Rachel was the quintessential church kid—she was involved in just about everything, from infancy through her high school years. One Sunday morning during her high school years, I observed her having a conversation with a dad in the church named Mike. They were chatting like old friends. I didn’t know how they could have known each other until it occurred to me—oh yeah, they serve in our children’s ministry together. That’s how they know each other!
You see, our church doesn’t just let students serve. Our church couldn’t staff the children’s program without our teenagers.
About 15 years ago, we doubled down on our commitment to encouraging students to serve in children’s ministries. Students had served here and there, but now we decided to go “all in.” We even had special trucker hats made to encourage the students who decided to step up. (Remember when trucker hats were all the rage?)
It was a huge success on multiple levels. The strain on a small number of committed adults serving in the ministry gets lifted. Teenagers get to use the gifts God has given them. And the next generation gets to hear the gospel. But we’ve experienced a bonus benefit that none of us anticipated: Students began interacting with adults in three significant ways.
1. Serving Together Forges Friendships
Jesus says something surprising to his disciples. He tells them in John 15:15: “I no longer call you servants…. Instead, I have called you friends.” In the same way, when young people and adults serve alongside one another, they become, to use the word Jesus did, friends.
Like Rachel and Mike, the friendships don’t go particularly deep—nor should they. Adults must always keep good boundaries when we interact with teenagers. Still, any time a teenager can make a meaningful connection with an adult who’s following Jesus and living out his or her calling through the local church…it’s a win.
2. Serving Together Levels the Ground Between Students and Adults
Not only can adults and teenagers forge friendship, but they became something else—co-laborers. It’s been said that the ground is level at the foot of the cross, meaning, we all struggle with sin, and we all need Jesus to rescue us. It’s also true that the ground is level between adults serving children and students serving children.
In our children’s ministry, it’s clear that the adult will be “in charge” if such a leader is needed, especially if there’s a disruptive child to manage or an emergency of some kind. But on most Sundays, that distinction isn’t terribly important. Teenagers are used to deferring to adults, but when everyone is serving together, this kind of power structure feels less relevant. Jesus is the king; adults and students are fellow disciples using their gifts to serve others.
3. Serving Together Advances the Gospel
The incredible news is that teenagers are fantastic ministers! If you remember what you thought of teenagers when you were a child, let me remind you—to use a Gen Z word, they’re “goals.” So when you have a teenager paired up with, say a 50-something, you’ve got this incredible combination of youthful energy with seasoned wisdom. It’s a winning team, and something the Lord often blesses.
There’s actually one final (potential) upside, too. What we’ve seen is that students enjoyed serving in the children’s ministry so much that some of them have sought out serving in the children’s ministry when they go to college (including my own daughter just this semester!) And the beautiful interaction starts all over again.
So how do you get this going? The great news is that it’s not up to you alone! But you can be a catalyst to getting this started at your church. The first step would be to reach out to those in charge of the children’s ministry. Explain the opportunities you see if such a partnership could grow.
You could also get creative and see if there might be other ways in which youth and adults can serve alongside one another. Ask your students ways that they would like to serve—you might be surprised by their answers.
Look to God’s Grace in Jesus
Lastly, you as a youth minister don’t need one more thing to do. If this isn’t the right thing in this season, that’s fine. And remember that God’s grace is sufficient for you in every season. But regardless of what you do, also remember that something beautiful can happen when people of all ages come together for the advance of the gospel.
We hope you’ll join us at the 2024 Rooted Conference in Dallas, Texas, October 24-26, where we’ll share more resources for gospel-centered youth ministry.