I’ve previously written that you may find helpful as we start this series.

• The importance of invested into leaders
• What youth workers need from their youth pastor [video]
• Why I recruit retired adults to be youth leaders
• Handling volunteers who are too busy for kids
• Thou shalt not be a solo act
• Answering the three most common excuses when recruiting
• Why I invest the budget into volunteers
• How to recruit ministry volunteers
• Why volunteers should always go for free
• How do I train leaders to be relational?
• Ten New Years resolutions for volunteer ministry

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Been in youth ministry for 2 years or fewer? Apply for a FREE 10 week one-on-one Life In Student Ministry Mentorship with one of our 13 youth ministry veterans. Application closes on January 24, 2009. Mentorship is made available for free thanks to Lifeway Students, who are supplying all the resources and materials to each mentee. Thanks, Lifeway Students!

• Youth Leadership 101: Expectations of youth leaders
• Youth Leadership 101: What to look for in a youth leader
• How I started our student leadership team
• Youth Leadership 101: What students need from youth leaders
• Brainstorming for a Student Leadership Team