What's Unique About Developing a Team of Preteen Leaders?

Lots of books, conferences and articles are available on the topic of leadership. One of the top leadership experts in the world is John Maxwell. He was a pastor for years and focused much of his efforts on building his leadership team, which help take his church to the next level. I’ve read several of his books and implemented many of his leadership principles over the years. Chances are, so have you. He’s got some great stuff to say, and we can all learn a lot from him.

A couple of months ago I had lunch with Greg Baird, creator of www.kidmin360.com. Greg’s first church as a Children’s Pastor was Skyline, the famous church John Maxwell pastored. He had the awesome opportunity to be mentored by John Maxwell and be submerged in a leadership culture that was highly effective.  At a young age, Greg was exposed to great leaders and implemented leadership principles into his children’s ministry. At a young age, he soaked up principles that are taught at executive levels throughout the world. As a result, Greg’s leadership reach has flourished.

Now, after being a KidMin leader for 20 years, he launched www.kidmin360.com. Kidmin360.com is a tool helping Children’s Ministries around the world apply successful leadership principles into their programs. If you haven’t checked out his www,kidmin360.com, I highly recommend it!

After my lunch with Greg, I started to think of leadership development when it comes to preteens. What’s unique about building a team of leaders who serve preteens? A lot of leadership is the same, whether you are a CEO of a fortune 500 company or lead preteens. But some principles are unique to leading preteens. What are they?

What’s unique about developing a team of preteen leaders?

1. Recruit long-term volunteers.
Avoid recruiting leaders who serve once a month or one month on and one month off. Preteens need to build relationships with leaders. They need leaders who understand relational ministry. The more consistent your team, the more effective you become. You can get away with more of a rotation schedule with younger kids, but not preteens. I recommend asking leaders to serve one service every week. Another options is to ask leaders for a nine month commitment and give them the summer off. Recruit a summer team who can give relief to the team who serves during the school year.

2. Train leaders to understand preteens.
The DNA of preteens is unique and they are going through lots of change. Do your research and educate your team on everything related to the world of preteens. Every time you send out a facebook message or email, include a link or a quick tidbit educating your team about preteens. At every team meeting be sure to talk about what makes a preteen tick.

3. Encourage leaders to go the extra mile.
Preteens need leaders who will go the extra mile by: calling them during the week to see how life is going; going to the arcade with a few preteens after school; showing up at their baseball or football games, etc. Be safe, don’t look like a creeper. But teach your team to value building relationships outside of program time.