As Cheryl and I have visited the different BASIC groups and I have called around asking for prayer requests and checking in with advisors the number one thing that I have come across is that groups are lacking an effective plan to develop student leaders.
Most groups are struggling to consistently have 4 or 5 student leaders each year and are also having trouble developing leaders to take over when the current student leaders graduate.
There are 3 simple steps you can take to develop your group’s leadership:
1. Have leadership meetings at least biweekly – if you do these before or after your weekly meetings no one has to come on a separate day
2. Announce your leadership meetings during your weekly meeting and make them open to all students
3. Incorporate a Jr. Leadership Team (read on for more explanation)
Cheryl and I have been working to get a new BASIC group running at the University of Rochester this year and a new idea was introduced to us. Many groups at the University of Rochester have a Jr. Leadership Team. The senior leadership team will identify students that they think could be eventual leaders and begin to incorporate them into their plans for the group. These students should be influencers who have a servant’s heart. In other words, people who are natural leaders and have a lot of influence on those around them, but also have a heart to serve in whatever way is needed. You can begin to give these students smaller tasks that will begin teaching them leadership such as: planning one event, maintaining the group’s facebook page, doing announcements during the meeting, sending out emails, leading prayer meetings, etc. This is also a great way to evaluate how well these students do with handling small tasks and it gets them in the mindset of being involved and taking some ownership for the group before they are actual leaders.
Hopefully you’ve been having regular leadership meetings already, if you haven’t, make it a point to start right away. For those of you who have, think about starting a Jr. Leadership Team in order to begin raising up future leaders. Having a steady flow of solid student leaders is essential to the success of your group. It can make or break you. For the students who are reading this, realize that you are only at college for a short time (even if right now it feels like an eternity!), but God has a plan for your group that extends beyond your 4 (or 5, or 6) years. Begin to think of your group and the work that God has planned for your campus in the light of eternity.
Proverbs 20:28 (The Message) “Love and truth form a good leader; sound leadership is founded on loving integrity.”