How early should leadership development begin?
When we think about developing leaders, most of us think of high school students or young adults. But what if we’ve been waiting too long? I believe leadership development begins in the elementary years. The issue isn’t that we don’t have gifted young people. We do. The real issue is that many of our churches haven’t created a culture or system that intentionally develops them.
At Beacon Church, we’ve learned that developing leaders isn’t about finding the most talented kids. It’s about intentionally knowing them, giving them opportunities, and walking alongside them as they grow. You don’t need a large church or a big staff to do this. In fact, one of the strengths of being a smaller church is that you have the opportunity to know your kids well and invest in them personally.
Know Your Kids
The first step is simple, but it’s often overlooked. Know your kids. I don’t just mean knowing their names. Get to know who they are. Spend time talking with them one-on-one. Watch how they interact with others. Notice what excites them, what they’re naturally good at, and where they come alive. Those conversations and observations will tell you far more about their gifts than any assessment ever could. When kids know they’re seen and valued, they’re much more willing to step into responsibility.
Give Them Meaningful Responsibility
Once you’ve built those relationships, start trusting them with real responsibility. Older elementary students don’t need to wait until they’re teenagers to contribute. They can hand out snacks, welcome younger children, help set up activities, assist with games, or serve in other practical ways. These aren’t just jobs to fill. They’re opportunities for kids to discover that they have something valuable to offer the church. Every year I interview each of our graduating Grade 5 students and ask them one simple question: “Where would you like to serve at church?” Then, whenever possible, we let them. Will they make mistakes? Absolutely. Will it sometimes be messy? Of course. But we’d rather have young people learning to serve on our tech team, greeting at the doors, helping lead worship, or serving in kids ministry than have a perfectly polished Sunday morning where they never get the chance to grow. Growth is often messy, and that’s okay.
Create a Clear Pathway
Opportunities don’t happen by accident. They happen because you’ve intentionally created a pathway. At our church, we have a Family Sunday once a month where children serve throughout the church. Two children join the worship team on vocals. They attend rehearsals just like every other member of the worship team. If a child is running slides, they arrive early and are coached by our media team. If they’re greeting, they’re trained by the person overseeing our greeters. One of our best greeters is a young person who shows up in a suit every time it’s their turn to serve with the biggest smile on their face and takes the role seriously. It’s amazing to watch the pride they take in serving others. This summer we also started inviting one of our children to pray over the adults before they’re dismissed to Kids Church. Our kids stay in the main service for worship and announcements, and there is something powerful about seeing a child pray over the congregation. When children lead worship or pray, their gifts begin to shine and, more importantly, people see Jesus shining through them. Grade 5 students can also begin serving in our nursery during Family Sundays. By the time they move into youth, serving has already become a natural part of what church looks like for them.
Match People With Their Gifts
Once students enter youth, many of them want to continue serving because they’ve already experienced the joy of contributing. We don’t simply place them wherever we have a need. We try to match them with areas that fit their personalities, gifts, and interests. Some of our teens thrive behind the scenes and run tech for our older kids’ environment. They love troubleshooting and thinking through the technical side of ministry. Others have discovered they have a gift for teaching. Over the years, I’ve watched teenagers become confident communicators and leaders.
In some cases, I’ve encouraged them to pursue post-secondary studies that build on those gifts because I could already see God developing something in them. As they grow in confidence and demonstrate faithfulness, we gradually give them more responsibility. Along with that comes more coaching, more encouragement, and a little more freedom to lead. Today, we have more teenagers serving in our kids ministry than adults. That didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of years of intentionally inviting children to serve, coaching them, and believing in them before they believed in themselves. Honestly, we couldn’t do what we do without them.
Build a Culture of Mentorship
One of the healthiest things we’ve seen is each generation investing in the one behind them. Our teenagers serve and mentor younger children. Our young adults invest in our youth. Adults pour into our young adults. Leadership isn’t just taught from a stage. It’s caught through relationships. Younger people naturally look up to those just ahead of them, and they learn by serving alongside them.
Keep Developing Your Leaders
Giving young people opportunities is only half the job. We also need to intentionally invest in their growth. One area we’re growing in is how to develop leadership training. We want to provide more intentional coaching for students serving in children’s ministry so they aren’t just helping, but growing as leaders. Last year I took a few of our key teen leaders to Empower, a children’s ministry conference. Watching them learn alongside experienced children’s pastors was incredibly worthwhile, and I’d love to create more opportunities like that. Whether it’s conferences, mentoring, or developing our own training within the church, we need to keep investing in the next generation. Leadership development isn’t a one-time opportunity. It’s an ongoing process.
Start Earlier Than You Think
Leadership development doesn’t begin when someone turns sixteen. It begins when a child is trusted with responsibility, encouraged in their gifts, and given someone who believes in them. There will be mistakes along the way. There will be Sundays that aren’t perfect. But if we’re serious about raising the next generation of leaders, we have to be willing to exchange perfection for development.
The church doesn’t have a shortage of future leaders. We simply need to give them somewhere to grow.
Carolyn Wentzel has served as Children’s Pastor at Beacon Church in Edmonton, Alberta, for eleven years. Serving in a smaller church has given her the opportunity to know children and families personally and invest in them like family. She is passionate about helping kids know Jesus, discover how God has uniquely gifted them, and grow into lifelong followers who faithfully serve Him.