Doug Franklin Online » Student leadership

Free Student Leadership E-book

Doug Franklin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:51:03 +0000

I’ve just written a new e-book called Student Leaders are Church Leaders and I’m giving it away for free.
Student Leaders are Church Leaders provides a simple way to weave student leadership development into the fabric of your ministry. You don’t have to start over, add another program to your already long list, or scratch your current plan. Youth ministry is still about outreach, evangelism, discipleship, missions, and worship; it’s just better when led by students. This book will help you understand the theory of student leadership while giving you practical steps you can take to give your students ownership of the ministry. Whether you have a student leadership program or you want to start one, this book will help your students lead now.

Download a free copy of Student Leaders are Church Leaders at http://leadertreks.org/studentleaders-churchleaders.html

Student Leadership Team Revisited

Doug Franklin — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:35:12 +0000

We all know that there are many benefits to having students in leadership roles inside our youth ministries. But listening to youth workers I understand many of you are frustrated with the possible downsides to student leadership teams:

• Saying no to some student who wants to be on the team

• Having students think leadership is a label

• Students thinking leader means loved by youth pastor and not on the team means youth pastor hates me

• Having to meet with parents to explain why their student can’t be on the student leadership team

• Students thinking leader means “good kids only”

The list goes on and on. I know when we first think about having student leaders in our ministries we think student leadership team, but you can do student leadership without having to form a team. I call this Mentor Leadership. We can approach students with insights into their lives, share with them how we see God using them, and tell them personally we think they are leaders. We then ask them if they would like to join us in a leadership mentoring relationship. We meet with them every week or so and give them a part of the ministry to lead. This type of leadership program can be very effective and it could fit your style better.

*Please note if you like this type of leadership development you are going to need to train a bunch of adult leaders who can develop this kind of relationship with students.

I am still big on student leadership teams but if you have backed away from student leadership because of the downside of having a team, just know there are other ways to develop student leaders. If you would like more information on Mentor Leadership give me a call; I would love to talk it through with you and if you want a resource to make this happen check out Mentoring Spiritual Leaders and Mentoring Servant Leaders. Both are great LeaderTreks resources.

Students can Mentor

Doug Franklin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:46:19 +0000

I would love to see all students being mentored. I just think great things happen when a young believer spends time talking about important stuff with an older believer. I also think students can mentor. I think when students are spiritually mature they can be some of the best mentors for other students. These mentors are truly student leaders. The formula still stays the same; a older more mature believer pours their life into a younger believer. For student leaders to be successful long-term they need 3 types of mentoring relationships.

First, they have upward mentors that serve as wise, trusted counselors. These individuals tend to be older, experienced leaders who have already been where emerging leaders have yet to go.

Second, successful leaders are themselves downward mentors to younger, less experienced leaders called protégés. This mentoring relationship helps successful leaders become leaders of leaders.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, successful leaders have peer mentors. The Bible explains this relationship clearly and concisely in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT). “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”

Five Questions to Ask Before Booking a Mission Trip

Doug Franklin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:11:10 +0000

There are so many good organizations out there offering mission trips. It seems so many of them are offering the same thing, but all they tell you is the price and location. So how do you know what you’re getting when you purchase a trip from them? How do you know if the trip is going to be transformational in your students lives. Here are five questions you have to ask before you buy a trip.

1. Who are your staff and how much training do they receive?
Most youth missions organization love to talk about price and location but they really have nothing to do with spiritual impact on your students. Who their staff are and how they perform make all the different when it comes to impact. So how old are they, what is there experience and how much training did they receive before leading your trip?

2. How much money per student do you spend on work projects?
This question will tell you a ton about the quality of the organization’s trip. The answer will also give you insight into what additional costs might be coming your way. Many youth workers tell of trips where work project money runs out after day 2 and you have to put more money in if you want to continue to have work projects. A good amount for a one-week trip is $75 per student.

3. What is your return rate?
Every organization knows their return rate — the percentage of youth groups that return each year. This number will give you an idea of the satisfaction of previous teams.

4. What is your intentional plan to grow my students through your program?
Many youth mission programs are focused on just going. If you take your students on a mission trip, that may be enough in and of itself, but if you’re honest, you want more and your parents want more. Look for an organization that has a plan to see your students grow spiritually. Every organization offers the speaker and a band at night, but you know that is more hype than growth. Again move past location and price and move to impact.

5. What is your pre-trip and post-trip training?
I am not talking about logistic training with this question; I am talking about spiritual training that will lead to growth and application of the experience. I find that most organizations focus on getting you there with the proper forms. I think it’s more important your students understand the Biblical mandate for missions and they can live the mission life style months after they return. This pre and post trip material is worth its weight in gold if it helps your students understand the life God has for them.

Again there are many good organizations out there. You need to ask questions to find the best one for you and your church. Ask hard questions and don’t settle for good enough.

They know how to do that, right?

Dan Colwin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:32:16 +0000

Truth is, when it comes to spiritual disciplines, maybe our students really don’t know how to it. We tell them they should pray, go to church, give regularly and so on and so on, but have we ever sat down and walked through what maintaining a life of discipline really looks like? Have we ever taught them to pray or even how to read the Bible? We demand they lead lives of discipline within their Christianity but we have never supplied them with the knowledge to do so.

So here’s one: next time you have a Bible study with a small group of students or one on one, use a Bible study method, and then encourage them to use it on their own for Bible study. At LeaderTreks, we pack our Field Guides full of Bible study methods, but one that is really common and very easy to understand is the OPA method. Goes like this:

Observations: Compile all the facts found in the passage. What sticks out to you or is interesting to you? You should be able to make about 20-30 observations.

Principles: Draw a few principles from the observations that you have made. What is God trying to teach you in this passage?

Application: How will you apply these principles to your life? Be specific… a good application will tell who, what, and when.

When you teach a student how to study the Bible they’ll be more apt to do it. And make sure you hold them accountable to their application. That’s important too.

The Justice Generation

Dan Colwin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:54:08 +0000

I picked up the most recent copy of Leadership Journal yesterday and it’s whole theme is on Biblical justice. It’s a great issue. One article caught my attention in this most recent journal. The Justice Generation by Bethany Hoang. It’s a great piece (although not long enough) about how youth today seem to be more concerned with justice issues than multiple generations before them. Bethany says that “The rising concern for justice is seen most dramatically among the younger generation in the church. Christians in college, high school, even middle and elementary school are putting extraordinary emphasis on justice as part of their Christian witness, and established churches and ministries are taking notice.”

I love this quote. I love that she has the insight to include high school, middle and elementary school as well. And I love how she mentions that churches are starting to take notice. Isn’t this true though? When students take a stand for something they believe in, it’s contagious. I’ve seen whole churches improve their focus on justice because their students led the way. Their passion inspires us all.

But Bethany brings up a problem as well. Here she is again, quoting Wayne Baynard, from International Justice Mission: “The needed solutions to address [student's] passion for justice require a long-term commitment, which is challenging for a generation who cut their teeth on convenience. We’ve not taught them to delay gratification, wo why would we expect that their passion for any issue would last beyond the first taste of disillusionment?”

Baynard brings up a good point. But we must not stop with just teaching our students about delaying gratification. Nor should we stop with just teaching our students about the power of Biblical justice. If we teach our students solid leadership principles and allow them to apply them in their passion areas, we’ll start to see more students staying committed to justice issues. We are surprised when they quit, yet we have never taught them to finish strong. We are shocked when they let a relational problem destroy their movement, yet we’ve never taught them about conflict resolution.

The point is, if we focus on teaching our students strong leadership principles and walking through experiences with them the whole way, they truly will be the justice generation, and not just a cool name.

Want to Change the World?

Dan Colwin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:14:10 +0000

I love working with students because their passion for change is so great. They look at the world through eyes that only see possibilities. Too often though, as students grow older and learn to live in the “real world” they lose the eternal optimism they once possessed. I’ve seen it happen and I hate it. Students often want to lead they way, but many times when they do, they fail miserably and decide to quit, mainly because no one has taught them how to persevere.

Idealism is fantastic, but it can be deadly too. When a student leads only through idealism, much can go wrong and it can ruin their passion for leading and for serving. That’s why teaching students solid leadership principles, while combining them with a great experience for the students to live out the principles, is key to success. If you combine principles and experience, you’ll see your students’ idealism and optimism for changing the world stay with them, for they will actually be changing the world through their leadership.

If you need help getting started with anything regarding student leadership development, give us a call at LeaderTreks. 877-502-0699. We’d be glad to help.

The Power of the Reset Button

Dan Colwin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:07:50 +0000

Hey everybody, this is Dan Colwin, the Editor at LeaderTreks. While Doug is leading a mission trip in Memphis, TN (amazing place by the way) I’ll be taking over blogging for the remainder of his trip.

Have you ever worked with a student who totally exceeded your expectations? When you taught them, they eagerly soaked up all they could; when you put them in a leadership position, they led with grace and courage; when you challenged them, they willingly accepted it; and when you evaluated them, they humbly accepted your criticism. These students are amazing to work with, and they can quickly become our favorites. We look for every opportunity to pour into them because we know they will take us seriously and use the information to produce growth in their own life and the lives of others around them. We have huge hopes for them and they raise the bar of expectations we have for all our students.

Unfortunately, these favorites do not represent all our students and our work with them can quickly set us up for disappointment if we don’t hit the reset button. Now, obviously the reset button isn’t an actual button. It’s not a tangible big red button like you see in all those Staples commercials. But it does exist in our minds, and it has enormous power. When we work with students, we need to realize every student is different. We all know this and it’s one of the things we love about youth ministry. But it also means challenge looks differently for every student. Every time you work with a different student, you need to hit the reset button in your mind, so you’re not holding the new student to the old student’s standard. If you don’t hit the reset button, it can lead to comparisons in your head and heart, and end up hurting your relationships. Challenge every student’s potential, but challenge them on an individual basis. When you hit the reset button and you give them each your whole heart, they’ll blow your mind.

Challenge Increases Development

Doug Franklin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:19:59 +0000

I am currently leading a mission trip with high school students in Memphis. We are constructing a soup kitchen out of an abandoned house. Today we broke out the concrete front porch and finished removing all the old drywall. We are going to focus on the outside while the electrician finishes up the wiring. The youth pastor I am working with noticed that his students were more focused, worked harder and were showing signs of growth due to the challenge of the project. He is right, the more challenging the project or the ministry, the more students respond.

The Thin Line Between Grace with Challenge

Doug Franklin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:39:22 +0000

One the toughest skills to master in youth ministry is knowing when to challenge a student and when to offer grace. We all know that students grow by going through challenge and by learning the lessons it has to offer. We also know that students who are challenged beyond their limits can be turned off to a relationship with a youth worker. We are walking a thin line, but we do it because we know that if we get it right we can ignite a student’s heart for growth. A couple of things to keep in mind while challenging students.

1. Challenge yourself first
When we have experienced challenge in our own lives, we understand it better and are more prepared to challenge students. At LeaderTreks we put our staff through three challenging trips before we let them challenge students.

2. You can’t challenge a student unless they know you love them
Build strong relationships before you start challenging students. If a student knows you love them, they will follow you through fire.

3. Challenge the heart
We often challenge students to do things they don’t like; how about challenging them through things they like or even love. The problem with most students is not that they don’t try, its that they never put out a complete effort. Challenge the good things they do so that they will be great.